ST. LOUIS -- As he sat on the back of the bench in the visitors’ dugout at Busch Stadium -- a place he hadn’t had reason to visit in seven years -- one of his former teammates hollered down at Paul Goldschmidt from the field.

“Don’t do it,” Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar teased. “Don’t talk to them!”

Ever a professional, the first baseman finished his previous answer and then cracked, with his standard dryness, “I don’t miss that.”

In his return to St. Louis after six seasons as a Cardinal, a stretch that included winning the 2022 NL MVP , Goldschmidt was as reflective as the typically stoic slugger tends to be, focusing on the task at hand and working through the frustration of being out of the Yankees' series-opening lineup Friday at Busch Stadium with a mild sprain in his ri

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