Rentería enjoyed a better season in 2002. On April 10, he had three hits (including a game-tying single in the ninth inning) in a 6–5 win over Milwaukee. On May 6, he hit his first home run since August 20 of the previous year in a 6–5 loss to the Cubs. Four days later, he hit a game-winning home run off Cincinnati's closer Danny Graves in a 4–2 victory. On June 27, he hit his nineteenth double, which tied his 2001 season total. He got his one thousandth hit on July 26 off Jon Lieber of the Cubs in an 8–4 victory. Two nights later against the Cubs, he hit a three-run game-winning home run to cap off a six-run ninth inning by the Cardinals that won the game 10–9. Two nights after that, he hit two home runs in a 5–0 victory over the Marlins. On August 18, he hit his first career grand slam to lift the Cardinals to a 5–1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. He hit another grand slam on September 4 and had a career-high five RBI in a 10–5 victory over Cincinnati. He finished the season with a .305 batting average and 166 hits, and he won his second Silver Slugger Award. He also won his first Gold Glove Award, and he became the first Cardinals' shortstop to win a Gold Glove Award since Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith won one in 1992. Rentería only batted .194 in the playoffs, but the Cardinals made it all the way to the NLCS, where they were beaten by San Francisco in five games.