ST. LOUIS -- New hitting coach Brant Brown¡¯s approach to hitting -- ¡°There¡¯s a time to slug and a time to hit,¡± he stressed repeatedly throughout Spring Training -- is already paying big dividends for the undefeated Cardinals.
Six of the Cardinals¡¯ first seven hits on Saturday afternoon came with two strikes -- two of them resulting in RBI singles -- paving the way for a 5-1 win over the Twins before 30,712 fans at Busch Stadium.
Through two games, St. Louis has 11 two-strike hits ¨C something that delights the hitting coach hired to breathe life into an offense that lagged badly in 2024, especially in instances where situational hitting was needed. The 11 two-strike hits through two games rank the Cardinals fifth in MLB and third in the National League.
¡°Obviously, you have to slug to win in this league, but you are going to spend 50 percent of your time with two strikes,¡± said Brown, a former MLB player with the Cubs, Pirates and Marlins, and a former hitting coach for the Dodgers, Marlins and Mariners before coming to St. Louis. ¡°There are times when you can afford to slug, but also times when you need to lessen your intent and take the hit. That¡¯s important because the best way to score runs is by getting guys on base.
¡°The home run probability, on average, is three-four percent. If we¡¯re trying to take a swing for that bet every time, then it¡¯s a bad one.¡±
Superstar third baseman Nolan Arenado had an RBI single and a double off the right shoulder of Twins pitcher Jorge Alcala -- both coming with two strikes -- and Opening Day hero Lars Nootbaar added two hits and two more RBIs as the Cardinals improved to 2-0 and will look to sweep the opening series on Sunday.
¡°Most everybody in the Major Leagues can pitch and they have good arms, so you have to be selective, and [Brown] is trying to teach us to zone in on the pitches we want,¡± said Arenado, who started the three-run sixth inning by drilling the ball off Alcara and hustling to second when it rolled under the reach of shortstop Carlos Correa. ¡°You usually make better decisions when you [hit good pitches] and that¡¯s really been [Brown¡¯s] focus.¡±
Nootbaar, who laced a 109.8 mph single on Thursday, according to Statcast, and a two-run homer on Opening Day, laced a 111.7 mph single to plate two on Saturday. He also walked and was hit by a pitch while reaching base four times.
Catcher Iv¨¢n Herrera broke a 1-all tie with a single on a 2-2 pitch in the sixth inning. Herrera had two hits on the day, as did speedy center fielder Victor Scott II, who also stole two bases.
¡°It¡¯s not just words [from Brown] and we¡¯ve got to put them into action, and the guys are demonstrating that,¡± said manager Oliver Marmol, whose Cardinals have 20 hits and are batting .308 through two games. ¡°The guys have done a really nice job of taking their knocks and it¡¯s really annoying when you¡¯re on the other side of that and guys don¡¯t give in, and they figure out ways to put it in play and use the whole field.
¡°There¡¯s a personality or an identity that they¡¯re creating, which is fun to watch.¡±
Someone certainly having fun is Nootbaar, who has racked up four hits, a homer, four RBIs and six appearances on base in two games. The owner of MLB¡¯s lowest chase rate in 2024, per Baseball Savant, Nootbaar has expanded his zone a bit in two games in the name of staying aggressive. Consequently, he¡¯s seen his production soar under the guidance of Brown.
¡°You always want to slug, but when you¡¯re facing a good [pitching] staff, it¡¯s about being a hit collector, being unselfish and taking [hits] when you can,¡± Nootbaar said of the approach that Brown has taught. ¡°So far, our team has done a really good job of that.¡±
Another beneficiary of Brown¡¯s teachings has been Scott, who laced a single into right field in the fourth inning after working the count 10 pitches deep. ¡°Hit collector¡± is a nickname Brown gave to Scott all the way back in January, when the two of them first started working together.
¡°It¡¯s extremely important to this team for me to be a hit collector, getting on base, stealing bases and putting myself in smart positions for the guys behind me to score runs,¡± Scott said. ¡°That [hit collector nickname] has progressed over time while working with Brownie. Being able to gain that identity has definitely been a progression over time. It¡¯s not something where I just woke up overnight and became that.
¡°[Hit collector] is Brownie¡¯s phrase. He¡¯s got a lot of cool phrases.¡±