ST. LOUIS -- All throughout the offseason, while he was studying video of Hall of Famers Tony Gwynn and Rod Carew and Cardinals great Willie McGee and working on his own plate approach, speedster Victor Scott II used the pain and embarrassment from 2024 to fuel his fire.
This time around, Scott promised, things would be different when he got his shot to be a full-time starter for the Cardinals.
Fresh off a two-hit, two-stolen base day on Saturday, Scott showed off his massive improvements at the plate on Sunday by smashing a three-run home run in the Cardinals' 9-2 defeat of the Twins at stormy Busch Stadium.
¡°A lot of the failures I took to heart, and I had to look at myself internally and say, ¡®How can I get better? What are the things I need to work on? And how can I further my game?¡¯¡± said Scott, who made the Opening Day roster in 2024, but was shuttled between St. Louis and Triple-A Memphis four times because of offensive struggles. ¡°The product [everyone] saw in Spring Training and [everyone] will see during the year is just a different player.¡±
Three-run homers by Pedro Pagés and Scott and a 409-foot solo shot from Nolan Gorman allowed the Cardinals to remain unbeaten after sweeping the Twins. The Cardinals are 3-0 for just the 17th time in 134 seasons and for the first time since 2006. That year, of course, the Cards swept the Phillies on the road and went on to win the franchise¡¯s 10th of 11 World Series titles.
¡°It¡¯s fun to watch, and I continue to say it, but every at-bat is a damn dogfight,¡± Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said of a club that scored 19 runs, smashed five homers and cranked out 30 hits in three games. ¡°I mean, every pitch is important and every inning is a game within a game. We score a couple of runs and the next inning we¡¯re starting from scratch and it¡¯s, ¡®Let¡¯s get the first guy on!¡¯ It¡¯s contagious.¡±
Gorman, who got his first start of the season, added a long home run in the seventh inning and two singles in a three-hit day. Forced to sit the first two days and wait to show off the improvements he made over the offseason while working with new hitting coach and Arizona neighbor Brant Brown, Gorman helped lengthen the lineup with his production on Sunday.
¡°I think since [Lars] Nootbaar¡¯s first hit to open the series [on Thursday], it was just kind of a snowball effect from there,¡± said Gorman, who hit 27 and 19 home runs the previous two seasons before finishing 2024 in Triple-A because of his offensive struggles. ¡°Everything has been rolling for these last three games. We¡¯re having a lot of fun in the dugout. We¡¯re having a lot of fun after games and before games and we¡¯re keeping it loose. It¡¯s fun to play like that.¡±
Pag¨¦s finished a triple shy of the cycle after racking up a double, home run and single in the game¡¯s first five innings. Scott missed out on a second hit when his 105.2 mph rocket into right field forced Pag¨¦s to stop between first and second and he was forced out. Seconds later, Scott showed off his blazing speed by stealing his third base in as many opportunities.
Scott was able to find the silver lining in losing out on a hit by saying: ¡°I¡¯ll take a [stolen] bag over a hit.¡±
Down 1-0 in the early going, the Cardinals responded with eight runs in the second and third innings. Scott, who slugged his way onto the Opening Day roster with four Spring Training homers, smashed a 396-foot three-run homer in the second inning. For Scott, who was often overwhelmed by MLB pitching in 2024, the long homer was another sign of the growth he¡¯s made with his swing.
¡°Those [home runs] are accidents for me because that¡¯s not my job,¡± said Scott, who is tied for second in MLB in steals after his first weekend of play. ¡°But it¡¯s cool to see a ball go out, though.¡±
Dubbed a ¡°hit collector¡± by Brown ¨C who he worked with most of the offseason while trying to become more athletic with his stride and his swing ¨C Scott knows it is his job to continue to get on base, run whenever possible and set the table for sluggers Nootbaar, Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras and Gorman. The strong start, Scott said, is not surprising to him.
¡°The overall studying of the game increased my confidence, whether that was defensively, offensively or on the bases,¡± Scott said. ¡°It¡¯s just been a lot of studying and time put into that side of the game to help me gain that confidence.¡±