WASHINGTON -- When Cardinals outfielder Harrison Bader dropped down a bunt single in the eighth inning of Monday night¡¯s series-opening win over the Nationals, it was his first such hit since 2017.

Bader insists there won¡¯t be nearly as long a wait for the next one.

¡°I¡¯ve just been working a lot behind the scenes on bunting because I haven¡¯t opened it up really at all,¡± said Bader, who also has one sac bunt this season and three in his career. ¡°I like to think I have the ability to just drop one down. Because those hits throughout the course of the season allow you to kind of stay above water.¡±

Bader had entered Monday on a nasty 1-for-16 slide, with a stint on the injured list for a right hamstring strain thrown in the middle.

Unlike some hitters who try to use a bunt to spark them out of a slump, Bader had already snapped it by the time he squared around Monday, homering to spark a six-run barrage in the fifth inning.

Bader looks at bunting as a tool to help keep the defense honest.

¡°It just opens up more of the field for you,¡± Bader said. ¡°Which is every hitter¡¯s goal, ultimately.¡±

Manager Mike Shildt credited Bader¡¯s improved comfort level to how he spent his time recuperating from his ailing hamstring.

¡°To his credit, he put a lot, a lot of effort into it,¡± Shildt said. ¡°He was on the [IL] recently, unfortunately. He¡¯s had time to work on that part of his game, and it paid off.¡±

We¡¯ll do it live

After speaking with Shildt and the Cardinals' coaching staff on Tuesday, reliever Luke Gregerson (right shoulder impingement) will throw live batting practice on Wednesday in Washington.

¡°Just so we can have a better feel for [his recovery] and have an idea against our hitters,¡± Shildt explained.

Gregerson has been on a Minor League rehab assignment since the start of the season, one that will reach its 30-day limit on Friday. In 11 games, he¡¯s allowed two runs over 11 innings across three levels of Minor League ball.

Gregerson struggled in the first year of a two-year, $11 million contract with St. Louis in 2018, pitching to a 7.11 ERA over 17 appearances while spending most of the season on the IL.

Take a sick day

After outfielder Dexter Fowler was out of the lineup on Monday as a planned off-day, Shildt kept him out again unexpectedly on Tuesday as the switch-hitter recovers from illness. Fowler pinch-hit in the sixth inning on Monday night, lining out to third.

¡°Hopefully it¡¯s a 24-hour deal and he¡¯ll be back in and ready to go tomorrow,¡± Shildt said.