ATLANTA -- In the hours after Nolan Gorman blistered two balls for hits in Monday¡¯s loss to the Braves, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol figured it was time for the club to stick to its pledge of giving more consistent at-bats to the lefty slugger.
As the coaching staff was mapping out at-bats for the Cardinals over the next five games ahead, Marmol led the way in making the call that Gorman deserved a lengthy stretch of games to prove what he can do for a St. Louis club in need of more power.
Gorman came through in the clutch on Tuesday night, drilling an elevated changeup down the right-field line for a three-run double that broke a 4-all tie and vaulted the Cardinals to a 10-4 victory over the Braves at rainy Truist Park.
¡°We have to keep our word there, right?¡± asked Marmol, referring to his club¡¯s preseason pledge to give their young players extended runways to show their stuff. ¡°We said we would [play Gorman more]. Even with him coming back from the [hamstring] injury and not looking good for a week, that¡¯s not a runway. You have to allow him to go through some of the ups and downs. He¡¯s going to get better because he¡¯s working hard at it and we¡¯re committed to seeing it through.¡±
The victory ended the Cardinals¡¯ five-game losing streak and gave them just their second road win in 12 games. They last won away from Busch Stadium on April 8 in Pittsburgh when they beat All-Star right-hander Paul Skenes.
Willson Contreras, who had two hits earlier in the game, set the stage for the Gorman heroics with an epic nine-pitch at-bat that included a controversial check swing and two foul offs and ended with a walk and a bat flip high over his head.
¡°We have to keep fighting, and it doesn¡¯t matter what our record is on the road. We have to just forget about that or you will just put a lot more pressure on yourself,¡± said Contreras, who had his third straight multihit game and extended his hitting streak to a season-best five games. ¡°We just want to have fun and play good baseball. We just want to have the best energy that we can.¡±
Gorman connected on an Enyel De Los Santos changeup with a Statcast-projected 107.2 mph liner to score three runs. That total nearly matched the four runs he had driven in over his previous 10 games. For Gorman, the big hit was redemption for an 0-for-4 start to the night and an instance where he left the bases loaded.
¡°I obviously had some opportunities to drive in some runs earlier in at-bats, but I was given another one and I was able to do the job for this team,¡± Gorman said.
When the Cardinals announced plans for a roster reset following a 2024 season where they missed the playoffs, their focus was on providing consistent opportunities for a young core, led by the likes of Gorman, a first-round Draft pick in 2018 and still one of the club¡¯s most prized young players.
That plan was complicated when the Cardinals were unable to trade star veteran Nolan Arenado in the offseason, meaning Gorman¡¯s playing time would come almost exclusively at second base or as the designated hitter. The plan also hit a snag on March 31 when Gorman strained his right hamstring and was sent to the 10-day injured list.
On Tuesday, the 24-year-old slugger was delighted to learn that the coaching staff is committed to giving him some consistent playing time in games to come against the Braves, Brewers and Reds.
¡°I feel good and I¡¯ve been seeing the ball better lately,¡± said Gorman, who had a double off the wall and a tiebreaking, RBI single on Monday night. ¡°I think the last game in New York [on Sunday] I figured some things out and I didn¡¯t go down a rabbit hole of swing adjustments. So things are definitely going in the right direction.¡±
Following a 2024 season where his strikeout rate soared to 37.6%, Gorman worked to change his approach at the plate and the direction on where he¡¯s trying to hit the ball. His plan now, he said, is trying to stay back on fastballs and hopefully drive them to left-center and center field.
Good things happen, Marmol said, when Gorman puts balls in play.
¡°When he makes enough contact, it leads to high production,¡± Marmol said of Gorman, who has struck out 11 times in 41 plate appearances (26.8%). ¡°It¡¯s just him getting to the point where he¡¯s making enough contact. He does that, and it usually leads to doubles and homers.¡±