Torres' pivotal homer not a surprise to those around the longtime Minor Leaguer

ST. LOUIS -- In their final home game before next week’s Independence Day celebration across America, the Cardinals were looking to close the homestand with some fireworks.

The Cardinals had scored just eight runs amid a four-game losing skid entering Sunday’s series finale against the Marlins. Not since José Fermín’s shot into the visiting bullpen on Wednesday night had the Cardinals hit a home run.

The team needed someone to put a charge into the offense.

Bryan Torres ended up being the perfect catalyst. He broke the Cardinals out of their power drought with a two-run home run in the bottom of the second inning on Sunday afternoon.

Torres’ third blast of the season was enough for the Cardinals in their 2-1 victory at Busch Stadium as St. Louis avoided a sweep thanks to the utility man’s key swing.

Torres had been an ancillary figure amid the sluggish homestand, taking just two plate appearances prior to drawing the start in left field Sunday. But if you know anything about Torres, being ready for his number to be called is sort of his thing.

“We’re here to win,” Torres said. “We have an amazing manager. We control what we can control. And all I can control is staying ready, staying healthy and [being] ready for when that moment comes.”

Torres’ compliment paid toward Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol came from inside the clubhouse a few minutes after Marmol had already sung Torres’ praises across the hall at the postgame podium.

“It’s a great example of just staying ready, and that’s to one person’s credit, and that’s Torres,” Marmol said. “He goes a while without playing and you would never know by the way he goes about his work and the way you see him in the clubhouse.”

After spending more than a decade in the Minor Leagues, including a stint in independent ball, Torres, who turns 29 years old on Thursday, is making the most of his first big league opportunity, even when his playing time comes only sporadically.

“Work even harder, man,” Torres said when asked how he keeps his timing at the plate with limited opportunities. “We have a lot of stuff here. We’re in the big leagues. We have everything on our hands here [for] staying ready, staying on time, staying strong, staying healthy. We’ve got everything, so we’ve got to take advantage of it.”

Given Torres’ enthusiasm surrounding the resources and facilities now that the longtime Minor Leaguer is in the Majors, it should come as no surprise that he seems to spend as much of his time as possible at the ballpark.

“It’s interesting, because he’s here 30 minutes or so before everybody shows up,” Marmol said. “He wants to make sure he gets his work in while it’s still quiet and he can get everything in, because it’s a longer routine. But he does that every day, whether it’s four or five days without playing, and then you give him an opportunity like today.

“Thankfully, he was in the lineup, because it was our only runs, right?”

What might sound like eyewash when you read a printed version of it doesn’t come off as anything of the sort when you listen to Torres describe it himself -- with an understanding of the story behind how hard he had to work to get to this point.

“If I get here 30 minutes earlier, and I can put in 30 minutes of work early, I’m already 30 minutes ahead of the day,” Torres said. “So, that’s what I do. And yeah, I enjoy the process. I fell in love with the process and not with the results, because the process is going to give you the results.”

It’s an impressive trait, to stay true to a process without letting positive results turn into bitterness when opportunity doesn’t come knocking with regularity. The mentality has carried Torres through a career path that would have left many men in another line of work.

And because of it, his confidence never fades.

“He has enough confidence for all of us,” Marmol said with a grin. “He believes in his abilities, big time. He’s just hungry for an opportunity. When you’re down there in the Minor Leagues for as long as he was, you have to. So, yeah, he’s oozing with confidence.”

In a way, Torres is the perfect bench guy.

After all, he waited more than 10 years for a shot in the big leagues. Clearly, a few days out of the starting lineup doesn’t faze him one bit.