With yet another dazzling catch, Church certainly seizing outfield opportunity

ST. LOUIS -- Heading into this season, Nathan Church’s spot on the Cardinals roster was far from defined, but on Sunday the 25-year-old continued to make the case for a regular role in the St. Louis outfield.

Church’s diving catch of a Bobby Witt Jr. line drive, which left his bat at 100.7 mph according to Statcast, robbed the Royals’ All-Star of at least extra bases -- if not a potential inside-the-park home run -- in the top of the third inning of the Cardinals’ 2-0 loss to Kansas City.

Church’s diving catch of a Bobby Witt Jr. line drive, which left his bat at 100.7 mph according to Statcast, .

“I was just trying to make a play for [starter Andre] Pallante,” Church said. “Pallante pitched a really good game. Pitchers did really well, and it was just unfortunate the offense couldn't put together some runs.”

Pallante was especially appreciative of the effort.

“That's one hell of a catch,” Pallante said. “When you have defense like that it helps everyone, you know, like saving a run, a big spot against one of the best hitters in the league, definitely just a huge catch and I'm really happy that he was able to make it.”

Manager Oliver Marmol also praised Church’s effort.

“Closed in on it really well, laid out, and that's a really nice play by Churchy,” Marmol said.

It was another addition to a growing highlight reel for Church, who wasn’t even guaranteed a spot on the Cardinals roster in Spring Training, but his strong glove and Lars Nootbaar’s heel surgeries created an opportunity.

And Church has seized it. The left-handed hitter is batting .246 with five home runs and 18 RBIs this season.

But his defense is his calling card. Church can play all three outfield positions and was awarded the National League Play of the Week for a game-saving catch to take away a walk-off homer from Pittsburgh’s Nick Gonzales on April 29. It was his third over-the-wall catch of the season.

With Nootbaar’s return drawing near, after homering in his first at-bat of his rehab with Single-A Palm Beach on Friday night, Church’s role in the outfield seems to be on solid ground.

“It's just the work that I put in, in the cage, and pregame defensively and offensively,” Church said. “So, yeah, just trying to get better off [the field], so it shows up in the game.”

Perhaps it was fitting that Church’s latest defensive gem occurred in the right-field corner, directly below a section of shirtless rowdy fans that have been the talk of the league over the weekend. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the “tarps off” crew’s energy didn’t translate into a fourth straight win.

Pallante (4-4) recorded a season high in innings (6 2/3) with seven strikeouts. Only one of his two runs was earned, and he didn’t walk anyone while scattering eight hits.

“Did a really nice job, probably the best we've seen him as far as just getting ahead of guys and putting himself in favor of counts, getting to that two-strike count, and then the ability to put guys away,” Marmol said. “He's been missing some more bats as of late, but a lot of it has to do with getting to that two-strike count.”

Pallante became the first Cardinals starter this season to record an out in the seventh inning. It is another strong performance by a starting rotation that now has eight quality starts since May 1.

“I think, you know, you see one guy do something well, he exposes something that the hitters are bad at, and we're able to all learn from it and kind of build off that,” Pallante said. “It's huge and helps the team win.”

But Royals starter Stephen Kolek (2-0) spoiled Pallante’s effort, pitching 6 1/3 scoreless innings. He allowed just four hits, struck out three and walked one.

Salvador Perez drove in both Royals runs, including a solo homer in the fourth inning.

The Cardinals sit eight games over .500 as they prepare to start a string of 12 straight against Central Division foes on Tuesday night, kicking off a three-game series at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“We're focused on one game at a time,” Marmol said. “I'm really not concerned with who's across the way. No one in that clubhouse is. We got to take care of business, continue to get better in different aspects of the game, and everything else will take care of itself.”