ST. LOUIS -- New hitting coach Brant Brown’s approach to hitting -- “There’s a time to slug and a time to hit,” he stressed repeatedly throughout Spring Training -- is already paying big dividends for the undefeated Cardinals.
Six of the Cardinals’ first seven hits on Saturday afternoon came with two strikes -- two of them resulting in RBI singles -- paving the way for a 5-1 win over the Twins before 30,712 fans at Busch Stadium.
Through two games, St. Louis has 11 two-strike hits – something that delights the hitting coach hired to breathe life into an offense that lagged badly in 2024, especially in instances where situational hitting was needed. The 11 two-strike hits through two games rank the Cardinals fifth in MLB and third in the National League.
“Obviously, you have to slug to win in this league, but you are going to spend 50 percent of your time with two strikes,” said Brown, a former MLB player with the Cubs, Pirates and Marlins, and a former hitting coach for the Dodgers, Marlins and Mariners before coming to St. Louis. “There are times when you can afford to slug, but also times when you need to lessen your intent and take the hit. That’s important because the best way to score runs is by getting guys on base.
“The home run probability, on average, is three-four percent. If we’re trying to take a swing for that bet every time, then it’s a bad one.”
Superstar third baseman Nolan Arenado had an RBI single and a double off the right shoulder of Twins pitcher Jorge Alcala -- both coming with two strikes -- and Opening Day hero Lars Nootbaar added two hits and two more RBIs as the Cardinals improved to 2-0 and will look to sweep the opening series on Sunday.
“Most everybody in the Major Leagues can pitch and they have good arms, so you have to be selective, and [Brown] is trying to teach us to zone in on the pitches we want,” said Arenado, who started the three-run sixth inning by drilling the ball off Alcara and hustling to second when it rolled under the reach of shortstop Carlos Correa. “You usually make better decisions when you [hit good pitches] and that’s really been [Brown’s] focus.”
Nootbaar, who laced a 109.8 mph single on Thursday, according to Statcast, and a two-run homer on Opening Day, laced a 111.7 mph single to plate two on Saturday. He also walked and was hit by a pitch while reaching base four times.
Catcher Iván Herrera broke a 1-all tie with a single on a 2-2 pitch in the sixth inning. Herrera had two hits on the day, as did speedy center fielder Victor Scott II, who also stole two bases.
“It’s not just words [from Brown] and we’ve got to put them into action, and the guys are demonstrating that,” said manager Oliver Marmol, whose Cardinals have 20 hits and are batting .308 through two games. “The guys have done a really nice job of taking their knocks and it’s really annoying when you’re on the other side of that and guys don’t give in, and they figure out ways to put it in play and use the whole field.
“There’s a personality or an identity that they’re creating, which is fun to watch.”
Someone certainly having fun is Nootbaar, who has racked up four hits, a homer, four RBIs and six appearances on base in two games. The owner of MLB’s lowest chase rate in 2024, per Baseball Savant, Nootbaar has expanded his zone a bit in two games in the name of staying aggressive. Consequently, he’s seen his production soar under the guidance of Brown.
“You always want to slug, but when you’re facing a good [pitching] staff, it’s about being a hit collector, being unselfish and taking [hits] when you can,” Nootbaar said of the approach that Brown has taught. “So far, our team has done a really good job of that.”
Another beneficiary of Brown’s teachings has been Scott, who laced a single into right field in the fourth inning after working the count 10 pitches deep. “Hit collector” is a nickname Brown gave to Scott all the way back in January, when the two of them first started working together.
“It’s extremely important to this team for me to be a hit collector, getting on base, stealing bases and putting myself in smart positions for the guys behind me to score runs,” Scott said. “That [hit collector nickname] has progressed over time while working with Brownie. Being able to gain that identity has definitely been a progression over time. It’s not something where I just woke up overnight and became that.
“[Hit collector] is Brownie’s phrase. He’s got a lot of cool phrases.”