Leave it to a bit of good fortune to help Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado break out of a slump at the plate.
Arenado started the year on fire at the plate, hitting .360 with a .905 OPS in the first week. Over the ensuing 19 games, he watched those drop to .247 and .738, respectively, heading into Friday's series opener with the Pirates.
But with the help of a bit of luck in the outfield, Arenado doubled in his first two at-bats to record just his third multihit game in over three weeks, leading St. Louis to a 7-3 win in its first meeting with Pittsburgh at PNC Park this season.
“I think it's always good to get rewarded,” Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said. “Sometimes this game doesn't give you the love that you'd like to have, but Nolan's clearly a professional hitter, and he's in a good spot.”
Considering how close Arenado's doubles were to being inning-ending flyouts, it could have been just another tough game at the plate for him.
With two outs in the first and Cardinals right fielder Dylan Carlson standing on second base, Arenado blooped one to left field. Had the ball hung in the air for a few more moments, Pirates left fielder Ka’ai Tom could have gotten under it to keep the game scoreless. But the wind swirling in the outfield helped knock the ball down quickly enough that it landed in front of and then bounced over a diving Tom to put St. Louis up 1-0.
Two innings later, Arenado hit what should have been a flyout to left with St. Louis second baseman Tommy Edman on first. It was the typical “can of corn” fly ball that either Tom or Pirates shortstop Kevin Newman should have had plenty of time to get underneath. With the Pittsburgh wind still swirling, though, the ball landed safely in shallow left, and Edman -- who had been running on contact -- came around to score.
The hits were arguably the two worst balls Arenado put in play Friday -- according to Statcast, the former had an exit velocity of 70.3 mph, and the latter had an expected batting average of just .010 -- but they helped kick off what ended up being a seven-run, 10-hit night for the Redbirds.
“This is a funky game sometimes, and there were some weird things that happened tonight,” said Cardinals starter John Gant, who pitched five innings of one-run ball to pick up his second consecutive win. “Some weird things went down, but a great team win, a team victory."
Through Arenado’s offensive cold spell, the defensive instincts that have won him eight National League Gold Glove Awards have still been sound. He added another play to his highlight reel on Friday.
With Pirates first baseman and left-handed hitter Colin Moran at the plate, the Cardinals moved into a shift, leaving Arenado as the lone infielder on his side of the field. To his credit, Moran did his best to beat the shift by smacking a grounder 105.5 mph off the bat to the left side.
But Arenado dove to his right, scooped up the ball and finished off what was seemingly a routine play for the elite defensive third baseman.
It hasn’t been the easiest first month for Arenado with his new team. He’s struggled to stay consistent after a hot start to the season. He’d had just six extra-base hits since April 10 heading into Friday, and he hasn’t homered since April 17.
Arenado didn’t bounce back with any big blasts against the Pirates on Friday night, either, but perhaps some luck on a couple of bloopers will help him turn things around as the calendar shifts to May.
“I mean, Nolan's a true professional,” Cardinals left fielder Tyler O’Neill said. “It's great to see day in [and] day out how he goes about his business and his work ethic. It's something to follow. He sets the example for the rest of us guys there.”