PHOENIX -- The Cardinals posted their most first-half wins since 2015 with a 51-46 mark that outpaced most preseason prognostications, but they limped into the All-Star break with a 3-8 stretch thanks in no small part to a handful of injuries.
“The break was much needed,” manager Oliver Marmol said before the Cardinals opened the second half with a 7-3 loss to the D-backs at Chase Field. “Our guys were beat up. We’re still coming out of it. Perfect example, [Nolan] Gorman still can’t go. We needed the break.”
Gorman was in the original lineup, but the 25-year-old second baseman was scratched about two hours prior to first pitch because he couldn’t get his balky lower back to cooperate.
He’s considered day to day, but the Cardinals did make some progress on the injury front on Friday, with Gold Glove third baseman Nolan Arenado returning from a two-game absence due to a sprained right index finger, and right fielder Jordan Walker returning from an appendectomy.
The 23-year-old Walker, who also missed May 28-June 13 with a wrist injury, has struggled this season, slashing .206/.262/.289 with a 33% strikeout rate before going on the injured list for a second time on June 23, but the Cardinals are hoping some mechanical adjustments he made during his rehab assignment will pay off in the second half.
“I think when you look at Jordan, there’s a lot of inconsistencies with the way his bat comes through,” Marmol said. “And I think [these changes] will help clean up some of the wasted movement and allow him to launch from a more consistent position.”
Walker, who debuted as the No. 4 prospect in baseball as a 20-year-old in 2023, has yet to cash in on that promise, but there have been plenty of moments where you can see the talent is undeniable.
He nearly had one of those moments on Friday, but D-backs center fielder Alek Thomas had other ideas.
In the top of the fifth inning, with the Cardinals trailing 5-0 and in desperate need of a spark, Walker sent a Brandon Pfaadt cutter 411 feet to left-center. The drive had an exit velocity of 103.2 mph and seemed destined for the seats where the left-field bleachers meet the high center-field wall. According to Statcast, it was a homer in 27 parks, just not Chase Field.
Thomas raced 108 feet at 28.9 feet/second, jumped and made the catch as he slammed into the wall, leaving Walker incredulous as he approached second base.
“It was a great play,” Walker said. “I kinda wish it woulda got down, but I mean, unbelievable play on his part. He did everything right. I just gotta hit it harder next time.”
The result was an out, but the at-bat was a win in the eyes of Marmol, who is hoping for more of the same out of Walker.
“We need to continue to see more of that,” Marmol said. “That’s the type of contact that’s needed, especially for his profile of hitter.”
Marmol is trying to get his young players the runway to develop at the big league level, but he’s also trying to get the Cardinals back in the postseason after a two-year absence.
To that end, he wasn’t ready to commit to everyday at-bats for Walker just yet, but the performance of young stars like Walker, Gorman, Victor Scott II and Masyn Winn will play a big part in determining whether the Cards can end that October drought.
“We’ve gotten here by developing and continuing to grow and giving guys some opportunities,” Marmol said. “That doesn’t change just because now we’re actually winning some games or we’re ahead of where some people thought we would be at this point.
“We got here because the guys are working hard. The feedback loop has been good, allowing guys to understand what they did well and didn’t do well the previous day and then implementing that for the following day. So we’re staying committed to that process and we’ll see where it leads us.”