- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,150,003
- Reaction score
- 59
Cardinals’ manager Oli Marmol discusses the impact that Lars Nootbaar had on Friday’s 10-3 win over the Reds. — Cardinals.TV
A pest at the plate for years with his patience and stellar command of the strike zone, Lars Nootbaar gave some insight into just one of the many ways he can have major impact on the Cardinals during a lengthy sixth-inning at bat on Friday night.
Facing the hard-throwing Zach Maxwell, Nootbaar quickly fell into an 0-2 count before taking two pitches to even the count. Then, showing off his pesky patience, Nootbaar spoiled two pitches by fouling them off. On the seventh pitch of the at bat, Nootbaar greeted Maxwell’s 99.4 mph four-seam fastball with a 105.8 mph laser off the wall in right-center to score Victor Scott II from first base.
Playing his first MLB game of the season after battling his way back from double heel surgery last October, Nootbaar had two hits, a double, an RBI, a run scored and a running catch in left field as the Cardinals throttled the rival Reds 10-3 at Busch Stadium.
“To be able to have the city behind you lie that and the fans behind you, it means a lot,” Nootbaar said of standing ovation and chants of “NOOT” he got before his first at bat,” said Nootbaar, who keyed a five-run sixth inning to break the game open. “Jogging out there for the first time to left field, the gave me a big ‘NOOT’ too. I can’t say enough about these fans because they mean the world to me.”
The Cardinals trailed 3-0 after a half inning, but systematically rallied back behind 10 hits, an Alec Burleson homer and doubles by Jordan Walker (two) and Nootbaar. Walker, who had three hits in Wednesday’s win over Texas, pounded out another three hits on Friday. The 6-foot-6, 250-pound slugger has seven three-hit games this season – the same number he had while mostly struggling from 2023-25.
Hunter Dobbins, who impressed the Cardinals with his 3 2/3 innings of relief work for his first professional save on Sunday against the Cubs, pitched the final five innings for his first St. Louis victory. He allowed just four hits, while striking out six and walking two over the five innings of work.
“I think it went really well because (catcher) Jimmy (Crooks) had a great game plan and the offense gave us the cushion that they did,” Dobbins said. “That lets you kind of settle in, attack hitters and execute pitches. Overall, it was just a great team win.”
The Cardinals responded to Cincinnati’s 3-0 start with two runs in the first inning – thanks to two Cincinnati errors and a wild pitch. Reds’ manager Terry Francona was ejected when first baseman Sal Stewart was ruled to have been pulled off the bag on a play that would have been the third out of the first inning.
Burleson homered in the third and he scored the go-ahead run in the fifth inning when Walker doubled to straight-away center with a 103.7 mph smash.
In the sixth inning, the Cardinals sent 12 men to the plate and scored five times thanks to Nootbaar’s run-scoring double and four walks and a hit batter by Cincinnati’s struggling bullpen.
Nootbaar drilling the ball off the wall, scoring from second base and playing nine innings in left field proved that he is feeling better than ever following the double heel surgery.
“The wheels are holding up – much better than they would have last season,” Nootbaar said. “I went out there and ran around a little bit. This is probably the longest I’ve stood on my feet in eight months. I’m proud I got the surgery because I’ll be able to walk after this. But I’m excited and I feel good.”
Nootbaar, who said returning at Game 61 of the season made it feel “like Opening Day for me,” was about before the game about him being something of a veteran leader now on the young and feisty Cardinals. The 28-year-old Nootbaar is now one of the most veteran players on the Cardinals after Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras and Brendan Donovan were traded over the winter.
“It's a weird, weird feeling, but it's cool,” Nootbaar told reporters. “I've been around a lot of these guys for a while now, so not a lot of it has changed. Some guys have reached out to me during the whole rehab process, so that's been cool. It's different, but these guys are definitely playing well.”
Remember to join our CARDINALS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other CARDINALS fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!
Continue reading...
A pest at the plate for years with his patience and stellar command of the strike zone, Lars Nootbaar gave some insight into just one of the many ways he can have major impact on the Cardinals during a lengthy sixth-inning at bat on Friday night.
Facing the hard-throwing Zach Maxwell, Nootbaar quickly fell into an 0-2 count before taking two pitches to even the count. Then, showing off his pesky patience, Nootbaar spoiled two pitches by fouling them off. On the seventh pitch of the at bat, Nootbaar greeted Maxwell’s 99.4 mph four-seam fastball with a 105.8 mph laser off the wall in right-center to score Victor Scott II from first base.
Playing his first MLB game of the season after battling his way back from double heel surgery last October, Nootbaar had two hits, a double, an RBI, a run scored and a running catch in left field as the Cardinals throttled the rival Reds 10-3 at Busch Stadium.
“To be able to have the city behind you lie that and the fans behind you, it means a lot,” Nootbaar said of standing ovation and chants of “NOOT” he got before his first at bat,” said Nootbaar, who keyed a five-run sixth inning to break the game open. “Jogging out there for the first time to left field, the gave me a big ‘NOOT’ too. I can’t say enough about these fans because they mean the world to me.”
The Cardinals trailed 3-0 after a half inning, but systematically rallied back behind 10 hits, an Alec Burleson homer and doubles by Jordan Walker (two) and Nootbaar. Walker, who had three hits in Wednesday’s win over Texas, pounded out another three hits on Friday. The 6-foot-6, 250-pound slugger has seven three-hit games this season – the same number he had while mostly struggling from 2023-25.
Dobbins dominant again in relief
Hunter Dobbins, who impressed the Cardinals with his 3 2/3 innings of relief work for his first professional save on Sunday against the Cubs, pitched the final five innings for his first St. Louis victory. He allowed just four hits, while striking out six and walking two over the five innings of work.
“I think it went really well because (catcher) Jimmy (Crooks) had a great game plan and the offense gave us the cushion that they did,” Dobbins said. “That lets you kind of settle in, attack hitters and execute pitches. Overall, it was just a great team win.”
The Cardinals responded to Cincinnati’s 3-0 start with two runs in the first inning – thanks to two Cincinnati errors and a wild pitch. Reds’ manager Terry Francona was ejected when first baseman Sal Stewart was ruled to have been pulled off the bag on a play that would have been the third out of the first inning.
Burleson homered in the third and he scored the go-ahead run in the fifth inning when Walker doubled to straight-away center with a 103.7 mph smash.
In the sixth inning, the Cardinals sent 12 men to the plate and scored five times thanks to Nootbaar’s run-scoring double and four walks and a hit batter by Cincinnati’s struggling bullpen.
Nootbaar drilling the ball off the wall, scoring from second base and playing nine innings in left field proved that he is feeling better than ever following the double heel surgery.
“The wheels are holding up – much better than they would have last season,” Nootbaar said. “I went out there and ran around a little bit. This is probably the longest I’ve stood on my feet in eight months. I’m proud I got the surgery because I’ll be able to walk after this. But I’m excited and I feel good.”
Nootbaar, who said returning at Game 61 of the season made it feel “like Opening Day for me,” was about before the game about him being something of a veteran leader now on the young and feisty Cardinals. The 28-year-old Nootbaar is now one of the most veteran players on the Cardinals after Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras and Brendan Donovan were traded over the winter.
“It's a weird, weird feeling, but it's cool,” Nootbaar told reporters. “I've been around a lot of these guys for a while now, so not a lot of it has changed. Some guys have reached out to me during the whole rehab process, so that's been cool. It's different, but these guys are definitely playing well.”
Join the conversation
Remember to join our CARDINALS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other CARDINALS fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!
Continue reading...
