SAN DIEGO — A third baseman when he was drafted in the first round and a third baseman for the majority of his rise through the minors, Nolan Gorman did something Sunday for first time in the majors at the position he once called home:
He started a third consecutive game there.
The extended look the Cardinals sought to give Gorman at third base this season has arrived in August — and is already one game more than initially planned for the weekend. With Gold Glove Award winner Nolan Arenado on the 10-day injured list with a sore shoulder, the Cardinals’ plan is to reacquaint Gorman with his former home base and give him “the majority of that time†at third, manager Oliver Marmol said. He was not set to start there Sunday with ground-ball guru Andre Pallante on the mound and the Cardinals turning two Thomas Saggese at third.
The lineup needed a rewrite when Brendan Donovan was a late scratch due to a family emergency, a team official said. Details of the emergency were not known at the time of publication.
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Donovan’s absence moved Saggese to second and opened up the hot corner.
For the first time in his career, Gorman started a third straight game at third.
“I think it’s nice getting to take reps at a place that I grew up playing,†Gorman said. “But at the same time, I’ve got to keep working over there and doing whatever I can to make sure I’m playing lockdown defense.â€
There were unsteady moments in his first two games at third in the series at San Diego — mostly with his throws.
Gorman committed a throwing error during Friday night’s game that contributed to San Diego’s decisive rally. On Saturday, Gorman had two other throws to first base that yanked first baseman Willson Contreras in different directions. Twice in two days, Gorman’s throw from third put Contreras in a spot where his arm almost collided with the runner sprinting toward first.
“It’s like a different throw is the biggest thing,†Gorman explained. “The window — the room you have for error at third base is so little compared to second. Any little tail or any little cut on your ball and it makes it difficult for the first baseman to catch it. I think that’s the biggest difference between the two.â€
Following the Cardinals’ acquisition of Arenado to play third, Gorman made the transition to second base, and that’s where he’s played most in the majors. Of his first 314 games for the team from the 314 area code, Gorman started 249 of them at second — 10 times as many as he had started at third. His unscheduled appearance at third Sunday was the 25th start of his career.
On his rehab assignment this past week, Gorman played second base for Class AA Springfield (Missouri) when he started in the field. When taking infield before games, he’ll work at second base, third and even first base — anywhere he might find at-bats. He’ll measure those workouts against a preventive regimen he’s following for back soreness that put him on the injured list. The lower back pain has interrupted each of the past two seasons.
This will be the longest stretch of his big league career that he’s had to manage the back soreness and also focus on third base.
In addition to the throws, he had a play where he screened shortstop Masyn Winn and another where he was unable to make a barehanded pick. On Sunday, when Pallante speared a grounder and came quickly to third for a force out, Gorman was able to not only react to the pitcher’s decision but leap in time to snag the errant throw and get a toe on the base to ensure the out.
“I think it’s just a matter of continuing to work on his agility and his ability of being able to move around and get to different balls and throw from different angles,†Marmol said. “That’s part of the game. He’s continuing to work on it. There has to be a real commitment to his agility and ability at third.â€
