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In a 2-2 count vs. Colorado lefty Austin Gomber, Nootbaar lifted a slider thrown low and in over the wall in right field for a solo homer that marked his first homer in over a month after his season was paused at the end of July because of a left costochondral strain.

The home run swing provides him with some “momentum” after he missed 15 games because of injury.

“It just feels like I just need more reps. You’re kind of still getting back into it, but I’m trying my best just trying to make some hard contact,” Nootbaar said on Wednesday. “I think more in-game reps, more reps in the cage too are only going to help me out. I think fine-tuning it over these next couple weeks will probably be good.”

The solo homer was one of two hard-hit balls Nootbaar produced that led to a hit in the Cardinals’ 6-5 loss to the Rockies at Busch Stadium. Nootbaar, 27, began his afternoon with a single in the second inning that had a 101.3 mph exit velocity, per Statcast. His two-hit game, which marked his first appearance since exiting early Monday with a left knee contusion after fouling a pitch off his back knee, lifted his season average to .230, his on-base percentage to .326, and his slugging percentage to .385.

Nootbaar’s homer, which traveled 393 feet and had a 98.6 mph exit velocity, was his first since he homered on July 8.

“Obviously a good feeling but... tough when it comes in a loss,” Nootbaar said of his homer. “But you just try to ride that momentum, and hopefully, have the off day tomorrow, but then have a good series against the Yankees.”

Since returning from the injured list on Aug. 2, Nootbaar is batting .267 in eight games. He has seven hits in his previous 25 at-bats. With the two hard-hit balls that went for hits on Wednesday, thirteen of the 23 balls Nootbaar has put in play upon his return to the Cardinals’ lineup have had exit velocities above 95 mph, per Statcast.

“I feel like we’re about to see him take off. I really feel it,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Wednesday of Nootbaar. “In conversation with him, there are some things that he’s identified that he wants to do. He’s working hard at it, and it was good to see him take some of the swings he took today.”

After beginning the year as the Cardinals’ starting left fielder on opening day, Nootbaar posted a .260 batting average and an .807 OPS through his first 44 games of the season. His batting average dipped to .190 and his OPS to .606 in the next 43 games before he needed to go on the IL.

In the 43-game stretch where his offensive production slowed, Nootbaar’s strikeout rate jumped to 28% after it had sat at 16% through his first 44 games. Over that same 43-game period from May 17 through July 12, Nootbaar walked in 9% of his plate appearances after walking in 15% of his plate appearances to open the year.

Nootbaar’s injury, one in which he tried to pay through but kept his availability limited when it flared up, shelved him on the final day before the All-Star break. The 27-year-old outfielder went through a hitting progression that began with hitting off a tee and progressed to soft toss, batting practice, and hitting off a pitching machine before he was sent on a rehab assignment that spanned three games.

Over the Cardinals’ 11 games since Aug. 2, Nootbaar has appeared in eight and started in seven as the Cardinals work in playing time for their young outfielders.

Although he was able to use the time on the IL to refine his swing mechanics, Nootbaar said the return to live pitching and an increased volume have helped him trend toward a consistent form with a regression of his timing.

“There are some things mechanically, but for me, a lot of times, it’s just whether or not I was on time,” Nootbaar said. “I think mechanics break down when you’re not on time. I’m trying to be stubborn with that. Since coming off the IL, take the reps, seeing what the game reps look like now, and then doing more research off of that.

The homer in his two-hit game vs. the Rockies put Nootbaar one shy of matching a season-high of 14, which he reached in 2022 and 2023. It marked his third off a lefty this season, his second multi-hit effort since returning from the IL, and continued to momentum he feels he’s built as at-bats come his way.

“When you’re on the IL, you can look all you want, but if you’re not executing in the game or doing certain things in the game and you’re differentiating because of the injury or compensating, then it doesn’t really matter,” Nootbaar said. “Looking from, probably, a week ago to now, you start looking forward to what I can change and what I can do better.”