Bader hits 1st Cards inside-the-parker in over 20 years

ST. LOUIS -- A Gold Glove winner known more for his glove than his bat, Cardinals center fielder Harrison Bader gave his stellar defensive reputation a shoutout late Tuesday when asked about the first inside-the-park home run of his baseball career.

“Never had an inside-the-park home run,” Bader said. “I normally get ‘em [defensively].”

Bader’s electrifying inside-the-park home run was one of the few bright spots Tuesday for a Cardinals squad that struck out 11 times against Baltimore starter Kyle Bradish in a forgettable 5-3 loss to the Orioles. Before Bader’s drive into the left-center gap in the sixth -- one that Baltimore center fielder Cedric Mullins missed and that ricocheted off his leg toward left field -- the Cardinals had just three hits. Bader dove head-first into home even though there was no play at the plate and on-deck hitter Brendan Donovan was telling him to stand up.

“I was tired,” Bader said with a laugh. “I’m just kidding. I just didn’t want to slow down, and it was easier to slide there. A couple of steps away from second base, I saw the ball kick away and I just put my head down and ran. Obviously, [third base coach] Pop [Warner] was waving me, but I had a pretty good vantage point on where the ball was.”

How rare was Bader’s inside-the-park home run? It was the first inside-the-park home run for the Cardinals since Fernando Vina did it on Oct. 2, 2001, in Milwaukee. In terms of the last one in St. Louis for the home team, Bader’s four-bagger was the first inside-the-park by a Cardinal at home since Vince Coleman’s on May 21, 1985, against the Braves. Additionally, Bader’s inside-the-park home run was the first by a Cardinal at Busch Stadium III, which opened 16 years ago.

“Obviously, that was a good moment, but it wasn’t enough to win the game,” Bader said of his third home run of the season. “Obviously, you want to win games regardless of personal stats, but I’ll take it. I think it’s important that we continue to put good swings on the baseball and allow the game to let us all click at the same time. Tomorrow, we’ll get another opportunity to do exactly that.”

With Bader's drive hitting off Mullins’ leg and rolling far away from the two outfielders, the only intrigue on the play was whether he might run down catcher Yadier Molina, who had gone back to second base to tag up if the catch had been made. Molina, who had doubled the at-bat prior, glanced back over his shoulder twice and could see Bader gaining on him before scoring.

Bader’s top speed as he rounded the bases was 29.1 feet per second -- significantly faster than the MLB average (27 feet per second), but a notch below what is considered elite MLB speed (30 feet per second). Bader, whose 2022 sprint speed average is 28.9 feet per second, initially thought the ball he hit would be a home run and he didn’t kick it into high gear -- and gain significant ground on Molina -- until the ball got away from the outfielders.

“I knew [Molina] was far enough out there, but I got close, though,” Bader said. “If I was sprinting from the start I would have caught [Molina]. Seriously, I thought I got all of it, but whether it’s humidity or whatever it is, I’m just happy that it worked out the way it did.”

Down 5-0 at the time, Bader’s jolt put some life into a Cardinals offense that had no answer for Bradish, who allowed just four hits and two runs over seven innings while striking out 11. The Cardinals made one last push in the ninth inning when rookie Donovan -- the team’s starting shortstop for the time being after Paul DeJong was optioned to Triple-A Memphis -- hit the first home run of his MLB career.

The Cardinals got slumping slugger Tyler O’Neill to the plate with the tying runs on base in the ninth inning, but he struck out to end the game.

For the night, Bader’s inside-the-park rarity will go down as the lone bright spot.

“Probably a walk-off is more exciting than that one,” Bader said when asked whether an inside-the-park home run is the most electrifying play in baseball. “Honestly, I thought it was gone. I didn’t crazy pimp it or anything, but I felt like I got it after putting a good, clean swing on it. It just hung up there. I’m just happy that it didn’t get caught because Cedric [Mullins] is a really good center fielder. I’m just happy it pushed some runs across for us.”