Gorman flexes for 2 more homers, 4 RBIs
After a third straight hitless game on Tuesday, Nolan Gorman decided it was time to make a change. So he arrived to the park earlier than usual on Wednesday and started to put in extra time with Redbirds hitting coach Brandon Allen in the cage and watching tape. The 21-year-old realized he needed to correct his timing at the plate and develop muscle memory with his swing.
Mission accomplished.
After a three-hit game on Wednesday, Gorman continued to show an improved feel at the plate, and his confidence continued to grow. After finding the seats on Saturday night, the second-ranked Cardinals prospect turned in his best performance at the Minors' highest level on Sunday afternoon -- powering the Redbirds' 12-6 triumph over Norfolk with a pair of home runs -- as part of a three-hit effort -- with four RBIs and two runs scored at AutoZone Park. The victory extended Memphis' winning streak to eight games.
"I'm just getting more comfortable now," Gorman said. "I discovered a few things with my swing and just dove into some adjustments that I needed to make with B.A. and it's translated pretty well.
"A big adjustment for me at this level is how guys attack me. My timing has been off and it's tougher to make swing decisions when you're rushing through the ball. So, we've been simplifying things to give myself more time to recognize the pitch, and decide if I want to swing at it or not. And that has helped me adjust quickly this week."
Gorman notched his second straight multihit game with a long ball. MLB Pipeline's No. 28 overall prospect crushed three dingers over four at-bats spanning the last two games. Over his last five games, Gorman has recorded nine hits -- including four taters and a double -- 10 RBIs and six runs scored. His four RBIs on Sunday tied a season high.
"Last night, that felt good to get that one. It was a lefty-lefty matchup, and it was a ball that last week, or even before Wednesday I probably would have fouled off," he said. "So, yeah, I think that homer last night just felt really good and it was nice to get that one barreled. It was a good start."
After flying out to deep left in the first inning against the Tides, the 21-year-old connected with the first pitch he saw in the third and sent a laser over the wall in left for a solo shot. In the next frame, Gorman stepped in against Dean Kremer again -- this time with a runner on a third and one out -- and the lefty swinger muscled a 1-2 pitch to right-center for a two-run dinger. The blast knocked the Orioles right-hander out of the game.
"[Kremer] had thrown Tuesday against us and he got me a couple of times with pitches up in the zone," Gorman said. "But in that second at-bat [Sunday] I took a step back off the plate a bit because he kept coming in on me with his cutter. And, without the adjustments I just made, that's probably a pitch I foul off, but looking for that cutter in, and I got it and had it timed right.
"In the next at-bat, he was adjusting to what I did last time and he went changeup, changeup right away. And then we battled and he tried to go fastball up but left it too down and I got the barrel to it."
In the seventh, Gorman capped the Redbirds' scoring by legging out an RBI infield hit to the shortstop. Evan Mendoza scampered home on the play.
"The situation was second and third with less than two outs, so I'm just trying to get those runs in," he said. "That guy throws 98, but he was throwing a lot of off-speed to the two guys ahead of me, so it's a tricky situation when you tell yourself to sit off-speed on someone who throws that hard. But, I got enough on it to squeeze it in the right spot and beat it out. Luckily, one of those situations where the shift helps you get a hit."
The 2018 No. 19 overall Draft pick continues to bounce back from a slow start with Memphis and is now sporting a .220/.292/.441 slash line over 15 games with the Redbirds. On the season, Gorman is batting .271 with 15 home runs, seven doubles, 39 RBIs and 33 runs scored.
"I'm not here for bloop singles. My job is to put the ball in play hard," he said. "Doubles and home runs is why I'm here, driving the ball is what my job is to do, so I'm always looking to do that."