Gorman makes Marmol's prophecy a reality with a slam

PITTSBURGH -- Before the Cardinals’ game against the Pirates on Tuesday night at PNC Park, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol used his pregame presser to provide what turned out to be a touch of prophecy about second baseman Nolan Gorman's struggles in recent weeks.

“I really do believe Gorman will get out of this here soon and will help us in a very, very meaningful way,” Marmol said.

A few hours later, in the team’s 7-4 series-opening victory over the Pirates, Gorman drove in the winning runs in the biggest way possible, as he went from grind to grand and slammed his way out of a skid in the fourth inning.

Pirates starter Mitch Keller allowed the first three batters to reach to begin the frame, then Gorman torched a Statcast-projected 415-foot homer to left-center field. The only concern: It had to clear the North Side Notch’s chasm at 410 feet from home plate. He had just enough juice to get it there, but even if it had gone into an outfielder’s glove, he was satisfied with the at-bat.

“I put the barrel on the ball, so whatever happened there in that situation, bases loaded and no outs, I got a job done,” Gorman said. “I’m just glad it went over the fence, too.”

It was the Cardinals’ first grand slam of the season. They were just one of four teams without a slam heading into the series, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for a key player who had the full support of the team in trying times. It gave Marmol, who celebrated his 38th birthday on Tuesday, even more reason to party in the dugout.

“You could see the dugout erupt when it happened, just because everyone is pulling for him to get back on track,” said Marmol, whose Cardinals’ teams have gone 3-0 on his birthday. “He’s been working hard. … To come into that situation, bases loaded, stay on the ball toward left-center field, that’s a good sign. That’s a really good sign.”

The Cardinals’ second baseman had been in a funk for a few weeks. Gorman would occasionally find the power he showed to begin the season, but he couldn’t sustain a run of strong results. Gorman entered the series in Pittsburgh with seven hits in his past 84 at-bats (.083) compared to 37 strikeouts.

It was an avalanche of tough games after what appeared to be the makings of an incredible season for a hitter who was known as one of the best slugging prospects in the Minors when he was called up in 2022. Over his first 53 games of the season, Gorman’s output was in the company of stars: his .508 slugging percentage was tied with Mookie Betts, and his 14 homers were tied with Shohei Ohtani.

But Gorman never let the tough run wear him down, as he chose day by day to see each game as an opportunity.

“I think anyone going through the failure that we go through, it would be tough. But I think we all know that this is the game we love to play, and there’s always another day to play this game,” Gorman said.

“So you can’t put too much on yourself and beat yourself up. You’ve got to go out there and compete again for another nine innings against another professional team.”

Maybe just as important as the big swing of relief, Gorman also produced his first two-hit game since June 4 when he singled up the middle in the sixth inning. As the team added on in the runs column, Gorman adding on in his hits column signaled to Marmol that this could be the start of what he showed earlier in the season.

“I do think it is,” Marmol said of Tuesday’s game being a turning point. “I trust this guy a lot. I love his demeanor. I love the way he goes about his business. To his credit, you walk in and you can’t tell if he’s been 0-for-4 or 4-for-4. He’s been very consistent throughout this stretch. That’s not been easy.”

After the game, Marmol had one more prediction for Gorman’s coming months -- and if Tuesday was any indication, it’s an easy one to believe.

“This is a guy we trust, and he’s going to come up big in the second half for us,” he said.