With 2-HR game, Contreras boosts Cards to gain ground in playoff picture

KANSAS CITY -- The Cardinals have missed this version of Willson Contreras.

Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt have started to turn things around, which helped put St. Louis squarely back in the playoff race, but the Cardinals aren’t the same without Contreras slugging at the plate.

That was evident Friday, when the 32-year-old catcher clobbered his first multihomer game of the year en route to a season-high four RBIs to power the Cardinals’ 8-5 comeback win over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Contreras also picked up a season-high three hits along with a walk.

It’s the type of production that can boost a Cardinals squad -- that is currently 1 1/2 games behind the Mets for the third and final NL Wild Card spot -- into the postseason.

“[Contreras] is a big part of our offense, and when he turns it on, I don’t know if there’s a lot of guys out here that can hit the ball harder than he does,” said Miles Mikolas, who allowed five runs over four innings. “It’s something special to watch, and he’s a big part of the offense, that’s for sure.”

Contreras had struggled of late -- batting .179 with 16 strikeouts in his past 15 games entering Friday -- but against the Royals, he notched 10 total bases, doubling his season high.

He needed all of the Statcast-projected 377 feet for his two-run homer in the first inning, which bounced up and over the wall into the Royals’ bullpen. But he cleared the fence with room to spare in the ninth, his second two-run homer of the game, a Statcast-projected 424 feet to left -- clearing the Cardinals’ bullpen entirely.

“[Contreras] is a lot of fun to watch,” said Alec Burleson, who homered in part of his three-hit night. “He’s got power. He takes really good at-bats. We needed him. Obviously, he got hurt earlier [this season and] it would have been nice to have him, but I think we put ourselves in a position where we were able to kind of stay afloat without him. And now he’s here, and he’s been tremendous.”

Contreras returned in late June from a fractured left forearm roughly 6 1/2 weeks after the injury, sparking a Cardinals club that was three games under .500 in June to as many as six over in July. St. Louis has played closer to .500 ball this past month, but with Contreras returning to form -- the Cardinals believe they have more than enough to make it back to the postseason.

And the other pieces showed up Friday, too. Victor Scott II, the Cardinals’ No. 3 prospect, who hit his first homer on Tuesday to ignite the St. Louis’ comeback, lined a clutch two-run double in the eighth to put the Cardinals ahead, 6-5, before Contreras added a pair of insurance runs in the ninth.

Scott, who was sent down after hitting .085 over 20 games in April, has returned with force at the bottom of the lineup. He’s part of the Cardinals’ future, but he’s also contributing at the Major League level in meaningful games down the stretch right now.

“That’s what the league is about,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “It’s being able to make adjustments. It’s one thing to get here. And you learn what you need to do in order to survive. He’s done a nice job of making adjustments. … It’s been fun to watch him.”

Scott added: “I learned a lot through failure the first time. Normally, that’s what creates a better player at the end of things. … Being able to come back up and contribute right away is definitely ideal, and it is a blessing.”

The final piece was the bullpen, which has been reliable for the Cardinals all season. Matthew Liberatore kicked it off with three scoreless frames, striking out three and not allowing a hit while walking one.

Andrew Kittredge then picked up his MLB-best 30th hold in a scoreless eighth before Ryan Helsley kept the Royals off the board in the ninth to seal the win in the opener and his MLB-leading 37th save.

The formula is there. The Cardinals have a reliable ‘pen, young talent and veterans, such as Contreras that have the ability to carry an entire offense. That resulted in a comeback win Friday, but St. Louis is hoping it leads to much more down the stretch.

“I think none of us ever really thought we were out of it,” Burleson said. “Obviously, we took our early lead, and they took that lead from us. We knew that we were going to give ourselves a chance. ... We just kept punching. We just kept throwing punches, and then Victor coming through, that was a lot of fun. That was a lot of excitement.”