WASHINGTON -- When Cardinals outfielder Harrison Bader dropped down a bunt single in the eighth inning of Monday night’s series-opening win over the Nationals, it was his first such hit since 2017.

Bader insists there won’t be nearly as long a wait for the next one.

“I’ve just been working a lot behind the scenes on bunting because I haven’t opened it up really at all,” said Bader, who also has one sac bunt this season and three in his career. “I like to think I have the ability to just drop one down. Because those hits throughout the course of the season allow you to kind of stay above water.”

Bader had entered Monday on a nasty 1-for-16 slide, with a stint on the injured list for a right hamstring strain thrown in the middle.

Unlike some hitters who try to use a bunt to spark them out of a slump, Bader had already snapped it by the time he squared around Monday, homering to spark a six-run barrage in the fifth inning.

Bader looks at bunting as a tool to help keep the defense honest.

“It just opens up more of the field for you,” Bader said. “Which is every hitter’s goal, ultimately.”

Manager Mike Shildt credited Bader’s improved comfort level to how he spent his time recuperating from his ailing hamstring.

“To his credit, he put a lot, a lot of effort into it,” Shildt said. “He was on the [IL] recently, unfortunately. He’s had time to work on that part of his game, and it paid off.”

We’ll do it live

After speaking with Shildt and the Cardinals' coaching staff on Tuesday, reliever Luke Gregerson (right shoulder impingement) will throw live batting practice on Wednesday in Washington.

“Just so we can have a better feel for [his recovery] and have an idea against our hitters,” Shildt explained.

Gregerson has been on a Minor League rehab assignment since the start of the season, one that will reach its 30-day limit on Friday. In 11 games, he’s allowed two runs over 11 innings across three levels of Minor League ball.

Gregerson struggled in the first year of a two-year, $11 million contract with St. Louis in 2018, pitching to a 7.11 ERA over 17 appearances while spending most of the season on the IL.

Take a sick day

After outfielder Dexter Fowler was out of the lineup on Monday as a planned off-day, Shildt kept him out again unexpectedly on Tuesday as the switch-hitter recovers from illness. Fowler pinch-hit in the sixth inning on Monday night, lining out to third.

“Hopefully it’s a 24-hour deal and he’ll be back in and ready to go tomorrow,” Shildt said.