ST. LOUIS -- In a little over 24 hours, the Cardinals have packed in three games and three wins -- two of them comeback walk-off victories.

In Sunday afternoon’s 4-3 walk-off win over the Reds, the Cardinals’ hero was Harrison Bader, who came to the plate with Tyler O’Neill at third base and Yadier Molina at second. Bader looked out to five infielders and two outfielders -- one in right-center and one in left-center.

He paid them no mind.

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“I was trying to get the ball in the air with a man on third, less than two outs,” Bader said. “Infielders didn’t play into my approach. The biggest thing there was slowing everything down, not making the situation more than it has to be.”

He took a called strike and then a ball from Reds reliever Michael Lorenzen before lifting a fly ball to right field -- right where nobody stood. Center fielder Nick Senzel didn’t make it over in time, O’Neill scored and Bader had notched his first career walk-off RBI. The Cardinals have a chance for a four-game, back-to-back doubleheader sweep over the Reds on Sunday night.

“That was a really good at-bat by Harrison,” Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said. “Very patient, everything under control, took a quality at-bat and didn’t make the moment bigger than it is. That’s a sign of a winning player.”

That winning player contributed in more than one way Sunday afternoon. He started the Cardinals’ rally in the bottom of the seventh inning when they trailed the Reds by two. His single drove in Jose Martinez to bring the Cardinals’ deficit to one, and Paul DeJong -- who was pinch-hitting for Saturday’s walk-off hero Matt Carpenter -- hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth to tie the game.

After finding his swing during a demotion to Triple-A Memphis in the beginning of August, Bader has also found the fun in baseball since his return. It’s showing on the field, and in his results. 

In the second inning Sunday, Bader made a stellar diving catch on Freddy Galvis’ fly ball in right-center field to keep the Reds scoreless for pitcher Miles Mikolas, who gave up three runs in six innings Sunday afternoon.

When Bader caught the ball, he sprawled out on the ground with a smile from ear-to-ear -- which was not unlike the smile he had after his walk-off hit.

“Off the bat, all day,” Bader said, with a wink, about his confidence in making that catch.

“I’ve always had fun on the baseball field, but I think at times it shows up a bit more, especially because of the beginning of the year for me individually. … I’m just going out there and playing baseball and focusing again on doing one thing on any side of the baseball to help this team win.”

Bader gives the credit to his teammates, who welcomed him back on Aug. 20 with open arms. Since then, he’s batting .333 with more walks (eight) than strikeouts (five), and he’s bolstered the Cardinals’ outfield with his speed and defense.

“Biggest thing with Harrison is letting his skill play,” Shildt said. “Letting his ability come to him, letting the game come to him. He wants to do so well so badly, and now he’s just trusting the game and his God-given ability, which is pretty immense. Just playing the game, seeing the game, enjoying himself.”

Bader is contributing to a winning team -- one that is in first place in the National League Central, 3 1/2 games ahead of the Cubs -- and he’s embracing it.

“To come back to a family-like feel in the clubhouse, it just means the world to me,” Bader said. “Every pitcher, every position player came over and gave me a hug to tell me I was doing well. When you enter back into that, the adjustment is super simple and super easy. At the end of the day, winning is the most important thing. Especially with what we’ve got going on, we’re all aware of it. When that comes to mind, it takes all the pressure off of me.”