ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ

JUPITER, Fla. — When Nolan Arenado stepped into the batting cage before Thursday’s Grapefruit League game against the Miami Marlins, the star third baseman used the pregame work to get up to the speed of spring.

He entered the day with one hit — a single — through his first seven at-bats in spring training games. He felt he was not ready to jump on the fastballs he saw Wednesday when he and the Cardinals traveled to Tampa, Florida, to face the New York Yankees, so he spent ample time hitting foam baseballs off a machine that was “cranked up pretty high� to mimic the high spin rates he could see during a game.

After taking three balls in his first at-bat against the Marlins at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Arenado, 33, saw his work pay off in the form of a first-inning three-run homer that cleared the left field wall. He added to his day an inning later when he doubled to left field on a live drive that jumped off his bat with a 108 mph exit velocity, per Statcast.

“It feels good to be ready for a heater and pull the ball in the air again,� Arenado said. “There has been a lot of work on that, and then that double was hit really hard. I worked very hard with the hitting coaches today in the batting cage. It was good. It was cool to see that (and to) hit a ball hard — the hardest ball I hit in like a year or so, probably. ... I don’t think I even hit that number last year at all. That was good.�

Arenado’s appearance in Thursday’s Cardinals lineup was his second in consecutive days after he made the nearly four-hour drive on Wednesday to play in the Cardinals’ Grapefruit League tuneup against the New York Yankees to continue getting at-bats. He echoed that sentiment on Thursday, noting that his body feels “good� and that he is looking to regain his timing at the plate.

Against the Marlins, Arenado turned around a 91.7 mph sinker for the home run and doubled on an 85.4 mph cutter that caught the middle part of the strike zone.

“He was on time today, and that was really good,� Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said of his third baseman. “I know he enjoyed being able to square it up, so it was fun watching it. Today was a really good day. A lot of good swings from different guys, but (Arenado) was awesome.�

Looking to bounce back in 2025 after batting .272 with a .719 on-base plus slugging percentage in 152 games in 2024, Arenado said he’s looking to put his body in a position to hit to drive that ball and to be able to repeat it.

The 33-year-old felt his two at-bats against the Marlins in the Cardinals’ 8-4 win showed he can find that form.

“It was good to just lay off some pitches too,� Arenado said. “I wasn’t just swinging to swing. I laid off some pitches and got a good pitch to hit. It’s spring training, (so) it doesn’t really count, but it’s nice to see that the work paid off.�

Pallante’s 1st spring start

In his first start in an official game this spring, right-hander Andre Pallante allowed four runs, five hits and walked two batters in one-plus inning of work.

Pallante threw 42 pitches in the outing. He was replaced by minor leaguer Zack Weiss with no outs and runners on first and second base in the second inning after allowing three runs. All three outs recorded by Pallante were groundouts.

“He’s going to be on the ground, and there are times where that’s going to happen, where they all get bunched up and they find holes. There’s nothing you can do about it,� Marmol said of Pallante’s start. “Other times, they’re right at people and he’ll have quick innings. But he did what he needed to do, as far as being in the zone and getting the ball on the ground.�

Gorman gets 3B reps

Nolan Gorman made his first start at third base this spring as Arenado started Thursday’s game as the team’s designated hitter.

A primary third baseman through his first two seasons in the minors in 2018 and 2019 before becoming a primary second baseman in 2021, Gorman did not get innings at third base last spring. The former top prospect logged three innings at the position during the regular season.

The Cardinals looked to create additional playing time at third base for Gorman but were unable to trade Arenado before the start of spring training.

“You’ve got to get Gorman over there throughout spring, and this is a great opportunity, especially after (Arenado) played third on the road yesterday, to get him over there. It’s a good matchup,� Marmol said.

Extra bases

Speedster Victor Scott II swiped his first two bases of spring training during Thursday’s contest against the Marlins. Scott stole second in the first inning after drawing a walk to lead off the frame. The 24-year-old collected his second stolen base in the second inning after reaching on a single.

• After right-hander Erick Fedde starts on Friday vs. the Astros, the Cardinals have righty Miles Mikolas scheduled to start Saturday vs. the Washington Nationals and lefty Steven Matz lined up to start Sunday against Miami.

Daniel Guerrero @TheDanGuerrero on X (formerly Twitter) dguerrerro@post-dispatch.com