JUPITER, Fla. — A 17th-round draft pick out of Auburn back in 2022, Brody Moore had at least one at-bat in four different levels this past season and at least an RBI and run scored at three of the stops.
What he did not have was a second pro career home run.
It won't show up on or anywhere on his page, but it will be impossible to forgot the crowd cheering and chanting for a curtain call at Roger Dean Stadium on Sunday. Moore hit a tie-breaking, game-winning, last at-bat home run to send the Cardinals hurtling toward their 10-6 victory against Houston.
Oh, and it was a grand slam.
After he rounded the bases and dropped down into the dugout, the crowd brought him back up (with some urging from teammates) for a curtain call.
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"He was pumped," manager Oliver Marmol said. "Everybody's pumped. Crowd got into it."
The Cardinals scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to rally for the win against the visiting Astros. All of the runs came on homers. Luken Baker, a few hours after facing Sonny Gray in a live batting practice setting where he was not allowed to swing the bat, drilled a two-run homer in the eighth to tie the game, 6-6. The Cardinals reloaded the bases to bring up Moore for his second at-bat of the game.
He had replaced Nolan Arenado in the lineup and played shortstop, bumping Jose Fermin to third base.
(Brandon Crawford started at shortstop but left the game after being struck on the hand by a pitch. Crawford had X-rays taken of his left hand on site, and he said afterward that there were no fractures. The hand was sore.)
And Moore isn't even in camp.
The Cardinals beckoned Moore over from the minor-league side to give some infield depth for the later innings. He was assigned a jersey (No. 81) that had no name on the back. Moore struck out in his first at-bat and then delivered when his spot came back around, this time to face Astros' reliever Luis Contreras. He had 8 1/3 innings in the majors this past season and held opponents to a .179 average.
Moore's grand slam was the punctuation at the end of the game, but throughout there were moments that could carry weight in the coming week as the Cardinals finalize their 40-player roster:
• Dylan Carlson hit his second home run of the week and finished two-for-four with two RBIs. He and the manager spoke about he has improved the "intent" of his swing, and what that means is he's intending to do damage. This has been apparent during batting practice, too, when he's not just looking to make contact and lift pitches. He's aggressively swinging for distance and power.
• Andre Pallante continues to confound hitters with the power curve that he's brought into this season. The right-handed reliever allowed two runs on two hits in his two innings of work. He struck out four and did not walk a batter. He got swings and misses on his fastball, and that is related to the curve that just has kept hitters uneasy so far this spring.
• Nolan Gorman stole a base.
• Ryan Helsley walked three batters in his inning, but the only run he allowed came on a solo shot. He was able to otherwise minimize the trouble and regain a hold on the inning with a strikeout.
• Matthew Liberatore allowed three runs on five hits through 3 2/3 innings. He again did not walk a batter and struck out five. It is his second consecutive appearance where the line has been littered with runs and hits, but the stuff played. Liberatore had 10 swings and misses. He had at least two on four different pitches, and his fastball 95.8 mph and his sinker got as high as 95.6 mph.
Liberatore and Zack Thompson are competing for a spot in the bullpen or a spot in the rotation, either as a sub for Gray or a sixth starter for the opening week or two of the season.