JUPITER, Fla. — A driving reason behind the Cardinals' wish to move Willson Contreras from catcher to first base if he remained in St. Louis was more than just keeping his bat in the lineup more often.
It was about clearing a way to get another bat in the lineup now.
And about being ready for another bat on the way.
Two of the Cardinals' top young catchers, both signed out of Panama after impressive showings as youths, Ivan Herrera and Leonardo Bernal mashed home runs Friday for a 6-4 victory against Houston Astros in the first night game of spring training at Roger Dean Stadium. Herrera followed a pair of doubles in his previous game against Houston with a two-run shot in the third inning Friday.
Bernal replaced Herrera at catcher and lofted a solo homer in the seventh inning to set the final score.
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Bernal's homer, his first in big-league camp, traveled 404 feet.
With Contreras at first, Herrera, the Cardinals' top prospect at catcher for several years, is positioned as the starter with Pedro Pages tagging in often as a strong defensive option. Herrera, 24, appeared in 72 games wit the Cardinals this past season and his .800 OPS and .428 slugging percentage were the second highest on the team to Contreras for any player with more than 200 plate appearances.
Bernal, 21, has made steady progress through the Cardinals' organization since they signed him as an international amateur in part because of an impressive tournament as a teenager where his leadership from the catching position for the national team galvanized his Panamanian peers.
Herrera's homer overtook the Astros' early lead.Â
He also caught four innings from Miles Mikolas. The veteran right-hander allowed two runs on four hits. He also struck out three, including two in the same inning and on off-speed chase pitches that he has been working on teasing hitters when he gets a two-strike count.
Infielder Jose Fermin had an eventful evening.
Fermin reached base three times. Once he took an aggressive lead off first base and was promptly picked off. Another time he raced to advance on a fly ball, slid into second, and then was curiously called out when it did not appear like he slid past the bag or made a play for third base. Either way it was a double play.
Soon after, Fermina delivered an RBI single to break a 3-3 tie in the sixth.
After the game, the Cardinals optioned right-handers Matt Svanson and Sem Robberse to Class AAA Memphis and the minor-league camp. Robberse pitched two innings in the win against the Astros and allowed one run on three hits.
Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold gives columnist Jeff Gordon three positives and three negatives from the spring training to date.
Back at the ballpark where he injured his hamstring a year ago and delayed his Cardinals start, Sonny Gray focused on execution. What's next? "Scouting," he says.
"I was not really pleased with our offensive performance at the beginning," new hitting coach said as Cardinals hit .184 through nine games before a few bursts this week.
Right fielder experienced pain after making a play in the bottom of the second inning of a 6-4 victory against Washington. Team awaits a diagnosis Wednesday.
