LOS ANGELES 鈥 Hours before first pitch at each ballpark, Cardinals catcher Yohel Pozo will snap some photos and capture some video on his phone of what it鈥檚 like on the field or behind the scenes. He shares this images with family so they can follow along and even experience every step of his big league journey.
鈥淢ore than anybody I鈥檝e been around as far as just appreciating taking it in every single day,鈥 manager Oliver Marmol said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a new day, and he鈥檚 happier than hell to be out there.鈥
Pozo explained how he doesn鈥檛 want to miss a thing.
A similar approach at the plate has carved out an unexpected role.
With a go-ahead, pinch-hit RBI late Monday night at Dodger Stadium, Pozo affirmed his place as the Cardinals鈥 most effective bat off the bench. That is, when he鈥檚 not in the lineup. The right-handed contact creator upped his pinch-hit average to 6 for 12 this season with his single in the ninth inning that provided the difference in a 3-2 victory against the Dodgers. He鈥檚 slugging .917 in those at-bats with as many extra-base hits (three) as singles (three). But that only hints at his success in the pinch.
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New to the role when thrust into it earlier this season, Pozo went hitless in his first five pinch-hit at-bats. Since, he鈥檚 6 for 8 with six RBIs. He went five consecutive pinch-hit at-bats with a hit. His RBI single Monday was the fourth time he鈥檚 put the Cardinals ahead with his hit.
鈥淚f you asked me if I was able to do this at the beginning of the year, I would say, 鈥業 don鈥檛 know,鈥欌 Pozo said. 鈥淒oing it and having it is really impressive and makes me super-happy. I always like to hit (and) compete. Maybe it鈥檚 the way that I see the game.鈥
At the start of spring training, Pozo wasn鈥檛 sure of his vantage point for the coming season. With no offers from a major league organization during the winter, he was ready to sign with a team in Mexico鈥檚 professional league. The Cardinals, concerned about their catching depth after evaluating it in the first few weeks of camp, signed Pozo to a minor league deal during spring training, assigned him to the minor league fields and made no promises.
Midway through March, he had played his way into big league camp.
An injury to Ivan Herrera during the first road trip of the season led to Pozo鈥檚 promotion from Class AAA Memphis 鈥 and he hasn鈥檛 gone back.
His performance as a pinch hitter is part of the reason, and his production at the plate has steadily increased his starts behind the plate. Pozo paired with starter Miles Mikolas for Tuesday night鈥檚 late game at Dodger Stadium. It was his third start of the six-game road trip and his seventh in the Cardinals鈥 past 16 games. In the games he does not start at catcher, he prepares as a pinch hitter.
鈥淚f we鈥檙e losing by a lot, I pinch hit,鈥 he said. 鈥淚f we鈥檙e winning by a lot, I pinch hit. In the closest games, I pinch hit. I鈥檓 always ready for that.鈥
Pozo ducks into the batting cage at the start of the sixth inning and prepares for a pinch-hit spot by getting his body and swing loose. He鈥檒l hit fastballs off the pitching machine. In the seventh, he鈥檒l dial up the breaking-ball pitching machine and hit off of it. In the eighth, if he hasn鈥檛 been used already, he goes back to the fastballs.
鈥淚鈥檓 ready to go,鈥 he said.
Pozo remains an aggressive hitter 鈥 鈥淚 know I can make contact with pitches out of the zone and hard contact,鈥 he said 鈥 and that approach can play in a pinch. That ability to make contact allows him to hit against lefties or right-handers as a pinch hitter. He gives Marmol a more universal option that rarely strikes out and can put the ball in play to generate a run or, in the case of Monday鈥檚 ninth inning, rescue a rally with a two-out single.
As he walked across the same field where he took photos hours earlier, Pozo looked at the Dodgers defense in the ninth. The Cardinals had runners at the corners 鈥 and they鈥檇 been there for two outs already. Pozo saw a 鈥渄eep hole between first and second鈥 and figured he could send a variety of pitches through it to right field. He got a cutter and lifted it for the winning hit.
鈥淲e take our shot, and he comes through often with a really good at-bat,鈥 Marmol said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 in the zone for a pretty long time (with his swing), and that allows for him to put a lot of (pitches) in play. You need contact, and he gives you a shot at it.鈥
Said Pozo: 鈥淚 signed for an opportunity.鈥
He鈥檒l get more as a result of what he鈥檚 done with it so far.
Running numbers on Noot鈥檚 clutch catch
Both of the Cardinals鈥 key defensive plays in the ninth inning Monday after Pozo鈥檚 hit came in right field by Lars Nootbaar. He quickly cut off a ball in right-center to hold Shohei Ohtani to a leadoff single in the bottom of the ninth. The next batter, Mookie Betts, skied a fly ball that appeared ready to parachute down the right field line for a base hit unless one of three Cardinals鈥 fielders reached it.
Nootbaar did with a diving catch and sent him sliding into foul territory.
鈥淭o make that grab that part of the game,鈥 Marmol said. 鈥淗uge.鈥
According to Statcast data, Nootbaar covered 116 feet to make the catch, and he did so at his highest sprint speed of the season. The catch was considered a four-star play on a five-star scale for its difficulty. An average outfielder has a catch probability of 35% on the play. It鈥檚 one of the lowest-probability catches of Nootbaar鈥檚 season.
鈥淵ou try to just put your head down,鈥 said Nootbaar, who started in center on Tuesday. 鈥淵ou kind of just sell out for the out in that situation there, and you kind of just have disregard for your body, your safety, and just go after it. ... You try to do everything you can, especially on this stage. Trying to suppress the momentum as much as possible.鈥
Extra bases
- Tucked into Monday鈥檚 night victory against the Dodgers was Riley O鈥橞rien鈥檚 first big league win. It came at the ballpark he made his Cardinals debut in the season-opening series at Dodger Stadium in 2024 鈥 and then missed a long stretch of time due to injury.
- Brendan Donovan is the Cardinals鈥 winner of the annual Heart and Hustle Award, which has been given annually for the past 20 years by the players鈥 alumni association. The overall winner who can capture 鈥渁 true passion for the game and who best embody the values, spirit, and tradition of the game鈥 will be revealed in November. The initial winner of the award, in 2005, was Cardinals shortstop David Eckstein. Other Cardinals to win were Albert Pujols (2009) and Paul Goldschmidt (2022).
