Nolan Arenado Adjustment Propels Cardinals to Comeback Win

“As you get older, there are certain feels that used to work that don’t work,” Arenado told Goold after Friday's game. “I’ve got to start doing it. I still feel like I’ve got a lot of good baseball in me, but I’ve got to make adjustments and that’s what I’m trying to do. Miles is doing it. As you get older, you have to adjust. If Albert Pujols can do a leg kick and adjust, I think we all need adjusting too.”

And those changes showed up big for him on Friday night. In the bottom of the sixth, Arenado found himself coming to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. The Arenado of recent might roll over or strike out, but this Nolan Arenado drove the ball deep into the left-center field gap and off of Alek Thomas' glove, scoring all three runners. Arenado himself dove into third head first, with his first triple since 2023. 

Arenado's mention of Albert Pujols is interesting. Pujols spent most of the early part of his career with a very subtle lift and turn of his lead foot, but injuries and age later on caused him to shift to a much larger leg kick. 

In addition, Arenado's bump down to the six-hole could shape up to be the best thing for his season. The change allows Arenado to have less at-bats but still be put in opportunities to cash in runs, like Friday night's bases loaded situation in the sixth. Even in a small sample size thus far, it looks to be working for the veteran.