SAN DIEGO — The competing dynamics of batting eighth in a National League lineup, a spot in which an opponent often can sidestep a hitter to face the pitcher, makes it a spot that rewards — and teaches — discipline while also being an absolutely lousy place for a hitter to find his swing if there are few pitches worth a swing.
Familiar with that location in the lineup and its intrinsic frustrations, Cardinals outfielder Harrison Bader has adopted an approach with the bat that sounds adapted from his glove.
“Play the ball,” Bader said last weekend, speaking with the Post-Dispatch near the visitors’ dugout at Petco Park.