SEATTLE — Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras held his mitt inside and high, and then higher, breaking from his crouch to set the target for reliever Giovanny Gallegos in and up, almost tucking the glove into the hitter’s back armpit.
The night after saying the Cardinals needed to pitch “mean,” Contreras was putting mitt where his mouth was and calling for the 0-1 pitch to move Eugenio Suarez off the plate. If Gallegos could wedge the pitch inside enough and up enough it would nudge Suarez back and make him vulnerable to the slider, again.
So Contreras set the target.