ANAHEIM, Calif. • Before coming west to California, where he’s usually had a rush of success, Cardinals outfielder Stephen Piscotty welcomed the best test yet for the adjustment he had been trying to make at the plate.
Pittsburgh righthander Gerrit Cole started against the Cardinals this past Sunday, and Piscotty felt that Cole’s hard, zipping fastball with bite was the kind of pitch that had stymied him earlier this season. If he could pick up Cole’s fastball and make more consistent contact with it then, he said, “I knew I was in a good place.”
The four hits didn’t hurt, either.