BOSTON — For anyone who has seen the potential impact of Nolan Gorman’s bat, the temptation is immensely strong to put his name in the Cardinals lineup on a nightly basis and not take him out until forced to by injury, absence or act of God.
With each day it grows stronger than a Tyler O’Neill bench press or the force behind a Ryan Helsley fastball. Sooner or later Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol will give in to that strong pull, but in the meantime deploying Gorman at moments of his choosing isn’t a terrible option for Marmol.
Friday night, Gorman began the evening on the bench as the Boston Red Sox sent left-handed starting pitcher James Paxton to the mound and Marmol played the matchups and inserted right-handed hitters into his lineup instead of Gorman, who came into the day leading the team in home runs and RBIs and among the National League leaders in RBIs.