SAN FRANCISCO — When talking with his father ahead of Monday’s late game against the Giants, Cardinals utility fielder Jose Fermin described what he considered the “biggest hit of my career.” It wasn’t his home run in the majors. It wasn’t another of the hits that drove in runs or helped extend a rally.
It was a single in a forgettable inning of a forgettable September game except it will always be unforgettable for Fermin.
The liner to center field moved a teammate into scoring position, but the inning stalled from there and left Fermin stranded at second. But, still, that single was his “biggest hit” because that hit unlike his other 39 in the majors came against future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander.
“I saw him pretty well,” Fermin said. “I was feeling confident.”
That’s what he told his father and some teammates Monday as the Cardinals readied to face Verlander for a second time this season. There was just one hurdle.
Fermin had to first get in the lineup.
A last-minute addition to the starting lineup when Brendan Donovan was scratched due to soreness and stiffness related to a recent stint on the injured list, Fermin continued to see Verlander well. He ripped two doubles off the veteran right-hander. He scored the first run of the Cardinals’ 6-5 victory at Oracle Park after a leadoff double in the third. He drove in the Cardinals’ second with a two-out double in the fifth. Fermin also mixed in a handful of stellar or savvy defensive plays, including a hard-charging, running throw on a grounder in the ninth to help Jojo Romero protect a one-run lead and secure his eighth save.
“He’s playing good baseball right now,” manager Oli Marmol said.
Fermin, 26, had three RBIs in the Cardinals’ win Sunday, and he has at least an RBI in four consecutive appearances. The two hits Monday raised his season average to .315, but that comes in scarce at-bats due to shuttling between Class AAA Memphis and the majors and also not being among the priority players when it comes to the Cardinals’ youth auditions. In the span of five days earlier this month, Fermin was optioned twice to Triple-A and recalled each time within hours due to an injury to a teammate.
Optioned before the Cardinals opened a series in Milwaukee, Fermin didn’t leave the team hotel because he knew there was a chance he would be recalled less than a day later.
And he was.
“It’s a guy who hasn’t had a ton of opportunity based on other guys coming in and being a little more of the prospects or guys we have to see,” Marmol said. “When you give him an opportunity he puts together a good at-bat. Unfortunately, up to this point, he’s never had a true run. He goes about it the right way. Never complains. When you call on him, he’ll give you everything he’s got.”
With the Cardinals emphasizing the future and evaluating players for their role it in, Fermin doesn’t have the priority playing time of others. He doesn’t have the clear position or the investment of at-bats to unlock potential. A few other players have provided more production with their ample opportunity, such as Alec Burleson with three hits in the win Monday and Ivan Herrera with a two-run homer that tied the game and powered the Cardinals toward their victory. But few have done as much as Fermin has in his scattered at-bats. That is both a reflection on the Cardinals’ overall performance as well as his limited engagements and finding his place on the roster. If there’s a fit in the future for him, it could look a lot like Monday.
Be ready at a moment’s notice.
Play the infield.
Go.
“I have a feeling he’s not talked about enough,” starter Michael McGreevy said.
Fermin jumped the first pitch he saw from Verlander for a double to left field. Fermin pulled a 91.6-mph fastball that put the Cardinals’ first rally in motion. He scored on Burleson’s RBI single. An inning later, Fermin came to the plate after Jordan Walker’s walk. Walker stole second, and Fermin doubled to the left-center gap to tie the break a 1-1 tie.
Herrera’s two-run homer in the fifth inning tied the game, 4-4, and the Cardinals scored two more runs on Verlander (3-11) in the inning to set the lead the Giants had to chance against the Cardinals resolute bullpen. McGreevy (8-3) allowed five runs on six hits through five innings and left the game with the lead.
The whole time, Fermin was contributing on defense.
Put at second base to replace Donovan, Fermin covered first in one of the bigger plays of the game. Giants leadoff hitter Heliot Ramos singled to right field to score two runs and pushed the Giants out to a 4-2 lead. When the throw went home, Ramos attempted to take second. He thought better of it and went back to first base – only to find Fermin there to apply the tag. That was the third out of the inning, and the Giants stranded a runner at third base. Three innings later, Fermin applied two tags to assure he got the out at second base that retired the lead runner.
“I’m trying to do the little things – backing up bases,” Fermin said. “You never know. Plays like that where I cover first – you never know when those things can change the game or something like that. You always have to be there.”
That is a role teams have on their bench.
It helps for that player to be a complement to other starters, such as Fermin’s right-handed bat to left-handed hitters like Nolan Gorman, Donovan, or rising top prospect and infielder JJ Wetherholt. It helps for that player to be able to make contact, grind through an at-bat, and pounce on pitches for extra-base hits. Fermin can handle several positions, including both middle infield spots, and he has experience in the outfield. He’s made some baserunning missteps in the past week but offset those with reliable play in the field and consistent contact and production at the plate. And Fermin’s shown often that his enthusiasm, constant smile, and ability to just make some contact isn’t going to be upset by a carousel of promotions or a last-minute start.
Those contributions have a future.
“I’m always ready whenever my name is called,” Fermin said. “I’m always ready.”
Nolan Gorman got the largest share of starts during Gold Glove-winners recent absence, but a trade would open hot corner for JJ Wetherholt’s audition, too.
Ivan Herrera’s two-run shot in the fifth inning ties the game and pushes the Cardinals through a seesaw exchange for a 6-5 victory late Monday at Oracle Park.
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Derrick Goold | Post-Dispatch
Lead baseball writer
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