Cardinals' Marcell Ozuna: Torrid pace heading into regular season
Ozuna, who went 1-for-2 with four RBI from a three-run home run and a sacrifice fly in Thursday's 8-2 Grapefruit League win over the Braves, is now 11-for-22 after notching only four hits and 13 strikeouts in his first 28 spring at-bats, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Manager Mike Matheny attributed the ragged start to his offseason acquisition trying too hard to make a solid first impression. He noted that Ozuna "wanted to come in here with a bang and bounce a ball over that roof", in reference to the administration building of his old Miami Marlins squad that sits behind the left-field wall of Roger Dean Stadium. Ozuna has subsequently relaxed at the plate and thrived as a result, acknowledging that he was trying hard to prove himself early on. Given his breakout 2017 in Miami last season and body of work in the latter half of spring, the 27-year-old could be primed for another 30-homer, 100-RBI campaign.
