ST. LOUIS – Watching the drama that was unfolding in front of him from the on-deck circle on Monday night, Iván Herrera laughed.

Literally, Herrera laughed on a baseball field.

A wide, toothy grin splashed across the face of the Cardinals’ designated hitter and an audible sound came out of Herrera’s mouth when he saw Brewers’ manager Pat Murphy come to the top step of the dugout and demand that standout rookie JJ Wetherholt be walked to load the bases with one out in Monday’s fourth inning.

Never mind that the Cardinals came into that spot a jaw-dropping 10 for 22 (.454) on the season with the bases loaded or that Herrera was sitting in MLB’s Top 10 in on-base percentage (.416). Somewhat amused, somewhat infuriated, Herrera told himself that he had to make the rival Brewers pay in that moment.

Ultimately, Herrera was the last one laughing as he drilled a 2-0 sinker into the left-center gap to score all three runners on base. Herrera knew he got the ball good and the 103.2 mph exit velocity would back up those feelings. After the Cardinals’ 6-3 defeat of the Brewers – St. Louis’ seventh victory in the past eight games – Herrera talked about all the emotions he felt after seeing Milwaukee walk someone to get to him.

“I laughed – I honestly laughed,” Herrera admitted afterward. “People say it’s personal (to walk someone to get to them), but it’s not personal. I just want to have success in that situation because they just walked somebody to pitch to me. Maybe I’m the liability on the team (in their eyes). The thought I had was, ‘OK, you want this? OK, I got you!’”

The Cardinals and Herrera got the Brewers – champions of the NL Central each of the past three seasons – in their first showdown of the season. St. Louis came into the game having already passed recent tests against the Pirates in Pittsburgh (a four-game series) and against the back-to-back champion Dodgers (a series win). Beating the gold standard in the division, Herrera said, hits differently to the Cards.

“We all wanted to win this game, and we know that these games are important because we’re in the same division,” said Herrera, who was 2 for 5 on Monday against Milwaukee pitching. “For us, we’re just continuing to play hard every day and do the same things, and it doesn’t matter who the opponent is.”

One of the biggest keys to Herrera’s game-changing at bat with the bases loaded on Monday night was the patience he showed. In the past, Herrera admitted that he would have been so eager to come through in that spot that he likely would have swung at Chad Tracy’s first-pitch sinker below the zone or the 1-0 cutter that was low and away. As any good hitter knows, those are purpose pitches designed to get overanxious hitters to roll over and provide the inning-ending double play the Brewers were seeking there.

Instead, the 25-year-old Herrera ignored Tracy’s pitches and waited for his pitch and made the Brewers pay.      

“I feel like I hit better in tight positions because usually I lock in a little better,” said Herrera, who is 7 for 26 (.269) with three doubles and 12 RBI with runners in scoring position this season. “Usually, I would have swung at that cutter before and that’s a ground ball. I just focused a little extra there and I said to myself, ‘I know what this guy wants to do. He’s trying to get a ground ball and I’m going to hammer this sinker.’ That’s the exact thought I had, and I was happy I could make it happen.”

Later, a playful Herrera admitted that there was probably some sound logic in walking Wetherholt because he likely would have driven in the runs as well. From the No. 2 spot in the lineup, Herrera has had great looks at how the standout rookie has handled his at bats and he’s come away incredibly impressed – so much so that he recently sat in on one of Wetherholt’s work sessions in the batting cage.

“I’ve been hitting behind JJ all season and it’s just unbelievable how he takes such professional at bats,” Herrera raved. “He was big again (on Monday with two hits, two RBI and a walk) and he’s always making adjustments every day.

“I saw (Wetherholt) working in the cage with (assistant hitting coach) Casey (Chenoweth) and they asked me if I wanted to him and I said, ‘No, I just want to watch you work.’ I just want to see my teammates have success and when you play like that, that’s when the chemistry comes together. We have a great group of guys here.”

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