ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Stephen Piscotty wasn’t entirely sure what reliever Cam Bedrosian's intentions were in the seventh inning Wednesday night.

On one hand, first base was vacant, there were two out and Bedrosian seemed fairly content to nibble at the margins of the strike zone. After he got ahead 1-2, Bedrosian bounced a slider in the dirt, then threw a 96-mph, shin-high fastball for a ball to make the count full.

Matt Holliday, who had homered the night before, was on deck, and pitchers rarely covet facing the most intimidating hitter in the St. Louis Cardinals' lineup with multiple men on base.

Stephen Piscotty's RBI single in the seventh inning Wednesday was his league-leading 17th hit with runners in scoring position. AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi

So Piscotty, wondering what Bedrosian’s mindset was, narrowed his vision to the parameters of the strike zone. When Bedrosian hung a slider away, the second-year outfielder flipped it to right field to give the Cardinals a crucial insurance run in their 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

It was Piscotty’s 17th hit with a runner in scoring position, tops in the major leagues. Much like Holliday, who has 15 times more major league at-bats, or Matt Carpenter, who has six times as many, Piscotty has a discerning eye and is comfortable hitting with two strikes. He fits the Cardinals mold.

“Great at-bat,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “That kind of situational hitting is going to be the difference for us.”

And yet, thus far it hasn’t been. The Cardinals might have built a reputation for their situational, professional hitting, but 2016 has been more of a feast-or-famine approach. They either bludgeon bad pitching or get shut down by the good stuff. They led the major leagues in slugging percentage entering Wednesday, but that brawn and bravado seemed to disappear with marquee pitching talent on the mound.

On Wednesday, they showed a bit more finesse, clustering eight singles, perhaps the most crucial of which was Piscotty’s with the Angels showing some signs of staging a comeback.

“I think tonight was a great sign. I felt like this is a type of game we haven’t done too much. It’s been kind of all or nothing,” Piscotty said. “These are important games to scratch across runs, especially with Jaime [Garcia] dealing.”

Much as the Cardinals probably aren’t going to continue pounding down walls all season, their starting rotation wasn’t going to continue to put up middle-of-the-pack numbers. The two veterans, Adam Wainwright and Mike Leake, are showing signs of getting things turned around, and the younger pitchers, led by Garcia, have been impressive all along.

Garcia has been the ace with little fanfare. He leads the Cardinals in ERA (2.58), innings (45⅓) and strikeouts (48), which might come as a surprise to anyone not in a Cardinals uniform. The Cardinals are aware of how lethal his movement and command can be and are simply hoping they can defy the odds and keep him healthy all season.

“I’m healthy, I’m working extremely hard and I’m doing everything I have to do between starts to go out there and compete,” Garcia said.

If the Cardinals are going to get back to a model of dominant pitching and good enough defense, they could probably benefit from some offensive versatility. They’re not going to have a lot of four-homer games against the kind of starting pitchers they’ll face in big September or October games.

“You’ve got to set realistic goals for each game,” Piscotty said.

It doesn’t hurt to have a plan for each and every pitch, either.