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That change has put him in a spot where he’s looked to adjust to a league that’s adjusted to him.

Through 75 games after beginning the season as the Cardinals’ opening-day center fielder, Scott entered Friday batting .239 with a .330 on-base percentage, and a .322 slugging percentage. The 24-year-old speedster has stolen 22 bases on 23 attempts and scored 35 runs while remaining a regular in the Cardinals lineup.

Scott began his season by posting a .290/.357/.403 slash line in his first 37 games. But in 38 games since, Scott is batting .179 with a .298 on-base percentage.

“It’s just a constant game of adjustments,� Scott said Friday before the Cardinals opened a three-game series at Progressive Field vs. the Guardians. “For me, being an everyday guy … it’s just understanding how I’m being attacked from the last month vs. where I was at the beginning of the season and how I was getting attacked then. It’s two different attack plans. I’m just making that adjustment.�

During April, fastballs made up 51.9% of the pitches Scott was offered, per Statcast. He batted .372 on fastballs and whiffed on 18.5% of time while owning a .188 batting average and a 32.2% whiff rate against breaking pitches, which made up 28.6% of the pitches he was offered.

The rate of breaking balls Scott saw through May jumped to 34.4% and sat at 30.2% in June ahead of Friday’s series opener in Cleveland. Across May, Scott hit .167 on breaking pitches. He had a .167 average on the 73 breaking pitches he saw through June while seeing his batting average on fastballs dip to .195 as pitchers have attacked him up in the strike zone, leading the left-handed hitter to chase on fastballs more often.

“You have to give him enough playing time to combat it because it’s clear on how he’s getting pitched,� Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “They’re beating him up top with the fastball. They’re spinning him down under. He’s having trouble with both. He’s having trouble laying off spin down, and he’s having trouble not chasing up. He’s aware of it, and now it’s a matter of having the discipline to combat it, which I believe he will be able to do.

“He’s very aware. Now, I’m curious to see how quickly he can adjust back to the league.�

Considering Scott’s skillset as a speed threat, how he swings back into production may not require “swinging his way out of it,� Marmol noted.

“The adjustment may not be knocks as much as, ‘Hey, they’re not throwing you in the zone as much as they were early. Therefore, start taking your walks,� Marmol said.

How Scott’s speed impacted an 8-7 win on Tuesday vs. the Cubs offers a glimpse at that.

Scott went hitless in two at-bats but drew a walk and scored from first base later that inning on a double from Masyn Winn in the Cardinals’ one-run win.

“It’s just a balance of understanding, ‘Okay, how can I affect the game vs. not being effective?� Scott said. “I just try to stay away from that not being effective pool and just try to do something that day in order to contribute, whether it be a walk, two hits, a hit, a bunt hit — just do something.�

Walker nears rehab

Jordan Walker (appendicitis) could begin a rehab assignment with Class AAA Memphis as early as Saturday, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol.

Walker was hospitalized on Tuesday night and received a nonsurgical treatment for appendicitis to prevent a more severe issue and returned home on Wednesday.

Marmol said Walker would begin the rehab assignment “as long as everything goes okay� on Friday. The Cardinals wanted to see how Walker’s body would respond to increased activity after a pair of days without any physical activity. Marmol noted Walker would expected to have a regular workload when he begins his rehab assignment. Walker was not with the Cardinals in Cleveland.

Nootbaar returns to lineup

After missing back-to-back games on Wednesday and Thursday because of an intercostal injury, left fielder Lars Nootbaar returned to the Cardinals starting lineup on Friday.

Nootbaar had experience discomfort in his rib cage when the Cardinals were in Milwaukee for a four-game series that began on June 12. He received an anti-inflammatory injection this past week that required 48 hours of inactivity, which set him up to miss time against the Cubs but be ready for the weekend series in Cleveland.

Before Nootbaar took swings during Friday’s pregame to test the injury, the 27-year-old outfielder said he did not have any “real problems� with the injury and said he had “full intentions of playing� vs. the Guardians.

Former Brown Ed Mickelson dies

Ed Mickelson, a member of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Browns in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, died Friday morning at the age of 98. Mickelson was one of two living former Browns players and one of three former players in Major League Baseball who served in World War II. Born in Ottawa, Illinois, Mickelson played for the Browns, Cardinals, Cubs and the Portland Beavers in the Pacific Coast League. Mickelson also worked as a teacher, counselor and coach at University City and Parkway Central high schools.

Billy Hunter is the lone living former ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Brown following Mickelson’s death.