DeJong goes yard in first game back: ‘A great start’
SEATTLE — Throughout an MLB profession filled with great highs and downright puzzling lows, Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong has all the time had a knack for being a powerful starter.
It’s the half after the sturdy begins that has tended to journey up DeJong previously, however he’s hoping he’s resistant to that occuring now with a new-and-improved plate method that definitely yielded stellar outcomes on Sunday.
DeJong, now 29 with 5 years of MLB service time, homered in his first massive league at-bat in Colorado again in 2017. The shortstop, who was demoted to Triple-A final 12 months following two-plus seasons of hitting struggles, homered in his first sport again with the Cardinals on July 30. On Sunday, in his first sport again after spending a lot of the previous month on rehab assignments due to an ailing again, DeJong homered once more in a three-hit onslaught that sparked the Cardinals’ offense to a 7-3 win over the Mariners at T-Mobile Park.
“Maybe it’s just the excitement of being back,” DeJong stated of his notable homer historical past in his first video games again on the MLB stage. “Being able to take it moment by moment and learn from [past experiences], I want to propel myself with that same attitude moving forward.”
DeJong, who had three hits, a house run and 6 RBIs in his last Triple-A rehab sport earlier than making the journey from Memphis to Seattle, helped the slumping Cardinals keep away from being swept by the Mariners for the primary time in franchise historical past. After St. Louis scored simply six runs within the first two video games of the collection, DeJong was an integral a part of an offense that pounded out 13 hits and smashed three house runs. Lars Nootbaar homered on the sport’s first pitch, Nolan Gorman broke a 3-3 tie with a three-run smash and DeJong gave the Cardinals respiration room together with his seventh-inning clout. DeJong hit singles in two of his first three at-bats, and his 408-foot shot left the bat at 102.9 mph, in response to Statcast.
“Pauly looked good today, and that was a big homer for insurance there,” supervisor Oliver Marmol raved. “We’re encouraged [with DeJong’s progress]. This is a guy who put in a lot of work this offseason. We were excited to see it in spring, but unfortunately, we weren’t able to. We wanted to give him enough at-bats in that rehab stint to show what he was capable of doing, and today was a good start.”
Of course, the Cardinals and DeJong have been right here earlier than, hopeful the shortstop has rediscovered the swing that allowed him to hit 25, 19 and 30 homers in his first three MLB seasons. After showing within the All-Star Game in 2019, DeJong’s profession slowly slipped away over the subsequent three years. Injuries and sickness rattled him in ’20, and his batting common plummeted to .197 in 2021 and .157 in ‘22.
Last season, DeJong was despatched to Triple-A Memphis following one other sluggish begin, and he appeared to find a trusted and repeatable stroke. He homered in that first sport again with the Cards in Washington final July, however extra struggles adopted.
With the group demanding he make substantive modifications on the plate, DeJong spent a lot of the winter on the Cardinals’ complicated in Jupiter, Fla. What arose from that work was a extra upright stance that options solely a minimal stride to raised assist him be on time and balanced on the plate. He used that on Sunday whereas nearly effortlessly ripping balls again by the center of the sphere.
“I think it’s monumental, really,” stated DeJong, who wore a maroon go well with with a paisley sample for the group’s flight to San Francisco, the place the Cards will face the Giants over the subsequent 4 nights. “I don’t really watch myself anymore [on video replays] because I want to be able to feel it out there. So I don’t really know what it looks like, but I know what it feels like in my head. I feel on time and ready to hit. Obviously, we have a long way to go, but today was a great start.”
Jack Flaherty, whose three runs allowed in six innings on Sunday gave the Cardinals the type of high quality begin they badly wanted, feels DeJong is lastly poised to be a sustainable difference-maker for St. Louis.
“It was nice to see Pauly today, and I gave him a big hug,” stated Flaherty, who allowed six or fewer hits for a thirtieth straight begin since September of 2020 — the longest energetic streak in MLB. “We know what Paul can do when he’s proper. When he does what he can do, it provides one other dimension to the lineup. We’ve acquired numerous depth on this group.”
