One day after homering in first at-bat, Paul DeJong gets first start

One day after a thunderous entrance to the big-league stage, Paul DeJong made his first start with the Cardinals.

One day after hitting a pinch-hit home run in his first major-league at-bat, rookie infielder Paul DeJong returned to Busch Stadium with the St. Louis Cardinals and found himself in the starting lineup for Monday afternoon’s Memorial Day matchup with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

With Kolten Wong on the disabled list, DeJong was pressed into action at second base, a position that he had only played five times during minor league games and seven times during spring training. The 23-year-old, who has played mostly shortstop this season after primarily being a third baseman in years past, didn’t look at all out of place during the Cardinals’ 5-1 loss to Los Angeles.

DeJong certainly made the case for continued playing time in his first action at Busch Stadium, as he was the only player on the team to collect multiple hits, going 2 for 4 with a seventh-inning double which was the Cardinals’ only extra-base hit for the day. He also fit in well at second base, successfully fielding three grounders, including one in the eighth inning on which he teamed up with Aledmys Díaz and Matt Carpenter for a 4-6-3 double play.

The only hiccup for the rookie was a seventh-inning play on which he attempted to score from second base after Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager failed to field a José Martínez grounder and let the ball bounce into left field. Third base coach Chris Maloney sent DeJong, but he was thrown out at home plate by Dodgers left fielder Corey Seager.

Next: Kolten Wong hits 10-day DL with left elbow strain

Mike Matheny said in his postgame press conference after Monday’s loss that DeJong would be given more opportunities, saying that the rookie wouldn’t have been brought up if he wasn’t going to get his fair share of action.