DeJong goes deep as Cardinals defeat Royals 6-3 in lone summer exhibition
ST. LOUIS — The Cardinals will head into Opening Day on a high note after defeating the Kansas City Royals 6-3 in their lone exhibition game of summer camp on Wednesday afternoon.
Paul DeJong hit a two-run homer in the fifth for the Cardinals, who looked much more potent offensively Wednesday than they had during intrasquad games over the last couple weeks, collecting 10 hits and drawing nine walks. The fourth-year shortstop finished with three RBIs — his sacrifice fly in the third drove home Matt Carpenter and gave St. Louis a lead it would never relinquish.
Tyler O’Neill, widely expected to receive his first career Opening Day start in left field when the Cards host the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday, also had a standout day at the plate, putting St. Louis on the board with a two-run double in the second.
Yadier Molina had a pair of singles and was the lone Cardinals starter to collect multiple hits. Non-roster infielder Max Schrock took advantage of one final opportunity to make his case for a spot on the Opening Day roster, replacing Carpenter in the sixth and going 2 for 2 with a triple and a run.
As impressive of a day as the Cardinals had at the plate, they looked just as promising on the mound. Miles Mikolas had a solid start, allowing two earned runs on five hits, a walk and four strikeouts over 76 pitches in four innings. Carlos Martínez, making one final relief appearance before he returns to the Cards’ rotation, piggybacked Mikolas and gave up just one run on two hits, a walk and three strikeouts over 50 pitches spanning four frames.
Kwang Hyun Kim, who manager Mike Shildt announced earlier this week will start the season as the Cardinals’ closer, looked stellar in the ninth inning, striking out all three hitters he faced.
The Cardinals are set to hold a voluntary workout on Thursday at Busch Stadium before hosting the Pirates in their 2020 season opener on Friday night. Jack Flaherty will make his first career Opening Day start, facing Pittsburgh’s Joe Musgrove.
