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St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong, right, turns the double play forcing out Chicago Cubs' Donnie Murphy (8) at second and getting Starlin Castro at first during the fourth inning of a baseball game on Friday, Aug. 16, 2013, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Former University of Hawaii All-American Kolten Wong went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in his major league debut with the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
Wong grounded into a double play while turning two in the field for St. Louis, which lost to the Chicago Cubs 7-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
He left the game in the bottom of the seventh as part of a double switch.
Wong is the first ex-UH position player to appear in the big leagues since Chuck Jackson played his final game for the Rangers in 1994.
Called up on Thursday, Wong made his debut in front of parents Kaha and Keala Wong, who left Hilo Thursday evening for Chicago.
He’s the second former Rainbow to make his MLB debut this year. Pitcher Steven Wright played in his first game with the Boston Red Sox in April.
With the addition of Wong to the Cardinals’ roster and lineup, former World Series MVP David Freese was relegated to the bench with leadoff hitter Matt Carpenter (who had been playing second) moving to third base.
“I would say it’s a day-by-day situation,” general manager John Mozeliak said. “I’m not saying (Wong) has to play every day — there are gonna be times when we want to get David back in the lineup — so I imagine there’s gonna be some split playing opportunities.”
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The Associated Press contributed to this story.
