Kolten Wong Hitless in Major League Debut

There wasn’t much to smile about in Kolten Wong’s major league debut.

Wong started at second base, batted sixth, and went 0-for-3 with a strikeout as the St. Louis Cardinals fell to the Chicago Cubs 7-0 in Friday’s matinee baseball game.

The 22-year-old Hilo native waited a while to get his first Major League Baseball at-bat, thanks to a three-run first inning by the Cubs against St. Louis starter Jake Westbrook. That doesn’t mean that Wong wasn’t idle on the field. He was in the middle of a 5-4-3 double play to get the first two outs of the bottom of the first inning and closed the inning by throwing out Starlin Castro on a ground ball.

Wong immediately found himself in a pressure at-bat in the top of the second inning when he walked up with runners at first and second base and no one out. After being ahead in the count 2-0, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta threw him a fastball below the knees that Wong pushed to his counterpart, Darwin Barney, that started a 4-6-3 double play.

In the fifth, the Kamehameha-Hawai`i graduate was called out on strikes as he watched a curveball float by the outside corner of the plate. Two innings later, Wong grounded out to first baseman Anthony Rizzo with a runner at second base and one out in the inning.

He was taken out of the game in a double switch in the bottom of the seventh inning.

While quiet at the plate, the rookie second baseman was busy in the field. He was part of two 5-4-3 double plays and had five assists.

Following the game, Wong went to Twitter, saying “All i can say is thank you God for giving me this opportunity and Cardinal Nation for the support!”

According to Fox Sports Midwest, the regional broadcaster of the Cardinals, Wong is not expected to start Saturday when the Cubs throw left-handed pitcher Travis Wood. He will be available off the bench.

Both teams will continue their three-game series Saturday with first pitch scheduled at 10:05 a.m. KHON2, the local FOX affiliate, will carry the game on television. The station was originally scheduled to air the New York Yankees game at the Boston Red Sox but switched to the Cardinals game after Wong was called up.