Kolten Wong Returns to St. Louis Roster

Hilo native Kolten Wong is back in the major leagues, just 16 days after the St. Louis Cardinals demoted the second baseman to the Memphis Redbirds, its Triple-A minor league affiliate.

The Cardinals brought Wong back up to the big league roster Wednesday. University of Hawai`i teammate Greg Garcia was sent back down to Memphis to make room for Wong.

Wong played in 15 games during his demotion at Memphis, batting .344 (22-for-64) with two home runs and 10 runs batted in. He was a perfect 5-for-5 in stolen base opportunities.

In his final game for Memphis against Round Rock Tuesday, the Kamehameha-Hawai`i graduate batted 4-for-5 with a home run, four runs batted in, and three runs scored.

St. Louis’ game against the Chicago Cubs Wednesday was postponed because of consistent rainfall, but Wong would not have played. The organization announced that he was suffering from a stomach illness and was not expected to be available for the game. Mark Ellis was slated to start at second base before the game was scrapped.

In 20 games at the major league level, Wong hit .225 with five runs batted in and three stolen bases. The latter is tied for a team high with Peter Bourjos.