JUPITER, Fla.— Paul DeJong, who had struck out in his first two spring at-bats, knocked in four runs in his next two plate appearances.
After hitting a sacrifice fly to score Kolten Wong with a run in the first, the Cardinals’ shortstop rapped a three-run homer in the third off Washington reliever Hunter Strickland to give the Cardinals a 4-3 lead after three innings in Tuesday’s exhibition game.
Lefthander Austin Gomber threw 30 strikes out of 40 pitches as the Cardinals’ starter, allowing one run. Reliever Seth Elledge was touched for a two-run homer by the Nationals’ Juan Soto in the third.