Coming into this weekend’s series against the Mets, Paul DeJong was struggling to break out of a slump that had lasted for close to six weeks, hitting just .200 since May 1. In his previous 18 games before Thursday, DeJong had just eight hits in 64 at-bats, a .125 average.
Luckily for DeJong, he arrived at his happy place on Thursday, otherwise known as Citi Field, which he has made his personal playground for the last two years.
This weekend was no different. The Cardinals’ shortstop capped another big weekend against the Mets with a tie-breaking home run in the eighth inning on Sunday that gave the Cardinals their third win in the four-game series.
In the four games, DeJong was 7-of-17 with three homers and five RBIs. Over the last two seasons, a span of seven games at Citi Field, DeJong has gone 11-of-28 with five homers. For his career he has six homers in 46 career at-bats as a visiting player in New York.
Overall DeJong has hit nine of his 57 career home runs against the Mets in just 81 at-bats. His other 48 homers have come in 1,112 at-bats.
The Cardinals finished their longest road trip of the season with a 5-5 record against the Cubs, Marlins and Mets.
Here is how the game broke down:
At the plate: DeJong’s homer was only the second hit in the game for the Cardinals. He also walked and scored on a home run by Paul Goldschmidt in the first inning … The Cardinals loaded the bases on two walks and an error in the fourth and scored one run, on a double-play grounder … DeJong’s homer in the eighth tied him with Goldschmidt with 13 homers for the season … In the four-game series the Cardinals scored 10 runs in the eighth inning or later … Their only other hit was a one-out single by Yadier Molina in the ninth … They were 0-of-3 with runners in scoring position.
On the mound: Dakota Hudson allowed the three New York runs on eight hits over six innings. He also walked three and struck out three and was helped by two inning-ending double plays as the Mets stranded five runners over those six innings … Andrew Miller worked a scoreless seventh, allowing a single, before Carlos Martinez pitched the final two innings. He struck out two and allowed one hit before getting a ground ball for a game-ending double play. He threw 30 pitches in earning his second save of the season.
Key stat: DeJong is not the only Cardinal who can hit home runs at Citi Field. They hit seven total in the series and have now hit at least one home run in their last eight games at the stadium dating back to 2017.
Worth noting: Since the start of the 2015 season, the Cardinals had been 3-30 in games in which they had three or fewer hits and had an 0-5 record in those games this season … Their current streak of eight consecutive games with a home run is their fourth longest in New York. The longest is a 12-game streak between 2000 and 2004 and also from 1962-1963 … Hudson has not allowed a home run in his last seven starts covering 43 2/3 innings and just one in his last 10 starts and 60 1/3 innings.
Looking ahead: The Cardinals return home on Monday night for the first of four games against the Marlins. Miles Mikolas will get the start. It’s the opener of a nine-game homestand that includes three games against the Angels and two against the Oakland A’s.
