Kolten Wong has been on playoff teams and contenders before. Five times in his eight seasons with the Cardinals, the second baseman was in postseason play and had one World Series appearance and four division titles among them.
But he admits he never has seen anything like his Milwaukee Brewers team forced by injuries and COVID-19 to employ a club-record 60 players, including 27 relievers, this year. Yet the club is 25 games clear of .500 when it starts a three-game series Tuesday night in St. Louis.
“We always felt like we had a pretty deep team so it was one of those things where everybody got the opportunity to play,” Hilo’s Wong said by telephone. “Going from 60 games (played) last year to 162, you kind of knew there were going to be some injuries. But that next-guy-up mentality has been pretty cool to see.
“No matter who it was, guys were ready to fill in and not skip a beat.”
On several occasions, “the next guy up” has come from a different team, such as Wong’s keystone partner, shortstop Willy Adames, from Tampa Bay, Adames his hitting .297 with 16 homers and a .929 OPS for the Brewers in 74 games after hitting .197 in 41 games for the Rays.
“(President of baseball operations David) Stearns has done an amazing job,” Wong said, “understanding the type of guys that we need on this team — the type of guys who aren’t going to change the dynamics of how we’re playing. They’ve been meshing really well. It shows what kind of ‘intel’ (the Brewers’ front office has) and the amount of work they put in to the guys they’re interested in getting.
“It’s been incredible to see every single guy step up.”
Adames hadn’t been in the National League before but, for five seasons from 2014-18, he had been a Rays minor-league teammate of Kean Wong, Kolten’s younger brother — who also is a second baseman. So Kolten Wong had his own ‘intel’ on what to expect.
Battling injuries
Wong has been one of the players the Brewers have had to replace as he’s missed 41 games. He’s had several injuries but notably an oblique strain that limited his play early in the season.
“Going from 162 (games) to 60 and then back to 162 put me in that situation,” the 30-year-old said. “There was a lot of transition in coming to Milwaukee from St. Louis — a lot of moving parts. Getting out of your routine and having to build a new one definitely put me in a bad spot.”
Then he got hurt on a checked swing the first week of the season.
“My whole recovery wasn’t where it needed to be,” he said. “I took a step back and kind of took a breather.”
Another homecoming
Wong, who signed a two-year deal as a free agent, had his return cut short in the Cardinals’ home opener, on April 8, when he had to bow out of the game halfway through because of the oblique problem.
He missed the next two games.
“I’m excited to come back and take it in a little more and not worry about the emotions so much,” said Wong, who got a long standing ovation as he led off the game. “I’ve already made my stamp in Milwaukee so it will be great to go back and just have fun.”
Wong said he is looking forward again to face longtime teammate and friend Adam Wainwright on Tuesday night and then new ace Jack Flaherty on Wednesday.
Formidable rotation
But the Brewers have three starters — Corbin Burnes. Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff — who could be considered at least “close” to Flaherty.
All made the National League All-Star team — Flaherty had his own oblique issue at the time — but Wong said it would be an “understatement” to rank his three teammates below the Cardinals’ righthander.
“They’re leading the league in a lot of categories,” Wong said. “In St. Louis, I’ve been around some pretty good starters but not three as dominant as this. It seems like every single time they go out, they’re doing something special.
“We know that if we just put up a few runs, they’re going to take care of the rest. They were young guys when we first started to face them in St. Louis but they’re more mature now. You’re going to have your hiccups here and there but I don’t think they’re going to fade anytime soon.”
Included on the Brewers’ staff are 2020 National League Rookie of the Year Devin Williams, a St. Louisan who features a wipeout changeup to go with his high 90s fastball, and gas-throwing closer Josh Hader.
The Brewers’ offense has been at least adequate to team with the pitching, which ranks third in the majors in earned-run average at 3.35, first in strikeouts (1,193) and second in opponents’ batting average (.215).
Offense lags
Offensively, the Brewers are 27th in team batting average (.233) but 11th in runs scored. And Wong says there is more to come from the likes of former Most Valuable Player Christian Yelich, who has battled back problems and COVID for a couple of years and is hitting .236 with six homers.
“He’s definitely starting to figure some stuff out,” Wong said. “He was the MVP one year and he finished second the next year. It’s hard to have all that pressure with people holding you to that standard.
“In this game, with the amount of technology that people have on you, it’s hard to keep to that level of play the whole time. But we’ve got no doubters in this clubhouse.”
In the meantime, outfielder Avisail Garcia, with 21 homers and 70 RBIs, has taken over as the Brewers’ meal ticket hitter.
“In clutch situations, he seems like he’s coming through every single time,” Wong said.
Big lead
Milwaukee’s lead is eight games over the Cincinnati Reds and 10 over the Cardinals as Milwaukee and St. Louis begin a stretch of 13 matchups in the next 42 games. Wong is not necessarily surprised that the Brewers have been so dominant.
“You could see in spring training that this was a decent team and then we started adding some pieces and everything started clicking,” he said. “I knew when I signed with Milwaukee that they were going to be a good team, playing against them as long as I have. I thought, ‘We can do something special here.’ “
Besides obtaining Adames, Stearns has made in-season acquisitions of first baseman Rowdy Tellez, who is hitting .333 after coming from Toronto, and All-Star infielder Eduardo Escobar is hitting .322 after coming from Arizona.
There is an obligation of sorts for the Brewers. They want to duplicate what the Bucks did for Milwaukee in winning the NBA championship.
“What the Bucks did gave us a jump in confidence,” Wong said. “If they can do it, so can we. Seeing how the city really embraced that team showed us what we want to do. Bring something home like that and get the love the Bucks are getting.”
Hawaiian-born Wong said he had enjoyed spending the summer in Wisconsin.
“Very laid-back. Very ‘country,’” he said “You’ve got a lot of ponds and lakes. It’s a very care-free environment. “
That the Cardinals are making a move now with their winning streak of six games is not news to Wong.
“I know that with the guys they have in that clubhouse, they’re never out of it. We all know that. I think everybody knows that,” he said. “You always expect them to make that push and we’re just trying to do our best to keep that distance.”
Setting the table
Wong is hitting .279 with nine homers and eight steals as the Brewers’ leadoff man.
“I’m very happy with how I’ve been playing,” he said. “It’s nothing really significantly different than how I’ve been trending the last few years. When you get the time in, you start to understand your game. I know what I do well in this league.
“A huge thing for me is being the leadoff guy every day, not needing to check the lineup to see where I’m hitting. I can take to the leadoff spot and do some really good work with it.
“I feel I can be that guy that people can feed off by getting on base. Doing some damage at the top of the lineup and getting this team going right.”
Wong has led off in all 73 of his starts.
The Cardinals and Brewers will have three more series after this one, including one starting Sept. 3 in Milwaukee. But that is the day programmed for wife Alissa Wong to be induced in Milwaukee to give birth to the couple’s first child, a boy.
“It’s going to be awesome,” Kolten Wong said. “I wouldn’t mind playing against the Cardinals again. But I’ll have to watch the guys on TV for that one.”
Hummel writes for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch