Streaking Wong making most of his return

ST. LOUIS -- When second baseman Kolten Wong rejoined the Cardinals on May 15, he spoke of the changes made to his swing during his 15-game demotion and of his desire to parlay the callup into a permanent stay.

He's since given the Cardinals no reason to consider turning back.

Wong has hit safely in every game he's played since returning to the Majors, giving him an eight-game hitting streak that was tied for the Majors' longest active stretch entering Tuesday. He has four multihit games during this span and has also stolen four bases.

It's been just more of the same for Wong, who closed his Triple-A stay by hitting safely in nine of 10 games. The common thread through the sustained success is the mechanical change at the plate, which prioritized reducing his leg kick.

"With the high leg kick I had, it was hard trying to read the ball," Wong said. "Now that it is shorter and my base is wider, it's so much easier to see the ball, because there are not so many things moving. It's real small, real compact, where it needs to be."

Matt Carpenter has equaled Wong by hitting safely in eight straight.

Matt Holliday has an impressive streak, too, though his is a season-long one, as he has reached base safely in all 23 home games this season. It is a feat accomplished just 14 other times in franchise history -- most recently by Albert Pujols, en route to 31, in 2009 -- with Solly Hemus setting the club record by getting on base in the first 33 home games of the 1954 season.