Wong resting shoulder; Ellis in at second base

KANSAS CITY -- Kolten Wong won't receive the chance to provide an encore for his milestone performance Tuesday night -- at least not on Wednesday.

Wong, who ripped a grand slam off Royals ace James Shields for his first Major League homer on Tuesday, was not in the lineup due to a jammed shoulder, suffered in the Cardinals' 8-7 loss.

The injury is not considered serious, and Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said Wong could have played, but opted to use Mark Ellis in the lineup.

"There's also days that we've got to keep Mark Ellis sharp, we've got to be able to use him, and these days make it very easy to do that, especially when Kolten is a little bit sore from jamming the shoulder yesterday," Matheny said.

Royals lefty Jason Vargas making the start also worked in the right-handed-hitting Ellis' favor. However, Matheny likened Wong, a lefty, to Matt Adams and Oscar Taveras, two left-handed batters whom the skipper isn't afraid of penciling into the lineup with a southpaw on the mound.