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MLB St. Louis Cardinals

Kolten Wong Puts St. Louis Cardinals in Driver’s Seat

Jeff Curry -- USA TODAY Sports

Jeff Curry — USA TODAY Sports

Kolten Wong remembers last year’s World Series all too well.

His lasting image, the one St. Louis Cardinals fans will remember from 2013, is of getting picked off first base. Who knows whether or not that played a part in his struggles earlier in the year.

It’s funny what one season can do. Each season brings an opportunity to erase the bad memories of years past.

Monday night, Wong’s dramatic heroics in the seventh inning propelled St. Louis to a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers and a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. It also helped John Lackey preserve a gem of a pitching performance.

Redemption seems to be the theme for this year’s Division Series. Not only did Wong’s blast put St. Louis in an advantage during this series, it also helped Lackey redeem himself. Lackey had only pitched twice since early September and looked like he would be an afterthought on the Cardinals’ postseason roster.

Instead, Wong’s hitting provided the chance for St. Louis to extend this series into a classic.

The Dodgers and Cardinals always seem to bring out the best in each other, and I still believe this series will go five games. Or is this the incentive for St. Louis to put the series away in four? With this being the potential last game of the season at Busch Stadium, the pressure will be on the Cardinals to produce.

Wong did his part on Monday. He had hit just .200 in the final 10 games of the regular season, and that didn’t suggest power was about to come off of his bat. Sure, he hit a homer Sept. 20 against the Cincinnati Reds, but Wong is known more for his speed than his bat.

Whatever the case, Wong made sure the Cardinals were on top and gave his team a chance to close out the Dodgers in Game 4.

Redemption is sweet.