July 10 (UPI) -- Paul DeJong crushed a 372-foot home run into the left field seats during the St. Louis Cardinals' first intrasquad game of summer camp at Busch Stadium.
DeJong went 2 for 2 with four RBIs for the Red Team in a 4-1 win against the Blue Team Thursday in St. Louis. He hit his home run in the fourth inning off Cardinals left-handed relief pitcher Andrew Miller.
The Red Team had a stacked lineup, with Kolten Wong, Matt Carpenter, Paul Goldschmidt, DeJong and Yadier Molina at the top of the batting order. Cardinals ace Jack Flaherty also started for the Red Team. Dakota Hudson started for the Blue Team.
Flaherty got into a bases-loaded jam in the first inning, but allowed just one run before he escaped trouble. He allowed two hits and two walks in a 43-pitch performance against his teammates.
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DeJong got the scoring started with a two-run single in the first frame off Hudson. He plated two more runs with his fourth-inning blast.
"DeJong's on pace for about 480 RBIs for the season," Cardinals manager Mike Shildt told reporters.
"He is just getting his head around staying with his approach, which has been fantastic in every simulated game we've played."
The Cardinals infielder hit .233 with 30 home runs and 78 RBIs in 159 games last season. DeJong was a first-time All-Star selection in 2019.
The Cardinals are scheduled to start the season against the Pittsburgh Pirates at 8:15 p.m. EDT July 24 at Busch Stadium.
