He did not get the sign to bunt on two strikes, but did it anyway to prove he could. His bunt was too close to the pitcher and Grichuk was thrown out.

“My game is not going to be hitting home runs and doing all of that stuff,” he said. “My game is going to be moving guys over, doing the little things. When I can’t do that, basically the whole day is wasted.”

Matheny wants Wong to learn from the misses, not let them drag on his confidence or start to show in his mannerisms. He has to keep the joy he had hours earlier or a few days ago when discussing the emotional touch given to his bats.

At one point during his morning meeting with the media, Matheny stopped an answer and blurted: “Did you guys see that?” On the field, Wong had just done a backflip from a flat-footed standstill. Grichuk and other new teammates who hadn’t seen him do it before egged him on. Then he did a second flip when Ellis and others missed seeing it. Wong learned the backflip in college by going to a gym near the University of Hawaii for “Free Jump Friday.” Matheny wasn’t sure if Wong would have felt as comfortable showing off during his hitless start.

The game was too heavy for him to flip.

“I can do it on command,” Wong said. “I’m that confident with it.”

The Cardinals want him to feel the same way with two feet on the ground.

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