Cards notebook: Wong helping volcano victims

St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO)

May 08--Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong often has been said to wear his emotions on his sleeve. Now, he truly is.

When Wong, a Hawaiian native, goes to bat these days, he is wearing a rainbow-colored sleeve on his right arm. He constantly is reminding himself of those fellow residents of the Big Island, who are battling the effects of Kilauea, the most active volcano on the island.

Accompanying Kilauea's activity has been a series of earthquakes registering as high as the 6.9 recorded on Friday.

Wong didn't want to remain powerless while all this was going on, so he and his wife have started a GoFundMe account to help those who have lost homes, land, cars and more.

There are continuing dangers of lava and sulfur dioxide gas that has been released into the air. "The gas is the most dangerous part," said Wong, who has had videos sent to him.

"Lava we can avoid. But people are being evacuated every day. I talked to my dad and my grandparents today and they said the gas is pretty strong and they can smell it where they are. And the people on the other side of the island are starting to get a whiff of it. It's definitely taking its toll.

"It does feel helpless, but on the other end, I'm going to do something about it. I've got a bunch of stuff I'm going to put to auction and donate the money to charity and I'm going to donate some of my own money to charity. It's not just about helping people with food or clothing ,but it's about helping people build a new house.

"Where I'm from, we don't have lava insurance. They don't have the money to go out and rebuild."

Wong said his immediate family, which is about 20 miles from the worst damage, hadn't been affected yet but he said, "I'm from such a small place (Hilo), we're all family. When those guys are hurting, I'm hurting as well."

The fissure that recently opened was the 11th, said Wong.

"There's a crack in our main highway. They're worried that's part of the lava, as well. If that continues to open up, who knows what's going to happen? They're not sure when it's going to stop," he said.

Wong had his best two-game stretch Saturday and Sunday against the Chicago Cubs, hitting a two-run homer in the 10th to win Saturday's game and having three hits in Sunday's 14-inning triumph besides fielding brilliantly.

"It's hard to even be worried about the game when I'm worried about everything else going on at home," said Wong. "I think that's why I'm playing so well."

And he'll continue to wear the sleeve. "It's not a fashion statement, or anything like that," he said. "It's just to bring awareness to where I'm from and what's going on.

"I want to help them get their feet back on the ground," said Wong. "I can only imagine what these guys are going through."

WAINWRIGHT SCORELESS

Adam Wainwright, making a rehab start at Class AA Springfield as he continues to recover from a sore right elbow, held the Tulsa team to two hits and walked none over five scoreless innings Monday. Wainwright, who struck out two, threw 45 strikes out of 59 pitches.

"That's what we were there for -- just sharpening up a little bit," Wainwright said. "Threw strikes like I wanted to today. I've got to take that into a real game now.

"But those Double-A hitters, there's no slouch there. There's a few guys on that team that are doing some damage. So it was fun. They were very aggressive. I was taking my motivation from (Cardinals righthander) Miles Mikolas, filling the zone up, throwing a lot of strikes and letting my stuff work."

If the 36-year-old has no after-effects, it is expected that he will come off the 10-day disabled list to pitch this weekend in San Diego. Wainwright is 1-2 with a 3.45 earned run average for three starts.

A move to put Wainwright on the roster would have to be made, just as it was Monday when John Gant, who started Monday night, was added. Mike Mayers, who tossed the final three innings to gain the victory Sunday, was dispatched to Class AAA Memphis for the third time already this young season.

Wainwright, who had just driven back from the morning start in Springfield, said he assumed that he would be pitching, presumably for the Cardinals, five or six days from now. And manager Mike Matheny did little to dissuade that.

"That's where he's headed," said Matheny. "I'd like to see how he feels tomorrow. Good reports today and start figuring out where we plug him in."

PHAM IS CLOSE

Center fielder Tommy Pham, nursing a groin injury, is getting close to playing, perhaps by Tuesday afternoon.

"He was lobbying today pretty hard," said Matheny. "The trainers were cautiously optimistic, too, so I think he's real close."

PICK FIVE

The Cardinals ran their winning streak to five early Monday morning as they rallied to sweep the Cubs. It was their fifth walkoff win in 12 triumphs at home.

"That was an unreal game," said infielder Greg Garcia. "But we've had a bunch of those already. Whether it be super cold or rain delays or down early, we've come back and won the games that we hadn't been winning in the past.

"Last year, when you lose those games, you start thinking about how to lose a game. And now, even when we were down 2-1, it felt like we were winning. I don't know why," said Garcia.

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