JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Paul DeJong is proving he can be the answer to one of the Cardinals most pressing spring training questions. At the midpoint of spring ball, DeJong’s bat is allowing St. Louis to forget about the lineup void created by the loss of Marcel Ozuna to free agency. DeJong’s four homers entering Saturday’s game against Houston were tied for the Grapefruit League lead. The Cards won 5-to 1.

The Cardinals’ cleanup hitter in every game he started last season, Ozuna hit 29 homers while driving in 89 runs in 129 games.