St. Louis Cardinals: Daniel Poncedeleon’s historical debut ruined by bullpen woes

Daniel Poncedeleon had one of the greatest debuts in MLB history, only to have it ruined by the St. Louis Cardinals ongoing bullpen struggles.

Daniel Poncedeleon was not supposed to be on the mound last night for the St. Louis Cardinals. Last season, down in AAA Memphis, Poncedeleon took a comebacker to the head against the Iowa Cubs. That was his 62nd professional start, it could have been his last. Poncedeleon was told he might not be able to play baseball ever again.

Even though he was told this, he knew he was going to be able to pitch again, and he was determined to get back out on the mound. In August, he was able to start throwing again. Then, in September, he was able to rejoin the Memphis Redbirds as a spectator for their postseason run.

He would be back in Memphis to begin the 2018 season, and he was dominant. He had a 2.41 ERA with a 5-2 record before being called up by the St. Louis Cardinals for the first time in his career as an injury replacement.

He never got the chance to make his debut as a reliever and was sent back down to Memphis less than a week later. Poncedeleon would continue to dominate in Memphis, as he received a bid to the Triple-A All-Star Game. The righty struck out the side in an inning, including striking out top catching prospect Francisco Mejia.

Recently, the St. Louis Cardinals recalled Poncedeleon from AAA Memphis to make his first career big-league start against the Cincinnati Reds. After the freak accident that occurred last year, he was ready to prove that he had what it takes to be a major league pitcher.

Poncedeleon was stellar, as he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, but was pulled due to his 116 pitches. Some fans did not like that Mike Schildt pulled him in the midst of a no-hitter. But, think of it this way: On June 1, 2012, New York Mets pitcher Johan Santana threw a no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals. Sounds great, right?

Not really. Santana finished the game with 134 pitches, and after that no-hitter, his arm was basically ruined. So, Poncedeleon had to pitch two more hitless innings to get the no-hitter, which would have potentially put him past 130 pitches, which could not have been good for his arm. So, interim manager Shildt pulled Poncedeleon, and let Jordan Hicks get the eighth inning, and hoped for a combined no-hitter for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Hicks allowed a hit to lead off the inning, now what mattered was to not lose the game. The Cardinals only had a 1-0 lead. Hicks got out of the inning with ease, bringing in Bud Norris to close out the game.

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Norris got the first two batters out before All-Star third baseman Eugenio Suarez hit the game-tying home run. Then, Norris allowed back to back hits, then walked the next batter, which loaded the bases for pinch hitter Dilson Herrera.

Herrera was hitting .111 on the season, so it seemed like an easy out to get the Cardinals to extra innings. Well, on the first pitch, Herrera singled up the middle to bring in Jesse Winker, and walk off the game for the Cincinnati Reds, ruining Poncedeleon’s historic debut.

Poncedeleon’s debut was historic, as he is now the only pitcher in MLB history to have a no-hit no-run game through seven innings in their debut. He joins Ross Stripling as the only pitcher in MLB history to take a no-hitter past the seventh in the debut. Poncedeleon was just remarkable last night and looked like he could be in the Majors for a long time.

The next morning, Poncedeleon was sent back to AAA Memphis, as expected. Austin Gomber was recalled from Memphis for his second stint in the Majors, as he looks to make his first big league start a great one as well.

Basically, the Cardinals front office is telling Poncedeleon, “Hey, congrats on nearly making history, here is a ticket back to Memphis, have fun.” Now, he will have to remain in Memphis for at least 10 days, unless somebody goes to the DL.

Even though Poncedeleon is back in Memphis, this definitely will not be the last we see of him with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Do you think Poncedeleon should have stayed in the majors? Do you wish your last name was as cool as Poncedeleon’s? Do you think Poncedeleon will be a long-term piece in the rotation? Leave your comments below.