Cardinals: Johan Oviedo has heartfelt moment after first MLB win

St. Louis Cardinals right-handed reliever Johan Oviedo had a heartfelt moment after first MLB win. He called his mom, who started bawling.

In the moments after recording his first major-league victory, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Johan Oviedo did what any good son would do: he called his mom.

“I called my mom,” Oviedo said, “and she just started crying.”

It was Oviedo’s 25th career appearance. Before that game, he was 0-9 with a 4.76 ERA. Those stats are relatively misleading – Oviedo has flashed in limited opportunities, both in the rotation and bullpen – and finally had the chance to notch his first victory. It couldn’t have come in a bigger game at this point of the season, as he pitched 2.1 scoreless innings against the Milwaukee Brewers to keep the Cardinals atop the National League Central.

Going forward, Oviedo will have a more prominent role in the bullpen. He and Zack Thompson will pitch in the middle innings in place of T.J. McFarland, Nick Wittgren and Drew VerHagen. The Cardinals are optimistic about what both bring to the table, especially Oviedo, and hope he can continue to grow in that role – and potentially pitch in bigger, higher-leverage situations.

The Cardinals certainly need it. With the bullpen in flux, and Alex Reyes out for the season, they need someone to step up. In just one outing, Oviedo showed that he has the ability to step up. But he’ll need to continue to show it for manager Oli Marmol to trust him in bigger situations.

The most likely scenario is that the Cardinals will address the bullpen via trade. But if Oviedo can step up and give them another quality arm in the bullpen, that could act as an “acquisition” to the bullpen. Combined with any relievers acquired at the deadline, it would give Marmol more options to choose from, something that he would surely love as he’s dealt with limited arms in the late innings.

For Oviedo, it will be about building off a promising first outing in his new role. It just may be hard to top, especially from a personal standpoint.