Earning wins in his first two appearances for the Cardinals, Troy Percival went from being perceived as a risk to being viewed as a valuable reliever.
A closer with the Angels and Tigers, Percival sat out the 2006 season because of persistent arm ailments.
In 2007, Percival, 37, found he was able to throw effectively again. He was in contact with several former Angels teammates who had become Cardinals and they put in a good word for him. Percival threw for the Cardinals during a workout and impressed. The Cardinals signed him on June 8, 2007, and sent him to their minor-league Memphis club to get into game condition.
Percival posted a 1.35 ERA in six appearances for Memphis and was called up by St. Louis before a weekend series against the Reds at Cincinnati.
In his Cardinals debut, on June 29, 2007, Percival earned a win with a flawless inning of relief in the Cardinals’ 4-2 victory over the Reds.
“It’s a dream come true,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said to the Associated Press. “He gets three outs and gets the winning decision. That’s movie material.”
Said Percival: “I didn’t come back for myself. A lot of friends on this team called me and said they needed pitching help. My arm felt good enough to do it.” Boxscore
Two days later, on July 1, Percival made his second Cardinals appearance. With the Cardinals ahead, 8-5, in the fourth, Percival relieved starter Mike Maroth with two runners on base and no outs. Percival got out of the mess by retiring all three batters he faced without allowing either base runner to advance. The Cardinals won, 11-7, and Percival was credited with the win in a scorer’s decision for his successful rescue effort in the fourth. Boxscore
Percival contributed a 3-0 record and 1.80 ERA in 34 appearances for the 2007 Cardinals. Granted free agency after the season, he signed with the Rays and finished his career with them in 2009.
Previously: The story of how the Cardinals acquired Lee Smith
RetroSimba 
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