RetroSimba

In answering a call for help from the Cardinals, Brady Raggio got into a jam and required rescue.

On May 15, 1998, Raggio started for the Cardinals against the Marlins and allowed 11 consecutive batters to reach base before he was lifted in the first inning.

Though he was sent to the minor leagues the next day, Raggio returned to the Cardinals a month later and earned redemption.

Bad results

Needing someone to fill in for Donovan Osborne, who developed a shoulder ailment, the Cardinals called on Raggio, who was with their Class AAA Memphis club, and gave him the start in the Friday night opener of a series against the Marlins at St. Louis. Raggio, who’d made 15 appearances as a rookie with the 1997 Cardinals, was 4-2 with a 2.48 ERA at Memphis.

Though the Marlins were defending World Series champions, three of their best players _ third baseman Bobby Bonilla, catcher Charles Johnson and outfielder Gary Sheffield _ were held out of the lineup against the Cardinals while the club negotiated a deal to trade them to the Dodgers.

Raggio got the first batter, John Cangelosi, to ground out. The next eight _ Edgar Renteria, Cliff Floyd, Derrek Lee, Mark Kotsay, Gregg Zaun, Craig Counsell, Dave Berg and pitcher Brian Meadows _ each singled.

The hits by Floyd, Kotsay, Zaun, Berg and Meadows produced five runs. It could have been more except Kotsay made the second out of the inning when he drifted too far off second base after Zaun singled.

The Marlins, though, weren’t done. Batting for the second time in the inning, Cangelosi walked, loading the bases. Renteria singled again, driving in a run and making the score 6-0.

After Raggio walked Floyd, forcing in a seventh run, manager Tony La Russa replaced him with Curtis King, who got Lee to ground out, ending the Marlins’ half of the first.

Raggio departed with an ERA of 94.50, yielding seven runs in two-thirds of an inning.

“They found the holes,” Raggio said to the Miami Herald. “I thought I was making pretty good pitches, but they had, like, six groundball hits.”

La Russa agreed, telling the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “We expected him to get a bunch of ground balls. We didn’t get anything hit at anyone. I think the results were a little misleading.”

Raggio told the Memphis Commercial-Appeal he received “some encouraging words” from La Russa after the outing. “I make the same pitches that I made in that inning in 100 more innings and I get out with no runs,” Raggio said.

Keep on trying

Down 7-0, the Cardinals chipped away, scoring a run in the first, a run in the third and four in the fifth. Meadows gave up two home runs to Ray Lankford and one to Brian Hunter. The Marlins added a run in the fourth against Kent Bottenfield and led, 8-6, after five innings.

The Cardinals made Marlins reliever Jay Powell squirm in the ninth. With two outs, John Mabry doubled, scoring Gary Gaetti from first and getting the Cardinals within a run at 8-7. When La Russa sent Willie McGee to bat for pitcher Juan Acevedo, the Marlins opted to walked him intentionally, even though he represented the potential winning run. Tom Pagnozzi ended the drama by lining out to Renteria at short. Boxscore

Raggio was returned to Memphis after the game and pitched well, boosting his record to 6-3 with a 2.50 ERA. On June 15, the Cardinals recalled him. “Brady deserves it,” said Memphis manager Gaylen Pitts. “That’s what happens when you come down and work. He could have gone the other way, but he worked hard and did what he had to do to get back.”

In his first appearance for the Cardinals since his recall, Raggio pitched 2.1 scoreless innings of relief, earning the win against the Diamondbacks. Boxscore

After two more relief stints, Raggio went back to Memphis. Released after the season, Raggio was in the Rangers’ system in 1999 and spent three years (2000-2002) in Japan. In 2003, he returned to the big leagues with the Diamondbacks.