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.

With a pitching performance as entertaining as it was admirable, Jose Oquendo impressed teammates, frustrated the Braves and earned a spot in Cardinals lore.

On May 14, 1988, at St. Louis, Oquendo was asked by manager Whitey Herzog to relieve in the 16th inning because no one on the pitching staff was available. Oquendo shifted from first base to the mound and shut out the Braves for three innings before yielding two runs in the 19th. Though he lost, Oquendo surprised most by doing as well as he did for as long as he did.

Another surprise was the performance of Jose DeLeon, a Cardinals pitcher who played the outfield in the final four innings.

Limited options

The Saturday night game matched starting pitchers Cris Carpenter, making his major-league debut for the Cardinals, against Zane Smith. The Cardinals led, 5-4, before the Braves tied the score with a run in the seventh.

Oquendo, a utility player, entered the game in the ninth as a replacement for first baseman and ex-Brave Bob Horner. In the bottom half of the inning, Oquendo and Tony Pena were on base, with one out, when Vince Coleman hit a grounder past pitcher Jose Alvarez. Second baseman Ron Gant dived, stopped the ball and started a double play, sending the game into extra innings.

In the 12th, former Cardinals catcher Ted Simmons led off for the Braves. Facing his friend, Bob Forsch, Simmons pulled a pitch hard on the ground. Oquendo ranged to his right, snagged the ball and threw to Forsch, covering first, in time to nip Simmons.

In the 15th, Herzog brought in his last available pitcher, Randy O’Neal, whom the Cardinals acquired from the Braves the year before. O’Neal had experience as a starter and Herzog figured to let him finish the game, no matter how many innings it took.

However, after retiring the Braves in order in the 15th, O’Neal said his arm hurt. Herzog had used all his pitchers except three: DeLeon, Larry McWilliams and John Tudor. All were deemed unavailable. DeLeon had pitched 8.2 innings the previous night, McWilliams was scheduled to start the next game and had been sent home by Herzog in the 10th inning, and Tudor had a tender shoulder.

Herzog turned to Oquendo, who’d made one big-league pitching appearance, a 1987 mop-up role during a blowout loss to the Phillies.

Serious business

Selecting Oquendo to pitch, Herzog needed someone to play first base. He moved Duane Walker from left field to first and brought in DeLeon to play left.

DeLeon hadn’t played a position other than pitcher since entering the big leagues in 1983. Asked how Herzog broke the news to him, DeLeon told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “He said, ‘Can you play outfield?’ I said, ‘Sure.’ I didn’t mind.”

Herzog approached umpire Bob Davidson to inform him of the lineup switches. Recalled Davidson: “Whitey said he was bringing in Oquendo to pitch and he said, ‘Can I forfeit?’ ”

When catcher Steve Lake went to the mound to review the pitch signals, Oquendo told him he had three pitches: fastball, slider and split-finger. “I started chuckling,” Lake said. “Then I see that he’s dead serious.”

Ken Griffey Sr. led off the 16th against Oquendo and doubled. After Gerald Perry was walked intentionally, Ozzie Virgil Jr. hit a single to right. In a decision the Atlanta Constitution described as “a blunder,” third-base coach Willie Stargell sent Griffey to the plate, where Lake awaited with the ball after fielding a strong peg from right fielder Tom Brunansky. Griffey was out by 10 feet.

“I’ve got to thank Stargell because he didn’t hold the guy (at third),” Herzog said. “The game should have been over then.”

Mix and match

As the game moved along through the 17th and 18th, Herzog continually shifted DeLeon and Brunansky in an effort “to put DeLeon where the batter was least likely to hit the pitch,” according to the Constitution. DeLeon and Brunansky switched spots in right field and left field 11 times.

DeLeon had two fly balls hit to him and he caught both. “I was a little nervous,” DeLeon said. “My knees were shaking.”

In the 18th, with Cardinals runners on first and third, none out, Lake grounded out to third. After Luis Alicea walked, loading the bases, Walker hit a broken-bat liner that was caught by shortstop Andres Thomas and resulted in a double play when Brunansky was unable to get back to the bag at third.

“I didn’t get the job done,” said Walker. “All I had to do was hit a fly ball to end the game.”

Said Herzog: “We should have won in the 18th.”

The Cardinals stranded 21 on base in the game.

Staying alive

In the 19th, Griffey hit a two-run double against Oquendo with two outs. Rick Mahler retired the Cardinals in order in the bottom half, completing eight scoreless innings of relief and sealing a 7-5 Braves victory. Mahler “pitched the best he has in three years,” said Braves manager Chuck Tanner.

Oquendo finished with a pitching line of four innings, four hits, two runs, six walks and one strikeout. “He threw a lot of sliders and a lot of split-fingers,” said Lake. “I never knew where his fastball was going. I didn’t know if he was going to drop down (sidearm) or throw overhand.”

Oquendo became the first non-pitcher to receive a decision since outfielder Rocky Colavito won a relief stint for the Yankees against the Tigers in 1968.

“I’m glad I got a chance to pitch and I’m glad nobody got hurt,” Oquendo said.

Said Braves slugger Dale Murphy, who was hitless in seven at-bats: “It wouldn’t have looked very good if we had lost. It didn’t look too good anyway, but we won.” Boxscore

Herzog said utility player Tom Lawless would have relieved Oquendo if the game had gone to a 20th inning. “That would have been brutal,” said Lawless. “I’d already thrown batting practice.”