Emotional Oviedo after first W: 'Dream come true'

MILWAUKEE -- As if his bleary, blood-shot eyes didn’t already reveal his answer, Cardinals pitcher Johan Oviedo was asked if there were tears of joy following his first MLB win on Wednesday in the St. Louis' 5-4 victory over the Brewers.

The 6-foot-6 righthander responded to the question about flowing tears unabashedly, saying: “A lot. Yeah, a lot.”

Oviedo’s story goes much deeper than him becoming the sixth Cardinal pitcher to notch his first MLB victory of the season. Oviedo entered with an 0-9 career MLB record, and he carried the dubious franchise record of 19 straight starts without a victory like a scarlet letter. He was 0-3 in five starts in 2020, 0-5 in 13 starts in 2021 and he tied Daniel Ponce de Leon’s franchise record of 19 straight starts without a victory when he was saddled with another loss on June 4 in Chicago.

Finally, that seemingly endless skid ended when Oviedo won after pitching 2 1/3 innings of scoreless and hitless relief in place of struggling starter Adam Wainwright. Afterward, Wainwright was part of the Cardinals mob that put the pitcher in a laundry cart and doused him with various drinkable liquids in the shower.

“Tommy [Edman] and I were just talking about it in the kitchen, that was that raw and real emotion,” Wainwright said of a sobbing Oviedo. “He’s been through a lot to get where he is. His story is incredible. That story is going to be in a book one day. If he keeps doing what he’s doing, he’s going to be a superstar.”

Vic Darensbourg holds the MLB record for most MLB appearances without a victory, going 123 games from 1998-2000 without a win. The 19 starts without a win to begin a career by Oviedo and Ponce de Leon were one short of tying MLB’s record set by Mike Mohler (0-13 in 20 starts from July of 1993 to May of 1997) and Rube Schauer (0-17 in 20 starts from Sept. of 1913 to July of 1917).

Oviedo, 24, has breathed life into his career by thriving in a role out of the bullpen for a club that has been desperately seeking middle relief to bridge the gap between the starters and their stellar back end of the bullpen of Ryan Helsley, Genesis Cabrera and Giovanny Gallegos. Andre Pallante thrived in that role previously, but the rookie has since been moved into the starting rotation.

The turnaround for Oviedo came on June 15 when he pitched two scoreless innings against the Pirates. He followed that up with 1 2/3 scoreless innings on Monday in Milwaukee. His best performance yet came on Wednesday when he pitched out of a fifth-inning jam and then held the Brewers hitless over the sixth and seventh innings. Nolan Arenado’s go-ahead home run and Cabrera’s flawless work as a closer secured Oviedo’s first win at long last.

Afterward, the emotional pitcher couldn’t wait to call his parents back in Cuba and thank them for their support during a 25-game skid over three seasons when he struggled to find success of any kind at the MLB level.

“I can’t really even express how I feel right now, but the first thing that comes to mind is my family -- mom and dad are in Cuba, and I hope they enjoyed this,” said Oviedo. “I always want to give thanks to every single person who believed in me, pushed me to get here and work harder and harder. It’s a dream come true and I feel blessed that this moment is finally here.”