ST. LOUIS -- Johan Oviedo has never had the opportunity to consistently start over an extended period of time in his career. He’s received some chances, but in his first three seasons he didn’t have a chance to start every five-or-so days across six-or-so months. This season, Oviedo is finally getting that opportunity -- and through three starts, he appears to have no intention of wasting it. 

Oviedo orchestrated arguably the most impressive start of his young career despite taking the tough-luck loss as the Pirates fell to the Cardinals, 3-0, on Friday at Busch Stadium, matching his career high with seven innings and recording a career-high 10 strikeouts. Oviedo’s old club may have emerged with the win, but with a second consecutive quality start, Oviedo showed St. Louis what it's missing.

"I think that he was able to mix and match was something that was really important,” manager Derek Shelton said. “We saw even when he was behind in the count, [he was] able to execute the breaking ball in the zone."

The right-hander’s success was due in part to his ability to escape jams, the most notable instance coming in the fourth inning. Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado set the table with back-to-back singles to put runners on first and third with no outs, but Oviedo escaped the threat unscathed by throwing seven straight breaking balls -- three to strike out Willson Contreras, three to strike out Nolan Gorman and one to induce an inning-ending flyout from Tyler O’Neill.

“I have a lot of confidence with my secondary pitches, slider and curveball,” Oviedo said. “I don’t try to do too much. I don’t try to be perfect out there. Thankfully I executed good pitches, and we got out of that inning.”

The only run that Oviedo allowed came when first baseman Connor Joe, filling in for the scratched Ji Man Choi, misplayed a potential inning-ending double play off the bat of Contreras with one out. Joe managed to record an out at first base, but his bobble allowed Arenado to reach second base with two outs. The next batter, Nolan Gorman, singled home Arenado, giving the Cardinals a lead that they’d never relinquish.

"He pitched really well. He controlled them,” Shelton said. “He gave up the one run on a ball that was a good pitch, and Gorman did a good job getting it in the outfield. I mean, he threw the ball outstanding."

As exhibited in the fourth, Oviedo had excellent feel for both breaking balls -- he threw a career-best 99.3 mph fastball as well -- but his curveball was especially effective. The right-hander generated a career-high 12 called strikes and whiffs with his curveball, eclipsing his previous career high of seven that he set in his last start against the White Sox. It should come as no surprise, then, that the curveball accounts for 23.2 percent of his pitches this season, compared to 10.9 percent of his pitches last season.

Oviedo noted that he primarily relied on his fastball and slider during his time in St. Louis' bullpen last season, but he began throwing the curveball more frequently upon transitioning back to starting. With JT Brubaker out for the season after undergoing right elbow surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) earlier this week, Oviedo stands to start more than ever before.

During his time with the Cardinals, Oviedo never consistently started for St. Louis for an extended period of time, never mind a full season. In 2021, Oviedo almost exclusively started for St. Louis, but oscillated between the Majors and Minors. In '22, Oviedo became a full-time multi-inning reliever for the Cardinals before joining the Pirates via trade.

Upon acquiring Oviedo from the Cardinals, the Pirates sent Oviedo to Triple-A Indianapolis to build back up to a starter’s workload. Down the stretch, Oviedo provided a glimpse of what he can do with consistent starts, posting a 3.23 ERA and 3.47 FIP across 30 2/3 innings. Now, Oviedo is building on that foundation.

“The preparation started last year,” said pitching coach Oscar Marin. “The first couple [starts with us] were three innings, no runs, a couple punchouts and like 70 pitches. That’s not ideal. After those first two starts, he bounced back. He was going 5 [innings] and 75 [pitches]. He was going six [innings] and 80 [pitches]. The trend of him really out-stuffing guys is what we’re trying to preach with him, and he’s actually been a little bit better than that."