DETROIT -- Eleven months as a big leaguer. Fifteen appearances; 14 starts. Five countries. Countless pitches thrown, close calls and "today is the day" pep talks before taking the mound.

All that, and Johan Oviedo is still waiting for his first MLB win. Tuesday’s misery even had a name: Akil Baddoo.

It's interesting to postulate the quantity of blood, sweat and tears any professional sheds as they work their way to the ultimate stage. But as tales of Oviedo's long journey to his first victory inevitably grow, they'll most certainly have to include the line drive that knocked the Cardinals righty off the mound during the first inning of Tuesday’s 8-2 loss to the Tigers at Comerica Park.

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Oviedo recovered from that hit, but he was knocked from the game in the fourth after a wild pitch snowballed into a lost inning for the rookie. But what's a good story without a little drama sprinkled in?

“This is why we get an opportunity to have him get experience, right?,” manager Mike Shildt said. “He did right his ship. He punched out [Robbie] Grossman ... got down in the count and didn't get his slider where he needed to, and got punished for it.”

In Tuesday’s case, Oviedo was under control early, having secured the first two outs of the opening frame. Then up came Baddoo, who took a first-pitch ball then fouled off three straight.

Pitch No. 5 was the winner, and Baddoo stroked the four-seam offering right up the middle. A bit too perfectly up the middle for the sake of Oviedo, who didn’t have time to dodge a liner that pegged him squarely in the upper back.

Shortstop Paul DeJong quickly scooped up the carom and threw to second for the force out to end the threat, and as the crowd was still verbally grimacing at the replay, Oviedo walked calmly off the field.

The righty, who'd just taken an 88.8 mph shot squarely between the shoulder blades, didn't even move to rub the impact site.

Oviedo rebounded from the initial encounter to retire seven of the next eight Tigers he faced, but meeting Baddoo again was inevitable. And just after Oviedo sat down Miguel Cabrera to start the fourth, up came the pesky Detroit outfielder, who connected for a single to right. Oviedo’s next pitch was wild, allowing Baddoo to take second.

And then, believe it or not, another comebacker in Oviedo’s direction. This one came from Nomar Mazara’s bat and Oviedo fielded it cleanly, pivoted to see Baddoo had already committed to third base and moved to cut down the lead runner.

Except Nolan Arenado wasn’t quite to the bag yet and Oviedo’s leading throw sailed high and behind the runner, dribbling into the left-field corner as Baddoo scored easily with the game’s first run. Things then unraveled pretty quickly: Oviedo walked the next two Tigers, allowed a two-run double, struck out Grossman and surrendered a three-run homer.

“After that throw, things went a little bit fast for a couple of seconds … but then I got it back,” Oviedo said. “I threw two strikes to [Jake Rogers] and hung a slider around the middle, and that was when things went a little bit out of control.”

The sequence brought a fast and painful end to the rookie’s career-best 10 consecutive scoreless innings.

Oviedo’s final line from a night that started with such promise: 3 2/3 innings, six hits, six runs (two earned), three walks, one strikeout, one wild pitch and one home run.

Thankfully, Oviedo isn’t headed to the injured list after Baddoo’s “pat” on the back, nor is he discouraged while on the odyssey to career win No. 1. At 23 years old, he already understands that experiences good and bad are part of the journey.

“I believe this is a process that some players sometimes have to go through,” Oviedo said. “All I can do is keep learning. That’s what I’m doing pretty well.

“I'm learning every single start, every single inning, every single pitch that I throw out there, and I really believe that things will be better and successful at some point, I’ve just got to be patient and keep working.”

And if he’s collected some colorful memories -- or, in Tuesday’s case, bruises -- along the way, well, they’ll only serve to make the final narrative that much more enjoyable to tell.