Daniel Ponce de Leon had been in this position once before, called in by new manager Mike Shildt to replace an injured pitcher. It was Ponce de Leon's first home game in the majors on July 30, 2018 after Ponce de Leon had tossed seven hitless innings in his big-league debut in Cincinnati the week before.
Ponce de Leon used that experience, a painful one administered by one of his Cardinals teammates now, as a reference point for his appearance Saturday night at Busch Stadium when starter Miles Mikolas suffered some right forearm tightness as he warmed up before the fifth inning of a game the Chicago Cubs led 1-0.