ST. LOUIS -- Gordon Graceffo didn’t crack the Cardinals Opening Day roster, yet before the season’s first home stand at Busch Stadium had elapsed, he was already approaching folk hero status out of the St. Louis bullpen.
Graceffo was recalled Tuesday from Triple-A Memphis in a move corresponding to RHP Matt Pushard landing on the IL with right knee patellar tendinitis.
In both of his first two games back with the club, Graceffo ended up entering into situations with inherited runners threatening to flip the game against the Cardinals.
In both instances, Graceffo escaped the tight spot to keep the game right where it was -- eventually resulting in two wins for the Cardinals over the Mets.
“It’s definitely a difficult situation to come into, right?” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said after Graceffo’s second Houdini in as many days. “Bases loaded and you’ve got to keep them right there… That’s a tough spot when your name is called. For him to come up into the situation he did yesterday and then do that today was awesome, it really was.”
Wednesday saw Graceffo wiggle out of a bases-loaded scenario in the 11th inning -- the rescue mission came after Chris Roycroft walked two batters immediately following a comebacker off his shoulder.
But after getting his feet wet on the tightrope in the previous game, Graceffo seemed prepared for the task at hand.
"Just one pitch at a time and throw strikes,” Graceffo said after Tuesday’s two key outs to strand a pair of runners inherited from Andre Pallante in the sixth. “Good things happen.”
While Graceffo could end up seeing opportunities for multi-inning stints, providing length for a bullpen that could benefit from such versatility after Kyle Leahy’s move to join the starting rotation, the past couple of days have also shined a light on his value as a fireman in a Cardinal bullpen that is beginning to see the roles become more clearly defined with each passing game.