The Cardinals recalled Ponce de Leon ahead of his scheduled start in the second game of Sunday's doubleheader with the Reds.
Ponce de Leon will only be in line for a spot start this weekend, but a strong showing versus Cincinnati may convince manager Mike Shildt to give the right-hander another look in the rotation at some point later in September. The Cardinals' current No. 5 starter, Michael Wacha, tossed seven quality frames in one end of a doubleheader Saturday but has otherwise underwhelmed lately, posting a 5.71 ERA and 1.62 WHIP across his prior four outings.