Cardinals' Luke Gregerson: Struggles in '19 debut

Gregerson allowed an earned run on two hits over two-thirds of an inning in a loss to the Cubs on Sunday, his first major-league action of 2019.

The veteran reliever had mostly cruised through an extensive minor-league rehab assignment during April, but he got a rocky welcome to major-league action Sunday. Gregerson threw 12 pitches overall, allowing a leadoff double to Albert Almora, Jr. in the seventh and a run-scoring single to Ben Zobrist that plated the latter. Gregerson will likely work as a low-leverage middle-relief option as he gets his feet wet, although it bears noting he does have past closing experience with the Astros that could come into play should Andrew Miller and/or Jordan Hicks sustain injuries that shelve them for any amount of time.