The St. Louis Cardinals announced prior to tonight's series opener with the Chicago Cubs that they have recalled first baseman Luke Voit from Springfield (AA) and activated right-handed pitcher Matt Bowman (right hand finger blisters) from the 10-day disabled list. The team also announced that first baseman José Martínez has been placed on the Paternity List and that rookie right-handed pitcher Daniel Poncedeleon was optioned to Memphis (AAA) following Wednesday night's game.
Voit has appeared in five games for the Cardinals this season, batting .500 (2-for-4) with one home run and three RBI. His pinch-hit homer on June 7 vs. Miami was the Cardinals first pinch-homer this season.
Bowman, who missed 26 games while on the disabled list (May 17-June 14), is 0-1 with a 5.82 ERA in 17 games (17.0 IP) for the Cardinals this season. He made three appearances with Memphis during his recent injury rehabilitation assignment and worked 4.0 innings, allowing one run on three hits.
Poncedeleon, who was purchased from Memphis on Monday (June 11), did not see action in his three games with St. Louis. The rookie right-hander is 5-2 with a 2.41 ERA in 12 games (11 starts) for Memphis this season.
Martínez is leading the Cardinals in batting (.321), home runs (10) and RBI (42), hitting safely in 10 of his last 11 games, including a stretch during which he'd homered in four of five games from June 7-11.