As reliever Ryan Sherriff jogged from the Cardinal bullpen to the mound to face the first major-league batter of his career, his mother, Renee, watched from the Busch Stadium seats.
Sherriff didn't take the time to look up and find his mother among the 40,050 fans in attendance for Friday's series-opener against the Rays. After all, as Sherriff said after the game, he was "more focused on getting outs."
But before throwing his first pitch, Sherriff paused to think about his father.
After he walked the first batter he faced, Sherriff's mind was still on his father.