Adam Wainwright returns for St. Louis Cardinals
Adam Wainwright said he’d pitch for the St. Louis Cardinals again this season. And on Wednesday, he did.
The Cardinals would have to wait until the second game of their Wednesday doubleheader to pick up their 100th win on the year and clinch the National League Central, but they didn’t have to wait as long to see their ace back in action.
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With St. Louis trailing 7-2 in the eighth inning, Wainwright came in to start the bottom of the eighth. The Cardinals used him out of the bullpen like they plan to in the postseason, as he won’t have sufficient time to build up the necessary arm strength to pitch out of the rotation.
The outing probably didn’t go quite as Wainwright and the team hoped, as he gave up two hits and a run. However, the three-time All-Star did strike out a batter and manage to keep the damage minimal in his first action since April 25.
Whether Wainwright will pitch again before the postseason remains to be seen, though the Cardinals will have three games against the Braves to potential pitch him if they want one more look before the Division Series. Another appearance would also allow St. Louis to evaluate how long Wainwright will need in between outings to be effective, which is an experiment better done in the regular season when, with the division already locked up, the games won’t matter. It’s an opportunity for the Cardinals to redeem themselves, after giving a recovering Michael Wacha 23 days of rest between his final regular season appearance and his first playoff appearance (which came in the decisive Game 5 of the NLCS).