Another outing, another failed quest at career win number 199 for St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright.
The soon-to-be 42-year-old Wainwright has not posted a win since June 17 in an outing at the New York Mets. Since that day, the St. Louis Cardinals right-hander has posted an ERA of 12.56 and FIP of 7.55 while going 0-8 as opposing batters have posted an OPS of 1.153 and batting average of .405.
Clearly, Wainwright has struggled. However, he didn’t seem to be going down that same path on Tuesday night in Pittsburgh, limiting the Pirates to one run, one hit and one walk over his first four innings. However, the fifth proved to be disastrous.
Pittsburgh would score five times in the fifth inning, chasing Wainwright before he could finish the frame and dousing every good feeling that had come in the previous four innings. The hopes for Wainwright’s 199th career victory were dashed by a two-run double from Bryan Reynolds and a two-run homer from Andrew McCutchen to push Pittsburgh to a 6-1 lead. After Wainwright then gave up a double to Connor Joe, his night was over and the frustration set in.
Adam Wainwright at loss for words as St. Louis Cardinals fall again
You can see Wainwright’s raw and honest postgame interview here, but it is the words below that broke the hearts of Cardinals fans hoping to see him take another step toward a milestone.
Adam Wainwright on the postgame:
— Brenden Schaeffer🎳 (@bschaeffer12) August 23, 2023
"I don't know what to tell y'all. I don't know what to tell our fan ba--What do I tell 'em? Yuh know? What do I say? What can I say?"
Damn. pic.twitter.com/cRByQma4kb
It has come to that point for Wainwright, who is running out of chances to earn two more victories and get to his 200th milestone. His head-scratching season has been part of a campaign to forget under the Gateway Arch, with the Cardinals falling to 55-72 after Tuesday’s loss, their 12th in 20 August outings.
With the season lost, there is little reason for Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol to take Wainwright, despite his ineffectiveness, out of the rotation. If that is the case, he will likely get five to six more starts to grab a pair of victories, something both he and the team desperately need.