(Busch Stadium) After his last outing marked the shortest start of his career, Adam Wainwright did a lot of looking in the mirror, first to think and then to improve.
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“I got done with my start in Baltimore and literally, I felt sick to my stomach that that was what came out of my arm that day,” he said. “Where I was mentally after Baltimore was about as low as I may have ever been.”
Calling that performance “unacceptable”, Wainwright decided to stick his chin out and get to work, literally.
“The key for me all day, I was just going to take my chin right towards my target and see how many pitches I could make,” he said. “Try to throw maybe two or three balls hard all day, just try to make pitch after pitch after pitch. Then see where the chips fell after that.”
The effort was a change from what Wainwright described as trying to generate velocity and make pitches in what he described as an “inefficient manner” rather than just getting his body in the right position and letting his arm work. So after watching film of the Baltimore start, he stood in front of the mirror and decided to stick his chin out.
“Realized I was pulling off so bad,” said Wainwright. “Front arm was too active, head was leaning. You ever play darts? You don’t play darts like that (leaning to the side), you play darts like that. Take your face right to the target. Today, I just wanted to play darts out there.”
The result was seven strong innings tonight as he received a no-decision in the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Finishing with 97 pitches, Wainwright allowed just two hits and one earned run while striking out five Pittsburgh batters.
“It was the most comfortable I’ve felt on the mound all year, period,” stated Wainwright.
“I saw a lot of sinkers and cutters,” said David Freese. “Just a lot of movement. He understands he’s not throwing as hard as he used to, but he’s a pitcher. Uses movement to get outs. He did a good job tonight.”
It was Freese who tied the game up in the 8th inning with an RBI single off of Trevor Rosenthal. Seung Hwan Oh then allowed a home run to John Jaso in the 9th to give Pittsburgh the lead.
The Cardinals offense was supplied by Jose Martinez, who hit a 2-run homer in the 2nd inning, and by Paul DeJong, who had a solo shot in the 7th. For DeJong, it was his fourth home run in the last seven games.
photo credit: Scott Kane-USA TODAY Sports
