ST. LOUIS — Doubting Adam Wainwright is becoming a futile activity for St. Louis Cardinals fans and writers.
When he was announced as the starter against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday Night Baseball last week, the better part of Cardinal Nation balked, including plenty respectable media members. I voiced my concerns about a weathered over-the-hill veteran who allowed the offensively-challenged Pittsburgh Pirates to look good getting a vital outing against a wildcard opponent. Statistically, it wasn't a wise move.
Then again, Wainwright doesn't care what the sabermetrics, experts, or keyboard gangsters have to say. He's a cowboy who refuses to let anyone but himself close the book on his career.
On Sunday night with his team staring down a season-crippling four game sweep against Los Angeles, Wainwright did what great pitchers do: find a way to win without their best stuff. Armed with a fastball averaging around 87 miles-per-hour and a curveball that could still buckle a knee, Wainwright carved the Dodgers up in six innings of work.
Wainwright's start topped the work of the ace-in-the-making, Jack Flaherty, who shut the Dodgers down for six innings earlier in the series. It followed Austin Gomber and John Gant giving up a combined 13 runs in just 7.1 innings of work, which forced the bullpen to work overtime hours like a water company would when pipes burst in the winter.
In a nutshell, it was a lifesaver and an eye opener. Sometimes, ruling someone out can light a fire, and I don't doubt for a second that when Wainwright walked to the mound on Sunday night under the bright lights of National television, he carried the unsettling feeling that a legion of loyal fans were leaving him behind. It happens to every pitcher sooner or later: you go out on an injury or via whiplash from seeing the ball fly over your head and the fans turning their backs abruptly. Wainwright wasn't ready.
He wasn't armed with Jordan Hicks' sizzling 104 mph fastball that managed to cut away from hitters' bats. Wainwright didn't have the uncomfortable cutter that once fooled Brandon Inge and launched a parade in downtown St. Louis. He was the gunslinger with a few bullets left on his belt, namely a silver one named Uncle Charlie. A curveball that bedeviled the Dodgers for six innings.
Every time Wainwright slung that breaking ball at the plate and a Dodger flailed at it or let it drop down into Yadier Molina's mitt, a unique pleasure fell over me. It was as if I found a hidden DVD in the closet named "The Good Old Days." Suddenly, it was 2006 again, and the entire Dodgers team was being treated to a "what happened to Carlos Beltran 12 years ago" video. It was glorious and reassuring.
The win helped the Cardinals starve off the most embarrassing September collapse since a 2003 date at Wrigley Field, and kept them locked at the hip to L.A. in the wildcard standings.
Now, there's just one question: Can Wainwright do it again? It's one thing to pull a great start out of your backpocket, and it wasn't as if this hadn't happened in years. In April, before he hit the disabled list for months, Wainwright held the Milwaukee Brewers down for seven innings. Last season, he had a great run from May 14 through June 1, including stellar work against Chicago and Los Angeles.
The problem with Wainwright ever since the Achilles tendon injury in 2014 has been consistency. A consistent starting pitcher is a reliable asset for a playoff-contending team like the Cardinals, and here's the good thing: the Cardinals don't need Wainwright to produce two great months of starts. They just need a couple more good starts.
Wainwright's final two starts of the season will come against San Francisco at Busch Stadium and the Cubs next week in Wrigley to finish the season. The veteran pitcher turned 37 years old three weeks ago, but he may get the present of a lifetime if he gets the assignment to pitch his team into postseason play against their rival on the road.
Can you see it? Wainwright and Molina walking into Wrigley Field like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, attempting to pull off one last heist before they go storming out from behind that hideaway at the awaiting posse. That's what baseball is all about. Second chances, comebacks, and unforgettable stories that can only happen on field where a sport is being played.
Here's what Wainwright earned on Sunday night: the chance to write his own ending. The fans, writers, and suits won't tell him when his time ends. It's in his hands.
In case you were wondering, here is how Wainwright has fared against the Giants and Cubs in his last three starts against each team spanning 2016 to this season.
San Francisco
6.1 innings pitched, 1 earned run, 6 strikeouts, 3 walks
5.2 innings pitched, 4 earned runs, 3 strikeouts, 2 walks
7.0 innings pitched, 2 earned runs, 6 strikeouts, 1 walk
Chicago:
5 innings pitched, 0 runs, 5 strikeouts, 4 walks
7.2 innings pitched, 2 runs, 3 strikeouts, 0 walks
7.0 innings pitched, 0 runs, 4 strikeouts, 3 walks
So you're saying there's a chance, right? Sure there is. With Wainwright, there always seems to be a way. He's a first rate competitor after all, crafting his set of skills over 1,920 innings and 283 starts in the Major Leagues.
I'll never doubt him again, whether it's a September start, World Series appearance, or Chick-fil-A recommendation over the radio.
Adam Wainwright isn't finished yet. Neither are the Cardinals.
