Michael Wacha, who had been pitching well, probably was less than delighted as the Cardinals chose to skip his last turn, saying they wanted to keep him stronger for the long haul after his shoulder issues of late last season. But it worked Friday night. For a while.
Wacha, starting for the first time in 12 days at rainy Busch Stadium, threw six scoreless innings at the San Francisco Giants, allowing just four hits while throwing 86 pitches, but just 59 over his last five innings. “He was very good,” said manager Mike Matheny. “Didn’t miss a beat.