The most recent time Adam Wainwright pitched for the Cardinals, and for two of his last three games, he had been moved to use the “P” word.
Poor. Pathetic. He might have said pitiful. He stopped short of putrid, which would have been a little strong. But there was no chloroforming the fact he had given up nine earned runs in the first and third of those starts, not lasting as long as four innings in either of them.
Back at Busch Stadium, before a sellout house of 47,112, the Cardinals’ veteran again was a master. He had been 5-1 with a 2.