In the Cardinals’ dugout during the bottom of the eighth inning Saturday, as Adam Wainwright’s spot in the order neared, manager Mike Matheny approached his ace for a conversation they had not had in almost two years.
Wainwright had just thrown his 109th pitch to complete his eighth scoreless inning. The righthander was three outs away from his first shutout since September 2014, and though it had been awhile, Matheny remembered their dance. Wainwright would begin negotiations by requesting a certain number of pitches. Matheny would agree but calculate how many pitches he truly could allow his ace to throw.