Adam Wainwright made a remarkable recovery last season after rupturing his Achilles tendon in April. He returned late in the year and was used out of the bullpen, but now he's glad to be back as a starter for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Today marked the first time the veteran took the mound as a starter since April 25, 2015. The right-hander tossed two scoreless frames against the NL-champion New York Mets in the Cardinals' 9-4 victory. Although he struggled a bit with his command, Wainwright got out of a bases-loaded jam in the first and then left two Mets runners on base in the second.
Manager Mike Matheny said Waino was "elevated" in his pitches, but the pitcher was still himself in the sense that he could still get the big outs.
He tossed 38 pitches, gave up two hits and three walks in those two innings, which wasn't ideal, but it also wasn't a surprise since he hasn't made a start in nearly 11 months. Wainwright said his arm is "reaping the rewards" and feels "amazing" thanks to the rest he's gotten from being sidelined for as long as he was last year.
The 34-year-old squared off against Mets' youngster Steven Matz on Monday. The 24-year-old lefty allowed one run on one hit and two walks over three innings and struck out three. However, the Cardinals' offense capitalized against Jeff Walters, who allowed five runs (four earned) on four hits and a walk in the fifth inning. That's when Stephen Piscotty, Jonathan Rodriguez and Jedd Gyorko showed off their bats for St. Louis and got the club out to a 6-1 lead.
The Cardinals will be in great shape if Wainwright can get that type of run support as he hopes to endure a healthy campaign in 2016. Before going down with the Achilles injury last year, the former first-round draft pick was 2-1 with a 1.44 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 18 strikeouts in four starts (25 innings) as a starter. In the two seasons prior (2013, 2014), the right-hander finished top-three in the Cy Young voting, was named to the NL All-Star team and won a Gold Glove.
It's expected Wainwright will get four more spring starts before taking the mound on Opening Day against the Pirates in Pittsburgh. He'll certainly be more motivated to improve his command over the next month, as the Cards will need him to be at his best following the losses of John Lackey and Lance Lynn.
