So goes Adam Wainwright, so goes the Cardinals and the 41-year-old pitcher’s presumed final season has been a nightmare so far.
Thursday, against the Astros, the veteran starting Cardinals was demolished by the Texas attack during a 14-0 loss. For the big right-hander, it was a second consecutive bad start, he who saw the Cubs reserve the same fate for him at the end of the London series.
Although fans at Busch Stadium gave him a standing ovation after he was taken out of the game after just five outs, Wainwright’s eyes couldn’t leave the ground when he returned to the dugout.
A long discussion with his manager Oliver Marmol ensued and the latter must certainly have sought to console the pillar of the Cards rotation for so many years.
After watching teammates Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina leave with honors at the end of last season, Wainwright seems to be hanging on his cleats in pain.
Prior to this season, Wainwright signed a one-year deal valued at $17.5 million to wrap up a long and successful career with the Cardinals. However, nothing is going well for the Missouri squad in 2023 and the veteran is painfully paying the price, trailing an ERA of 7.45 in 10 starts so far.
Wainwright started the season on the injured list and hasn’t seemed able to recover since his return.
To give you an idea of just how painful the No. 50 season is, he struck out just 25 batters in 48 1/3 innings in 2023.
Still, the Cardinals manager is not throwing in the towel for his veteran, as he will give him the ball again on Tuesday against the Miami Marlins and it should be the same in the last game before the All-Star break on July 9. , against the White Sox in Chicago.
It’s hard to imagine Adam Wainwright out of the team’s rotation, he who has represented stability for all these years.
At 41, has Wainwright started one season too many in the Majors? No one could foresee the team’s collapse in 2023 and even less to see the veteran pitcher suffer so much at the end of his career.
Let’s hope his last two outings were just a bad dream and the second half of the season was bright, because Wainwright really deserves it.
