Adam Wainwright got absolutely no run support from the St. Louis Cardinals in their latest loss.
Though he went the distance, St. Louis Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright still suffered another painful defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Wainwright pitched the full nine innings, allowing two runs on five hits vs. visiting Philadelphia. Though he did not walk a single batter, he did give up two big flies to Alec Bohm late in the game. Despite a strong performance on the mound individually, he and the Redbirds took the 2-0 loss. St. Louis has gone 3-7 in its last 10 games, dropping to 45-41 on the season after Friday’s defeat.
So how brutal was this loss for Wainwright?
He became the first pitcher since himself to go a full nine innings and still lose. Not only that, but it came against the same Philadelphia team … and the same Phillies starting pitcher, Zack Wheeler.
What are the odds of that?!
St. Louis Cardinals RHP Adam Wainwright has awful luck vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Even though the Cardinals are only 3.5 games back of the first-place Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central race, they cannot afford to drop games vs. fellow playoff contenders like the Phillies. If the season were to have ended after Friday night’s slate, St. Louis would be the first team out of the NL postseason. Conversely, the Phillies would be the last NL Wild Card team to make the playoffs.
Simply put, the Cardinals have to take advantage of three teams in its own division in the midst of rebuilding processes. Only the Washington Nationals are truly rebuilding in the NL East. Even if the San Francisco Giants are fading rapidly in the NL West, both the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies are worse than them. Do the Cardinals want to make the NL postseason or not?
Admittedly, getting two of the hottest teams in baseball over the last month and change back-to-back in the Atlanta Braves and the Phillies is tough sledding for anyone. Then again, these are the teams St. Louis will be battling for postseason positioning with anyway. Wainwright is not getting any younger. Who knows if he will ever pitch another gem like this again? Better not waste it, y’all.
Eventually, the Cardinals’ bats will wake up, but blowing a terrific start from Wainwright is brutal.