This season is Adam Wainwright's last with the St. Louis Cardinals, as he plans to retire. This gave Cardinals fans a reason to watch the upcoming campaign, even though they fell out of postseason contention. Yet, Wainwright gave the fanbase a vintage performance on Monday night.
Facing the Milwaukee Brewers, Wainwright pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out three batters in the 1-0 victory. This was a special performance for Wainwright, as this was his 200th career win as a starting pitcher, becoming the 122nd pitcher in MLB history to accomplish this.
It had not been an ideal season for Wainwright, but he turned back the clock to add a tremendous accolade to his resume. This comes over four months after Wainwright vowed he would prove fans on Twitter wrong after details of his second rehab assignment were unveiled.
Looking forward to proving every last one of you underneath this wrong. Thanks for the motivation. There’s a balance… read the comments and get depressed? Or read the comments and put the war paint on. See you soon
— Adam Wainwright (@UncleCharlie50) April 26, 2023
Adam Wainwright proves fans wrong with throwback performance to record 200th career win
Wainwright was in Triple-A Springfield as he worked his way back from a groin strain that sidelined him at the start of the season.
Besides becoming the latest pitcher to record his 200th career win, Wainwright also entered Cardinals history books.
According to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, Wainwright is now the oldest pitcher to throw a scoreless game in seven innings or more at 42 years and 19 days. The record was previously held by Jim Kaat, who recorded a 10-inning shutout on June 4, 1980, at 41 years and 210 days.
oldest Cardinals pitchers with scoreless outing of 7+ IP:
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) September 19, 2023
Today Adam Wainwright: 42 y, 19 d
6/4/1980 Jim Kaat: 41 y, 210 d (10-inning SHO!)
4/12/1928 Grover Alexander: 41 y, 46 d (SHO) https://t.co/w5PHPwS6mX
Wainwright spent two stints on the injured list this season, the aforementioned groin strain and a right shoulder strain suffered in early July. Through 21 starts this season, Wainwright recorded a 7.40 ERA, a 1.901 WHIP, 55 strikeouts, and 41 walks over 101.0 innings pitched.
While the season will go down as one of his worst statistically, it had to be great for Cardinals fans to see Wainwright turn back the clock and throw a seven-inning shutout against the rival Brewers on Monday night.