Adam Wainwright is now the second pitcher to record 2,000 strikeouts for the St. Louis Cardinals. Wainwright struck out Luis Urias on a curveball to open the bottom of the fourth inning to reach the milestone. It was Wainwright’s lone strikeout of the day, as he only pitched four innings in his shortest outing since May 15th. The Cardinals rallied late, scoring seven runs over the last three innings to push their winning streak to 12 games. In doing so, the Cardinals completed a four-game sweep over the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers.
Adam Wainwright Adds to Legend with 2,000 Ks
Wainwright has been no stranger to milestones. A now 40-year-old pitcher playing in his sixteenth major league season will have stacked a number of stats and made his way up various leaderboards. His 1.97 Cy Young Career Shares is the highest among pitchers who have never received the award. He has finished among the top three in Cy Young voting on four separate occasions. He led the league in wins with 19 in both 2009 and 2013. His win-loss percentage of .635 is sixth among active players. The three-time all star has spent his entire career with St. Louis. Wainwright is second in strikeouts with the team to only Bob Gibson, who logged 3,117 over 17 seasons. He is third in franchise wins behind Gibson and Jesse Haines.
Wainwright’s resurgence this year has been a welcome development for the Cardinals. A few years ago, he had seemingly settled into a role as a decent starter who would gut it out and keep the team in ballgames despite having diminished stuff. He was more effective in 2019 and 2020, but he has now ascended back into the top tier of starters in the National League. With Jack Flaherty injured for most of the year, Wainwright has been the undisputed ace and is essential to the team’s playoff hopes.
Wainwright is the 85th pitcher to reach the 2,000 strikeout milestone.
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Players mentioned:
Adam Wainwright, Bob Gibson, Jesse Haines, Jack Flaherty
