Adam Wainwright will not make another start for the St. Louis Cardinals, and the retiring 42-year-old pitcher will finish with exactly 200 wins in his MLB career.
Manager Oliver Marmol announced Tuesday that Wainwright’s start last week against the Milwaukee Brewers was his final one. The Cardinals are currently last in the NL Central and will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2018.
In his final trip to the mound in an 18-year career, Wainwright delivered a vintage performance during a 1-0 win in front of a sold-out Busch Stadium. He allowed four hits in seven innings — his longest outing of the season— and struck out three while not allowing an earned run for the first time this season. That was good enough for his 200th win, making him the fifth active major-league pitcher with 200 or more wins and only the third pitcher in franchise history to win 200 games.
Wainwright’s final start was the 411th of his MLB career and his 59th in the regular season since he turned 40 in 2021.
There was a chance that Wainwright could’ve pitched again this season, but shoulder and back pain forced Marmol to skip his regular turn in the rotation, which would’ve come this past Saturday against the San Diego Padres.
Marmol didn’t rule out Wainwright grabbing a bat during one of the Cardinals’ final games, however. The pitcher has been hoping to serve as a designated hitter or pinch-hitter in a game this season, but that will depend on whether the Cincinnati Reds are still in playoff contention at the time.
While Wainwright has a career .193 batting average, he has shown some pop, with 10 home runs, 75 runs batted in and 39 doubles.
“He’s definitely been lobbying for it, I’ll tell you that,” Marmol told St. Louis radio station KMOX. “There has to be a word above [lobbying].”
Also, Wainwright will perform music from his upcoming album on Sept. 30 as part of “Waino Weekend” to celebrate the franchise legend.
