Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright captures 200th career win
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMIZ)
Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright reached a long-awaited milestone on Monday night against the Milwaukee Brewers: 200 career wins.
St. Louis took down the National League Central-leading Brewers, 1-0, for the landmark win. Wainwright, also known as Uncle Charlie, had one of his best starts of 2023. He tossed seven innings of shutout baseball, with three strikeouts and just four hits allowed.
The Cardinals only tallied five hits on the night, but all it took was one from Waino's battery-mate. Catcher Wilson Contreras lifted up a solo home run in the fourth inning to put STL up 1-0 over the rival Brewers and that was all it took, offensively.
Closer Ryan Helsley closed out the historic win, pitching for a little more than one inning with two strikeouts and no hits.
With win No. 200, Wainwright joined elite Cardinals company. He joined the likes of Bob Gibson (251) and Jesse Haines (210) in the top three of all-time red bird wins.
The feat came at a perfect time for Waino, as he is in his 18th and final season as a St. Louis Cardinal. He entered his retirement season with 195 career wins and grinded to get those five needed wins. It was not an easy road for the St. Louis great, by any means. Just days before the season opened up, the Cardinals placed him on the injured list due to a groin strain. He didn't return to the bump until May.
That return was not everything he thought it would be, either. He did not get a win in 11 starts for the club. The brutal, three-month stretch put him on the injured list headed into the All-Star break, due to a shoulder injury.
After the game, during the Bally Sports broadcast, Wainwright said he was happy he could get this win in front of his home fans, in his second-to-last home series.
In 2022, Wainwright reached another landmark when he and now-retired catcher Yadier Molina broke the MLB record for most starts as a battery, with 328.
Earlier in September, St. Louis announced it will be celebrating Wainwright's career on the final regular season weekend of the 2023 season, on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.
