5 St. Louis Cardinals to watch in NL wild card game

ST. LOUIS, MO - OCTOBER 01: Members of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrate their walk-off victory against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on October 1, 2021 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Scott Kane/Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS, MO - OCTOBER 01: Members of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrate their walk-off victory against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on October 1, 2021 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Scott Kane/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 13: Adam Wainwright #50 of the St. Louis Cardinals in action against the New York Mets at Citi Field on September 13, 2021 in New York City. St. Louis Cardinals defeated the New York Mets 7-0. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 13: Adam Wainwright #50 of the St. Louis Cardinals in action against the New York Mets at Citi Field on September 13, 2021 in New York City. St. Louis Cardinals defeated the New York Mets 7-0. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

Adam Wainwright

For about 15 seasons, if there is a pitcher the St. Louis Cardinals want to turn to for an important game, that pitcher without a doubt is Adam Wainwright.

Wainwright has been tapped to be the starter in the NL Wild Card game against Max Scherzer and the LA Dodgers. Wainwright’s resurgence as the ace has been extremely beneficial for a Cardinals team bitten by the injury bug early and often this season.

Wainwright signed a deal last week to remain with the club in 2022 on a one-year deal close to $17.5 million. Wainwright recently turned 40 and seemingly found a fountain of youth that has had him pitching at a level we haven’t seen in over five seasons.

In 2021, Wainwright is 17-7 with 206.1 innings pitched in 32 games started. He has three complete games this season and one shutout. He has struck out 174 batters this season. The 3.8 WAR pitcher has a called strikes plus whiff rate of 29.6. This season he has induced ground balls at 48.7%.

He, along with long-time battery mate and friend Yadier Molina, have had quite a season together. Hopefully, the duo will continue their successes well into October.

These moments are made for Wainwright. I look forward to seeing him shine bright on this stage.