FanSided

Wainwright, Molina make history in Cardinals best win of season

By Josh Jacobs |
ST LOUIS, MO - AUGUST 02: Yadier Molina #4 of the St. Louis Cardinals and Adam Wainwright #50 of the St. Louis Cardinals walk to the dug out prior to a game against the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium on August 2, 2022 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Joe Puetz/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MO - AUGUST 02: Yadier Molina #4 of the St. Louis Cardinals and Adam Wainwright #50 of the St. Louis Cardinals walk to the dug out prior to a game against the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium on August 2, 2022 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Joe Puetz/Getty Images)
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The Cardinals had perhaps their biggest win of 2022 during on a record breaking night from Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina

The St. Louis Cardinals and their fans have been anticipating this game for weeks now. Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina broke the MLB record for most starts together at 325, a record that will probably never be broken.

While the record itself is reason to celebrate for St. Louis, their performance against the Milwaukee Brewers may have been their most important win of the season for a variety of reasons. Here is why Wednesday’s win was the best win for St. Louis of 2022.

The offense got to ace Corbin Burnes

One of the biggest question marks facing this Cardinals lineup is whether or not they could hit against the best pitchers in baseball. This issue looms large when you look at the level of starters they will have to face come October.

In 3 starts against St. Louis leading up to Wednesday, Burnes had a 0.43 ERA in 21 innings of work. The club has been dominated by him all year long, and with their recent dry spell offensively, there was an expectation that it would happen again.

Instead, the club had 7 hits, drew a walk, and were hit by a pitch, consistently putting pressure on the reigning Cy Young winner. He cracked a few different times, allowing 3 runs on solo home runs to Nolan Arenado and Lars Nootbaar, as well as an RBI single from Yadier Molina.

If St. Louis can find a way to grind out 2-3 runs against some of the best pitchers in baseball, they will have a legitimate shot to represent the National League in the World Series. There are two many “ace” level pitchers in the national league for the club to struggle against elite arms, and Wednesday was a huge sign for the club.

Albert Pujols #5 of the St. Louis Cardinals stands on first base. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
Albert Pujols #5 of the St. Louis Cardinals stands on first base. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

Albert Pujols continues to turn back the clock

In the midst of ridiculous allegations from media of PED usage, Albert Pujols continues to look like his old self, providing huge at-bats for the club and contributing to these big wins.

Although he did not homer tonight in his pursuit of 700, he provide a huge insurance run on an RBI double in the bottom of the 8th to score Tyler O’Neill from first base. Pujols continues to not only be a fun story down the stretch, but a key member of the Cardinals lineup.

Albert was hit by a pitch in a full count against Burnes earlier in the game, and his double came off right-hander Brad Boxberger, showing the 42-year old can have big moments when left-handers are not on the mound.

All season long, the Cardinals have had to rely on different names to surround Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, but since July, Pujols has really become the “third guy” in this lineup. If he continues to step up in the biggest moments, there could be some magic in store for this club in October.

Yadier Molina #4 of the St. Louis Cardinals is congratulated by Adam Wainwright. (Photo by Joe Puetz/Getty Images)
Yadier Molina #4 of the St. Louis Cardinals is congratulated by Adam Wainwright. (Photo by Joe Puetz/Getty Images) /

Vintage performance from Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina

Everyone was excited to see Wainwright and Molina break the MLB record for batterymate starts, but after that first pitch was thrown, none of that mattered. The Milwaukee Brewers had their ace on the mound and were looking for a sweep in St. Louis, so the iconic duo needed to bring their “A” game.

As the Cardinals offense chipped away at Burnes, Wainwright remained poised on the mound, allowing just 1 run in five innings of work to keep the Brewers in check. He may not have gone as deep into the game as he would have liked, but Wainwright pitched like this was a postseason game. With how the game is played now, 5 innings of one run ball is exactly what the club would need from him in the playoffs. He put them in position to win, and they did.

Molina’s chemistry with Wainwright showed once again as they navigated situations with runners on base throughout the game, including a vintage strike ’em out throw ’em out double play.

Molina continued his recent resurgence at the plate as well, including his RBI single that gave St. Louis the lead in the second inning. Over his last 5 games, Molina has slashed .263/.300/.632 with 2 HR and 4 RBI, looking like the kind of catcher that can be relied upon at the plate again. I made the argument recently that if Molina cannot improve at the plate, the Cardinals may need to pinch hit for him in big spots. If this recent success continues, there will be no need for that.

Ryan Helsley #56 of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches. (Photo by Joe Puetz/Getty Images)
Ryan Helsley #56 of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches. (Photo by Joe Puetz/Getty Images) /

Bullpen shut the door

Wainwright exited the game after 5 innings of work, meaning the bullpen needed to piece together four more innings to complete the win over the second-place Brewers. The bullpen not only held the lead, but did so masterfully.

Andre Pallante, Jordan Hicks, Giovanni Gallegos, and Ryan Helsley all pitched one innings a piece, and only allowed a single hit to the Brewers the rest of the game. Pallante and Hicks both walked batters, but were able to get out of the runners on situation with no problems.

The biggest thing may be how the bullpen was getting outs. Hicks, Gallegos, and Helsley all struck out two batters, showing the ability to create swings and misses, something that is much needed when facing the elite teams come October. The Brewers offense is far from elite, but given the stakes of this game, it was huge to see the bullpen go to work like they did.

Next. How rumored STL trade targets are fairing post-deadline. dark

How St. Louis played on September 14th was what a legitimate contender looks like. If the Cardinals build upon this win, expectations should be high entering the postseason.

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