Cardinals: Top three Adam Wainwright postseason moments

In just a few weeks, the Cardinals will be saying goodbye to a familiar face, as Adam Wainwright plays out the remainder of his legendary career.

Wainwright was acquired from the Braves in December of 2003 along with Ray King and Jason Marquis. That trade also sent outfielders Eli Marrero and J.D. Drew back to Atlanta.

It's safe to say that the Cardinals got the better end of that deal. Wainwright broke into the big leagues late in 2005 and helped guide the Cardinals to a World Series championship the following year after stepping into the closer's role for the postseason.

A year later, he became a starter. For the vast majority of his career, Wainwright has been the Cardinals' most reliable starter. He has 198 career wins to his name, two World Series rings, and a pair of 20-win seasons. He also has finished in the top three in Cy Young voting three times.

There were times when injuries derailed him. He missed all of 2011 due to Tommy John surgery, and his elbow issues resurfaced in 2017, landing him on the injured list twice.

In 2018, it appeared as if we had officially seen the last of the veteran right-hander when he left his start in San Diego on Mother's Day in just the third inning. But he returned late in the season and ultimately rediscovered his old form as he helped pitch the Cardinals to the postseason in each of the next four seasons.

The postseason is where Wainwright has shined the most in his career. The 42-year-old has a 4-5 record in postseason play with an ERA of 2.83 in 29 appearances, 16 of which were starts. He also has held hitters to just a .242 average over 114.1 innings pitched in the postseason.

In this piece, we will look at the top three postseason moments of Adam Wainwright's career.

#2. 2006 NLCS Game 7

Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS against the Mets is a game that will forever live on in Cardinals history.

After Endy Chavez robbed Scott Rolen of what would have been a go-ahead home run, the Mets seemed to be pointed toward the World Series. But all of that changed in the ninth inning.

Yadier Molina played the role of villain when he hit a two-run homer off of Aaron Heilman to put the Cardinals ahead in the ninth. The momentum had shifted, but the battle was far from over.

Wainwright took the mound to close the game out but ran into some trouble when he loaded the bases with two outs for postseason nemesis and future Cardinal Carlos Beltran. Wainwright dropped a changeup in for strike one and got the slugger to swing at a curveball for strike two.

The Cardinals young closer went back to his curveball and completely froze Beltran for strike three to send St. Louis to their second World Series in three years. Wainwright had become a villain in New York himself as the Cardinals danced on the field at Shea Stadium.

#1. 2006 World Series Game 5

Just over a week after freezing Beltran to send the Cardinals to the World Series, Wainwright was back at it again.

With a 4-2 lead in the ninth inning of Game 5 against the Tigers, the Cardinals turned to the right-hander with one goal in mind, to record three outs and secure the first championship in St. Louis since 1982.

Similarly to Game 7, Wainwright made it interesting and even put the tying run on base for Brandon Inge.

But true to form, Wainwright never caved, and he ultimately got Inge to swing and miss at an 0-2 pitch, which sent Busch Stadium into a frenzy as the Cardinals clinched their 10th World Series title in their first year at their new ballpark.

Unfortunately, Wainwright won't get another opportunity to close out a postseason series this October, but he shined the brightest in the biggest moments, moments which will never be forgotten.