These are the bottom 5 moments of the Cardinals' 2023 season

Adam Wainwright bottoms out

One of the saving graces of the 2023 season for the Cardinals was the celebration of the career of Adam Wainwright. In the final start of his career, Wainwright pitched seven shutout innings to net his 200th win. But the road to get there was cumbersome and painful for Cardinals fans to watch.

It's arguable what the lowest point of the season for Wainwright was, but his start on Aug. 11 on the road against the lowly Kansas City Royals where he lasted a single inning and surrendered eight earned runs has to rank at or near the top. Wainwright had come off of the injured list on July 24, but after two games that suggested he might be on the right track, he gave up seven earned runs in three innings against the Colorado Rockies. The nearly impossible-to-watch performance against the Royals followed, and the two wins he needed to reach 200 appeared nearly out of reach.

The other outing that I might mark as the hardest to watch was Wainwright's start against the Chicago Cubs in London on June 24. Wainwright had been looking forward to the opportunity to represent the Cardinals overseas, but the special day was ruined after he allowed seven earned runs on 11 hits in three innings.

Watching all of Wainwright's starts for much of the season was a test in how much pain one can feel for someone else; luckily, as all fans know, his season and career ended on a high note.

The 71-91 Cardinals were full of moments fans would rather forget, but for those who feel like wallowing in the pain of the season a little longer, these five moments certainly delivered the body blows.