Adam Wainwright gets win No.18 finally in 11-4 victory over Braves
It took him five tries, but Adam Wainwright finally got win No. 18.
The ace of the St. Louis Cardinals pitching staff went eight solid innings to lead the Cardinals to a much-needed win over the Atlanta Braves 11-4 in Atlanta Thursday night.
Atlanta got out to a quick start on Wainwright scoring three runs in the first inning with the help of a pair of errors by the Cardinals, but then Wainwright buckled down and the Cardinals offense took over.
“I was disgusted with myself,” Wainwright said. “I had a temper tantrum in the hallway and got over it. I needed to get mad.”
The Cardinals took over the lead with a big inning of their own with five runs in the second inning. Pedro Feliz got the Cardinals on the board with a single that scored Colby Rasmus. Brendan Ryan tacked on two more runs with a double that scored Feliz and Yadier Molina. Skip Schumaker finished off the scoring with a two-run home run to give St. Louis a 5-3 lead.
After a shaky start, Wainwright looked more like an ace facing only three batters an inning over the next seven innings. The Braves did get two more singles off him, but the Cardinal defense responded to each by turning a double play on the next batter.
Colby Rasmus led the way offensively for the Cardinals, going four for four on the day with two home runs, one in the fifth inning and the other in the ninth that gave the Cardinals an 11-3 lead. Albert Pujols hit home run No. 37 for the season in the fourth inning.
Fernando Salas pitched the ninth inning in a non-save situation giving up a hit, one walk, and a single earned run while also striking out one to end the game.
With the win the Cardinals improved to 73-65 on the season and with the Cincinnati Reds losing to the Colorado Rockies were able to close the gap in the NL Central to five games.
St. Louis will look to keep their wining ways going Friday night in the second game of a four game series with the Braves. Chris Carpenter is scheduled to take the mound for the Cardinals while Mike Minor will do so for Atlanta.
The Cardinals have yet to lose to the Braves this season. Mike Minor has yet to lose since being called up in early August going 3-0.
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