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Adam Wainwright will not pitch again for Cardinals after earning 200th win in final start

By Sean Leahy, Yahoo Sports

;St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright tips his cap after earning the win in a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers for his 200th career victory Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) (Jeff Roberson/AP)

By Sean Leahy, Yahoo Sports

Adam Wainwright will not make another start for the St. Louis Cardinals as the retiring 42-year-old pitcher will finish with exactly 200 wins in his MLB career.

Manager Oliver Marmol announced on Tuesday that Wainwright's start last week against the Milwaukee Brewers was his final one. The Cardinals are currently last in the NL Central and will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2018.

In the final trip to the mound after an 18-year career, Wainwright delivered a vintage performance during a 1-0 win in front of a sold out Busch Stadium. He allowed four hits over seven innings — his longest outing of the year— and struck out three while not allowing an earned run for the first time this season. That was good enough for win no. 200 making him the fifth active major league pitcher with 200 or more wins and only the third pitcher in franchise history to win 200 games.

Wainwright's final start was the 411th of his MLB career and 59th in the regular season since turning 40 years old in 2001.

There was a chance that Wainwright could have pitched again, but shoulder and back pain forced Marmol to skip his regular turn in the rotation, which would have come last Saturday against the San Diego Padres.

Marmol didn't rule out Wainwright grabbing a bat during one of the Cardinals' final games, however. The pitcher has been hoping to serve as a designated hitter or pinch-hitter during a game this season, but that will depend on whether the Reds are still in playoff contention at the time.

While Wainwright has a career .193 batting average, he has shown some pop with 10 home runs, 75 runs batted in and 39 doubles.

"He's definitely been lobbying for it I'll tell you that," Marmol told St. Louis radio station KMOX. "There has to be a word above [lobbying]."

While it's undecided if he'll get a plate appearance, Wainwright will perform music from his upcoming album on Sept. 30 as part of "Waino Weekend" to celebrate the franchise legend.

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