The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3 in the series opener of a three-game set on Friday night at PNC Park and Adam Wainwright once again dominated the Bucs, tossing seven innings of one-run baseball.
Before giving up that lone run, the Cardinals right-hander threw 38 scoreless innings against the Pirates. That's the longest streak of any pitcher in MLB history other than the great Roger Clemens.
Needless to say, Wainwright is living rent-free in Pittsburgh's head. He's a stellar 22-7 against the Bucs in his career, posting a 3.65 ERA. Wainwright kept them at bay here, giving up only four hits as well while striking out three batters. For a 40-year-old, Wainwright is really flourishing right now. He's 4-3 with a 3.15 ERA in seven starts and proving to be one of the most reliable arms in the Cardinals rotation just as years passed.
It's pretty safe to say the Pirates won't be interested in facing Adam Wainwright anytime soon. Their offensive struggles are already evident but he's one pitcher who absolutely dominates against them.
The Cardinals are back at it in the second game of this series on Saturday afternoon and Pittsburgh will be very excited about hitting against anyone else but Wainwright.