Wainwright Morton
6-3, 3.14 3-7, 5.95
The Cardinals need to beat up on the Richmond Atlanta Braves tonight, plain and simple. They took 3 out of 4 last time. No losses allowed this go around.
The story tonight is undoubtedly Adam Wainwright. Let's run down a few items. Adam Wainwright needs to be in the rotation especially with Chris Carpenter doubtful again. The question of whether he'll stay in the rotation may be different depending on who you ask on the Cardinals' payroll. Tonight's start may go a long way towards answering that question.
Wainwright is, IIRC, on a pitch count. Even if he wasn't watch for a short leash coming off the injury and 2 gazillion offdays during the next stretch. The most important thing to see will be whether or not he's got his breaking pitches working namely the curveball. I'm not sure how much of an impact the finger injury would have on his velocity (when I was in Memphis his velocity looked fine) but being able to apply the proper pressure to snap off that 12-6 kneebuckler is going to be critical. If he doesn't have the ability to throw that pitch as often or effectively, it's possible that a trip to the pen would be better allowing him to rely more on his fastball and slider.
I'll predict a 5 inning start for the night. If he can hold them to 2 runs, that would be a pretty significant success. The Cards need to win both tonight and in the future -- Adam Wainwright is a huge part of that. Hold your breath.