A DIFFERENT PATH
Trade changed course of Wainwright’s career
ST. LOUIS — When October baseball returns to St. Louis today, Adam Wainwright will get the ball for the Cardinals. Just like he has for so many big games over the past 14 years.
It was almost a much different picture. If not for a trade in December 2003, Wainwright might be pitching for the Atlanta Braves in Game 3 of this bestof-five National League Division Series.
The 38-year-old Wainwright — a native of Brunswick, Georgia, who was selected by Atlanta in the first round of the 2000 amateur draft — will make his 13th postseason start when the Cardinals take on Mike Soroka and the Braves in the first postseason game in St. Louis in four years.
“Feeling that playoff buzz in the crowd when the games are actually going on, you can never replace it or replicate it any other place in life that I’ve seen,” he said. “It’s just a feeling that is beyond compare. So I’m looking forward to it. I’m excited to be back in the playoffs.”
The Braves, who repeated as NL East champions, and the Central-winning Cardinals split the first two games in Atlanta. Paul Goldschmidt homered to help St. Louis rally for a 7-6 victory in the opener, and Mike Foltynewicz pitched seven sparkling innings in Atlanta’s 3-0 win in Game 2.
Two days after Foltynewicz’s dominant performance, Soroka takes the mound for the Braves. St. Louis, a regular October playground before the Cardinals’ longest postseason drought in two decades, might not seem like the best spot for a playoff debut.
Soroka is no ordinary pitcher, though. The 22-year-old right-hander went 7-1 with a 1.55 ERA in 16 road starts this year, compared with 6-3 and a 4.14 ERA at home. He allowed one earned run in 13 innings in two May starts against the Cardinals, including six effective innings in a no-decision outing at Busch Stadium.
“He’s really good at staying pitch to pitch,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said Saturday. “It’s like he’s winning the battle, the small battles within a game, pitch to pitch, hitter to hitter, inning to inning.
“I think he understands that when he gets in trouble that he has something — he’s a pitch away from getting out of trouble.”
Soroka was 9 when Wainwright made his postseason debut in 2006, helping St. Louis win the World Series for the first time in 24 years. The 6-foot-7 right-hander has been versatile in the playoffs, going 4-4 with a 3.03 ERA and four saves in 24 appearances.
“He’s a ferocious competitor,” Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said.
For a long time, Wainwright was hoping to pitch in big games for Atlanta. He was a high school star in Brunswick when he was drafted by the Braves with the 29th overall pick in 2000.
He had just finished a solid season playing for Snitker at Double-A Greenville when he was shipped off to St. Louis with Jason Marquis and Ray King for J.D. Drew and Eli Marrero.
“When we had him he was a young guy,” Snitker said. “You saw great potential. You hated to lose him. I remember when we traded him and I called him.
“But you saw — and I realize — you realized at the time you’ve got to give up something to get something. And it’s just been really cool to see how he’s developed, his career, following him.”