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Cardinals GM: Wainwright weary more than hurt

Sports

October 13th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright insists he’s fine physically, though he’s failed to make it through the fifth inning in both of his postseason starts. St. Louis general manager John Mozeliak said Sunday that he thinks Wainwright’s workload is simply taking a toll. The GM said it might be a good idea in the offseason to figure how to cut down on all those innings.

Counting the postseason, Wainwright has thrown 512 2-3 innings the last two years. That’s by far the most in the majors. In nine postseason innings, Wainwright has surrendered eight earned runs and 17 hits. He blamed mechanical woes and not a chronic elbow issue after losing Game 1 of the NL Championship Series to San Francisco on Saturday night.

A big September may have worn down Wainwright. He was 5-0 while totaling 39 innings, although he was scratched from the regular-season finale after the Cardinals clinched the NL Central.