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Wainwright shakes off slow start, beats Pirates

Sep 30, 2007 - 3:11 AM By Brad Everett PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

PITTSBURGH (Ticker) - Spotting the Pittsburgh Pirates a first-inning lead wasn't quite how St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright wanted to end his season. But what Wainwright did the rest of the way was exactly what he had in mind.

Wainwright rebounded from a three-run opening frame to pitch seven strong innings, leading the Cardinals to a 7-3 victory over the Pirates at PNC Park.

"I wasn't sharp that inning, but I knew what I had to do to make the adjustments," Wainwright said. "I know what I was doing wrong. I made some bad pitches, but that was because of mechanical flaws and I adjusted."

It was the fourth win in a row for the Cardinals, who have taken the first two games of this season-ending series and have defeated the Pirates in 11 of 17 meetings this season.

The Pirates wasted little time in getting to Wainwright, touching the righthander for three runs.

Nyjer Morgan led off with a double, and one batter later Adam LaRoche brought him home with a double of his own. Jose Bautista then doubled home LaRoche one out later, and Bautista scored on Steve Pearce's RBI single for a 3-0 lead.

Wainwright, a converted closer, calmed down quickly and found his groove, facing the minimum over the next five innings.

Winless in his past four starts, Wainwright (14-12) didn't allow a run the rest of the way. He allowed six hits and three runs with two strikeouts and one walk.

"I thought he was amped and strong," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "His ball had a lot of life early. He just started keeping his delivery good and making pitches."

Trailing, 3-2, in the fourth inning, the Cardinals tied the game on a leadoff home run by Rick Ankiel - his 11th of the season. After St. Louis put runners on second and third, an RBI single from David Eckstein gave the Cardinals a 4-3 lead they would not relinquish.

"It feels good," Ankiel said of his success against Pirates starter Tom Gorzelanny. "That guy's pretty good against lefties all year and I just went out there and had a good night."

Ankiel drove in three runs while Albert Pujols and Gary Bennett had three hits for St. Louis, which may have a new manager next season. La Russa is in the final year of his contract and is unsure if he wants to return.

The Cardinals got their sixth run courtesy of a scary collision between Pirates infielders Jack Wilson and Matt Kata, who collided just behind second base attempting to corral So Taguchi's ground ball which scored Aaron Miles.

Wilson stayed down for about 10 minutes before sitting up on his own power, but he left the game and was taken to Allegheny General Hospital for evaluation of an apparent head injury.

Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said afterward that Wilson was awake in the ambulance.

"You don't like to see that either, not this late in the season," Pirates manager Jim Tracy said. "It looked to me like a head-to-head job."

It was a tough start for Gorzelanny (14-10), who was attempting to become the first Pirates pitcher since Todd Ritchie in 1999 to win 15 games.

The lefthander gave up six runs on 11 hits in six innings, losing his third consecutive start.

"I guess you can say it was a good year," Gorzelanny said. "But it's just the way I ended up is not the way I wanted it to go. I want to contribute, and going out there and having three poor performances to end the season is just not good."