Wainwright pitches two-hit shutout, Cards top Pirates 4-0

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Adam Wainwright extended his dominance of Pittsburgh with a complete game, two-hit shutout and helped himself with a pair of hits as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pirates 4-0 on Wednesday night.

The 39-year-old Wainwright allowed a pair of singles by Colin Moran in the second and fifth innings, and then retired the last 15 batters.

Wainwright (11-6) needed just 88 pitches to record the 11th shutout of his 16-year career and first since 2016. He struck out seven and did not issue a walk.

“He put on an absolute display of what it takes to be a major league pitcher,” St. Louis manager Mike Shildt said.

Wainwright was happy to finally record a “Maddux,” which consists of throwing a shutout in under 100 pitches, for the first time. It is named after Hall of Famer Greg Maddux, once teammates with Wainwright in Atlanta and whose brother, Mike, is the Cardinals pitching coach.

“I didn’t look at my pitch count all day,” Wainwright said. “I knew it was low, but I didn’t want it in my mind. I thought I had a chance at a Maddux, but I didn’t want to think about. I just wanted execute pitches.”

Wainwright worked on his fastball command between starts, and felt it paid off.

“I don’t think there were three pitches where I really even tried to throw the ball hard,” he said. “It’s funny how when you work on things that it usually tends to work out. I worked on my changeup up a few starts ago and then went out and threw some of my best changeups all season.”

Wainwright’s gem came a night after Cardinals left-hander J.A. Happ and three relievers combined to one-hit the Pirates, who have lost seven straight games and 17 of their last 22.

Center fielder Harrison Bader made two outstanding catches in the late innings...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Wainwright-pitches-two-hit-shutout-Cards-top-16381298.php