Wainwright blames faulty mechanics for poor outing against Giants
ST. LOUIS -- Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright insisted that his right elbow was good to go in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on Saturday night.
His results against the Giants indicated otherwise. Wainwright lasted only 4 2/3 innings and allowed three runs, six hits and three walks in a 3-0 loss. While the outing was an improvement over the six runs and 11 hits he gave up in 4 1/3 innings at Los Angeles eight days ago, it was far from how he pitched during his superb September.
Afterward, Wainwright admitted his right elbow is not 100 percent but said his lack of sharpness was due to mechanical issues with his delivery more than any soreness in his arm.
"It's not 100 percent," Wainwright said. "It was 100 percent better than last time. Next time I pitch, I expect it to be better."
Even though he admitted he "definitely was not sharp," his outing could have gone a lot better with better play behind him. Right fielder Randal Grichuk appeared to make a highlight catch in deep right field but the ball bounced out of his glove after he crashed into the wall, allowing Pablo Sandoval a leadoff double rather than a loud out in what resulted in a two-run second. An error by third baseman Matt Carpenter allowed the Giants to score their second run in the inning, and second baseman Kolten Wong's failure to turn a double play in the third led to another run.
"Grichuk almost makes a great play. He holds onto that ball and we make plays we typically make, you're looking at a 0-0 game," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "We could still be out there playing right now."
Matheny said Wainwright's tender elbow was not an issue in an outing that took him 98 pitches to record 14 outs.
"There are some days that it feels better than others as far as his stuff, and you can tell he was working hard," Matheny said. "He was working deeper counts. You start looking at the pitch count in the middle innings (69 after three) and that's not very typical of Adam when everything feels right. We're talking feel for the pitches, not so much feel health-wise."
Wainwright said that after exiting he watched video with backup catcher A.J. Pierzynski and they noticed that the release point for the 6-foot-7 right-hander was off. Wainwright said that he was "dramatically late getting the ball out of my glove."
The result?
"That doesn't allow your arm to have time to get into the proper position to throw the ball," Wainwright said. "My stride length is about a foot shorter than it should be, so it's not getting my arm enough time to get where it needs to be."
Wainwright said, however, that his mechanical woes were not related to his arm issues, though he added that he did not pitch a bullpen session during September because he was trying to save his arm for October. Without the work between starts, his mechanics are more likely to stray.
"I'm not going to sit here and tell you my arm is 100 percent," he said. "I don't think anybody's arm is. I definitely think I would have gotten a lot more out of what I could have gotten had I been in proper position to throw the ball. I was putting myself in a very tough position to throw the ball. Everything was out of whack, out of timing."
He was able to throw all of his pitches, which is something he said he could not do against the Dodgers after aggravating his elbow in the first inning. Against the Giants, he said his cutter was sharp but his fastball and curve were "very average."
That he was able to throw an effective cutter had to be encouraging because it is considered a pitch that puts more stress on the arm than a curve. Against LA, Wainwright threw about half as many cutters as he typically does.
"Anything that had late pronation was harder (in LA) but today where I was at a loss was that my ball wasn't coming out as it should have," Wainwright said. "It was because it was a foot behind where I normally throw. I'm normally about a foot closer to the plate when I release the ball, which makes it harder to hit and gives me better finish."
Knowing Wainwright and the warrior-like approach he takes to his job, it's hard to be sure if he was blaming faulty mechanics just to give him hope he can fix things before he pitches again. Throughout his 10-minute postgame presser, he talked about working on his delivery to make sure he is sharper next time out.
"When I make a couple of these mechanical adjustments, I'll be in a much better position to throw the baseball," he said.
Wainwright didn't say this as though he was trying to convince himself that his release point, not a sore arm, was his problem. But given the outcome of his past two starts and the fact he admits his arm "does not feel great," it is fair to wonder if that's what he was doing.
You can follow Stan McNeal on Twitter @StanMcNeal or email him at stanmcneal@gmail.com.
