ST. LOUIS — Adam Wainwright was so excited after throwing a shutout for the St. Louis Cardinals, he acknowledged he got emotional.
“It was a huge sense of relief,” Wainwright said. “A huge sense of feeling blessed. I’ve worked very hard to get back to where I am.
“I told Jake [Westbrook] I think it might be the best feeling I’ve ever had pitching. I’ve done some things that are pretty fun but I can’t remember ever feeling that emotional after a game.”
Wainwright threw a four-hitter and the Cardinals beat the San Diego Padres 4-0 on Tuesday night.
“All of the emotion came from just knowing it’s been over a year since I’ve done that,” Wainwright said.“Mentally, I was so much better.”
It was his first shutout victory since Aug. 6, 2010, and third in his career. Wainwright (3-5), who missed 2011 with elbow ligament replacement surgery, struck out 9 and walked 1 while throwing 111 pitches. He retired the first eight batters and allowed just one runner to reach third base.
“I think all of the emotion came from just knowing it’s been over a year since I’ve felt really locked in like that,” Wainwright said. “I was locked in all night. I knew I could do it. I knew I would do it. This year, it started rough for me but I knew if I kept grinding, it would come back to me.”
St. Louis Manager Mike Matheny was happy to see it.
“It’s nice to have that kind of outing from start to finish,” Matheny said. “It’s one he can build on. Hebelieves in himself and rightfully so. He’s accomplished a lot in this game.” NATIONALS 5, PHILLIES 2 Jordan Zimmermann (3-4) pitched six solid innings, andIan Desmond and Rick Ankiel homered to lead Washington past host Philadelphia.
METS 3, PIRATES 2 Lucas Duda smacked a go-ahead RBI single in the top of the eighth in support of starter R.A. Dickey and New York edged host Pittsburgh. Dickey (6-1) struck out a career-high 11 in seven innings.
REDS 4, BRAVES 3 Brandon Phillips drove in three runs with two home runs off Brandon Beachy (5-2), leading host Cincinnati to a victory over Atlanta.
MARLINS 7, ROCKIES 6 Ricky Nolasco gave up three runs in the first inning, then settled down to set a franchise record for career victories when host Miami rallied past Colorado for the second night in a row. Nolasco (5-2) broke a tie in the third with a two-run double off Juan Nicasio (2-2) that put the Marlins ahead to stay.
GIANTS 6, BREWERS 4 Buster Posey homered off the Miller Park scoreboard and had three RBI as San Francisco beat host Milwaukee.
ASTROS 2, CUBS 1 J.D. Martinez hit the go-ahead RBI single in the sixth inning and Jose Altuve had a home run to give host Houston a victory over Chicago.
American League ORIOLES 4, RED SOX 1 Brian Matusz (4-4) allowed two hits and struck out nine in 6 1/3 innings, Steve Tolleson and Wilson Betemit hit two-run home runs, and host Baltimore beat Boston.
INDIANS 5, TIGERS 3 Chris Perez picked up his 14th save as host Cleveland ended a 10-game losing streak to Detroit. Perez, who was cheered when he entered the game, had been critical of recent booing during an appearance and called the Indians’ major league-worst attendance “an embarrassment” for a first-place club. He put two runners on in the ninth before striking out Miguel Cabrera and then getting Prince Fielder on a grounder to short.
YANKEES 3, ROYALS 2 Robinson Cano homered, Phil Hughes (4-5) beat Kansas City for the second time this month and host New York eked out a victory.
RAYS 8, BLUE JAYS 5 Slumping Carlos Pena hit a three-run home run during a five-run fourth and host Tampa Bay beat Toronto.
TWINS 9, WHITE SOX 2 P.J. Walters (2-1) tossed his first career complete game as Minnesota routed host Chicago.
Tuesday’s games NATIONAL LEAGUE NY Mets 3, Pittsburgh 2 Washington 5, Philadelphia 2 Cincinnati 4, Atlanta 3 Miami 7, Colorado 6 Houston 2, Chicago Cubs 1 San Francisco 6, Milwaukee 4 St. Louis 4, San Diego 0 LA Dodgers at Arizona, (n) AMERICAN LEAGUE Baltimore 4, Boston 1 Cleveland 5, Detroit 3 NY Yankees 3, Kansas City 2 Tampa Bay 8, Toronto 5 Minnesota 9, Chicago White Sox 2 LA Angels at Oakland, (n) Texas at Seattle, (n)
Sports, Pages 28 on 05/23/2012