In what amounts to a punch to the stomach for the St. Louis Cardinals, it’s being reported that staff ace Adam Wainwright will likely miss the remainder of the year with an Achilles injury.
Sources: Expectation is that #STLCards’ Wainwright is done for season with Achilles injury. Has not yet undergone MRI.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) April 26, 2015
Wainwright, 33, injured his leg running to first base on Saturday night. At the time of the injury, it looked pretty serious. The starter was eventually forced from the game.
Back in 2011, Wainwright missed the entire season with an elbow injury he suffered during the spring. St. Louis went on to win the World Series behind incredible work from Chris Carpenter.
If the Cardinals are going to repeat that feat, it’s going to have to be more of a team effort, especially if Wainwright is indeed lost for the season.
The good news here is that St. Louis boasts a MLB-best 1.97 ERA from the starting rotation. The likes of Lance Lynn, Michael Wacha and Carlos Martinez are all among the league leaders in that category.
However, none of these pitchers are of Wainwright’s ilk. He has the experience in the postseason. He’s been dominating for the better part of the last decade. And he was the unquestioned staff ace.
This is a major blow to one of the best teams in baseball. But as we have learned in the past, controversy seems to breed success in St. Louis.
Photo: USA Today Sports