Adam Wainwright’s struggles hit a poignant new low in the Cardinals’ loss

street. Lewis – Eyes hazy and miserable, Adam Wainwright stood with one foot in the top of the Cardinals’ dugout and tried to calm his breathing. He watched as Steven Matz battled to close out the top of the second Wainwright couldn’t finish on his own. The Astros ambushed Wainwright, marking him for six runs in the frame, all with two outs. And when manager Oli Marmol was forced to fire him after the pitcher hit just five times, not even the poker face he’d perfected after nearly two decades in the major leagues could hide Wainwright’s crushing disappointment.

Wainwright’s eyes never left the ground as he walked off the mound at Busch Stadium Thursday night, not even as the sympathetic fans in attendance applauded him. It was a gesture intended to signify support. But at that moment, Wainwright could not feel more lonely.

After allowing seven earned runs over three innings in the London Series opener — a start Wainwright called one of the worst of his career — the 41-year-old franchise face faltered even more Thursday night.

“I came today with the best mindset I’ve had all year,” Wainwright told reporters after losing 14-0. “I really wanted to be great today. I thought I was going to be great and I keep getting surprised when I’m not. I don’t know what to say to all of you. I don’t know what to say to the fanbase. (I’m sorry.”

After a harmless summit of the first, Corey Goulkes pinned Wainwright to lead second and pull ahead on wild pitch. Wainwright then walked Bligh Madris but bounced back into the bottom of the order for two quick singles in just four pitches. It seemed like he was just flirting with danger, and no real harm was done.

Then the Astros’ lineup flipped. A scoring run. Picnic to download the rules. single. Double run twice to the left corner. He doubled again, this time off the right-center wall, to score another run.

By then, when the score was 6-0, Marmol had seen more than enough. The dismal Wainwright left the Hill with more runs on his streak than outputs on record.

It certainly wasn’t the swan song Wainwright or the Cardinals envisioned when he signed a one-year, $17.5 million deal to end his 19-year MLB career. The Cardinals range in age from 33 to 47 and have spent 65 of 92 days this season finishing last in National League Central. After starting the season on the injured list, Wainwright made 10 starts. His ERA has swelled to 7.45, his WHIP to 1.94 and he has struck out just 25 strikeouts over 48 1/3 innings pitched. A cornerstone of the spin, Wainwright has hampered the show crew more than helped it this year. His poor performance was only amplified by the Cardinals’ poor season. In fact, the fan backlash after his London debut was so intense that Wainwright chose to disable his Twitter account for a few days, citing the need to take a break.

Even during his struggles, however, Wainwright managed to stay as positive and motivated as possible, which is his usual rule of thumb, but this time when he returned to the dugout, seemingly sobbing backwards, it was clear that things had reached a point of no return.

Television cameras captured a distinctly emotional Wainwright slouching on the bench with his head still down. Marmol stood in front of him, her hands resting on Wainwright’s knees, in deep conversation. It took a moment, but finally Wainwright looked up. Marmol kept speaking, and Wainwright nodded. Soon after, Wainwright slapped his manager in the chest, took another deep breath, knuckled Marmol, and threw himself off the bench to get close to Matz. When Matz floated a punt to Gulicks for the third to end the inning, Wainwright was still standing on the top rung of the dugout, his face despondent, but supportive clapping.

For several years prior, Wainwright had been the one to spot a frustrated colleague and offer you help, or sit down for a heart-to-heart. On Thursday, Marmol knew the roles needed to be reversed.

“It feels good when someone needs their space and when someone needs encouragement,” said Marmol. “It bothers you more than emotionally. He’s a competitor who’s having a hard time navigating the lineup at the moment. So he’s to be expected to be upset. And he’s never been more determined to find a way out of it.”

Although Marmol declined to publicly divulge details of the conversation, Wainwright was a bit more blunt.

“You get my age,” admitted the pitcher, “you sometimes wonder if people have lost faith in you.” “That’s what he walked in on and he said he didn’t, he didn’t lose faith in me and I still think I’m going to finish strong and help this team win a lot of games. That’s what I asked him. I said, ‘Hey, just don’t give up on me.’ And he said, ‘I won’t give up on you.’” Until this is over…. Everyone needs some words of affirmation every now and then. After a match like that, I’d say yeah, you probably needed to hear that.”

Not much has been easy to understand about the Cardinals this season, but Wainwright’s fall from grace may be the most difficult to digest, at least from a fan standpoint. There was a lot of skepticism about the amount of Wainwright’s contract when he signed for another season, and even more so when the organization chose not to add assists in the pre-season start. Playing as the team’s most reliable pitcher the past two seasons (excluding this past September) Wainwright justified the means. But so far, Wainwright’s final year has been a massive disappointment.

“There are a lot of different feelings I’m having right now, but I’m trying not to hold the rest of the team in it,” Wainwright said. “No one needs Debbie Downer, no one needs a negative force walking around. So, I still try to stay positive, cheer on the players and be a good teammate. During my struggles, I can’t bring anyone else with me.”

True to his word, Marmul confirmed that Wainwright will make his next start, which is scheduled for Tuesday in Miami. If the rotation holds, Wainwright will also make his final start of the first half, on July 9 against the Chicago White Sox. As things stand, the Cardinals have no plans to remove Wainwright from the rotation. As awful as things have gone, it’s hard to imagine that changing soon.

As St. Louis enters the month of July, Wainwright’s struggles will surely be included on a very long list of topics the organization needs to address. But after seeing their leader go down so hard, the Cardinals responded by pulling him back. Even with all the factors stacked against him—age and speed, in particular—the organization made it clear they still believed in him.

And, as he made very clear Thursday night, that’s what he really needs to hear.

(Top photo by Adam Wainwright and Ollie Marmol: Jeff Roberson/Associated Press)