Bullpen boost: Cards' Wainwright pitches in return from DL

By foxsports
Published

The St. Louis Cardinals activated right-hander Adam Wainwright from the 60-day disabled list ahead of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

And Wainwright pitched the eighth inning in the Cardinals' Game 1 loss, allowing a run on two hits and striking out one.

Wainwright was believed to be lost for the season when he tore his left Achilles tendon during a start on April 25. However, he progressed rapidly in his rehab and threw his first simulated game last week.

In four starts before suffering the injury, Wainwright was 2-1 with a 1.44 ERA. Since 2009, he has finished in the top five in NL Cy Young Award voting four times.

Because he has been out so long, Wainwright will be limited to relief duty for the remainder of the regular season and the postseason. In 2006 as a reliever, he helped lead the Cardinals to a World Series championship by tossing 9 2/3 scoreless innings and saving four games in the playoffs.

St. Louis still can clinch the NL Central title with a win in the second game in Pittsburgh on Wednesday.