Adam Wainwright's teammates missed out on a chance to help their co-ace pitcher move within one victory of the magical 20-win plateau in Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to the visiting Florida Marlins.

The suddenly struggling Cardinals, who have lost 4 of 5 games, failed to reduce their magic number, which remains at 10 as the Cubs knocked off the Brewers at Wrigley Field. The Redbirds (85-61) still trail the Dodgers in the race for the National League's best overall record and home-field advantage in the postseason. 

It's certainly not time to panic as the Cards still enjoy a 8.5-game lead over the Cubs with just 16 games left. A slump was inevitable as the Redbirds have played so well since the Matt Holliday deal in late July. Still, Tuesday night was a disappointing night for Wainwright, who deserved to pick up his 19th victory against a solid Marlins lineup, which ranks third in the N.L. in runs scored and team batting average.

"He pitched a winning game," skipper Tony La Russa said of Wainwright in the postgame news conference on FSN. "We couldn't support him."

Cardinals hitters managed just one run and six hits against rookie lefty Sean West, joining the long list of no-name southpaws to stimey the club in recent years. It's just another frustrating defeat for the Cards, who have dropped 3 one-run games during the recent tailspin, and will now have to wrap up the division title on the upcoming roadtrip instead of celebrating in front of the hometown fans and that is a bummer.

Although Wainwright picked up his eighth loss, he maintained his Cy Young candidacy with his strong outing against the N.L. East opponent. He limited the Fish to 2 runs over 7 innings, striking out 8 batters and walking just one. Wainwright wasn’t particularly sharp as he threw 104 pitchers (71 strikes) and worked out of trouble all night long. His lone mistake came in the 6th inning when he hung a curve ball to Dan Uggla, who smacked a 2-run homer that proved to be the game winner for the Marins (77-68).


The National League’s wins leader is just two wins shy of becoming the first 20-game winner in St. Louis since teammate and fellow Cy Young candidate Chris Carpenter won 21 games in 2005. Waino could also become the fourth Cardinal hurler to win at least 20 games this decade (Darryl Kile went 20-9 in 2000 and Matt Morris went 22-9 in 2001). Big picture, he could be part of the organization’s exclusive 20-win club, joining the likes of Bob Gibson, John Tudor, Joaquin Andujar, Bob Forsch and Dizzy Dean.


As we know, it’s a three-pitcher battle for the National League’s prized pitching award -- 2008 winner Tim Lincecum, 2005 winner Carpenter and Wainwright. For a more detailed breakdown of the Cy Young race, you should check out Birdland.

With each award contender scheduled to make three starts, it will be fascinating to watch how each righthander makes his case to the award voters. A 20-win season for Wainwright could go a long way to support his candidacy. However, he can't afford any more missed opportunities like Tuesday night. 

Ex-Cardinal Update
Since it is getting late in the season, I thought it would be fun to see how some former Redbirds are performing this season. This is not a comprehensive list, but these are some notable names:

Adam Kennedy: The much-maligned second baseman is actually playing pretty well in Oakland as the Cardinals pay his $4 million salary. He’s hitting .285 with 10 homers and 55 RBI in 113 games. He has 19 stolen bases and a .345 OBP. Where was this in St. Louis?

Jason Isringhausen: He tried to revive his career in Tampa, but after just 9 appearances, he opted for Tommy John surgery in June. He’s still stuck on 293 saves and his career is in jeopardy.

Aaron Miles: The Cubs clearly overpaid for the plucky second baseman, who is going through a miserable season. He’s hitting .178 in 67 games and he has spent time on the disabled list. He currently resides in Lou Piniella's doghouse. You feel bad for this guy, who played well here.

Chris Perez: He’s been OK in Cleveland with a 4.15 ERA in 26 outings. On the positive side, he’s limited opponents to a .213 average and averaged more than one strikeout per inning. Conversely, he blew a save opportunity on Monday night in Minnesota, allowing 4 runs and 2 home runs. Will he ever find consistency?

Jess Todd: The Texas native has been pounded in 13 relief appearances with Cleveland, sporting a 11.20 ERA and surrendering 27 hits and 17 runs in just 13.2 innings. The jury is still out, but perhaps the Cards didn’t sacrifice too much in the Mark DeRosa deal.

Clayton Mortensen: He has started 3 games in Oakland with a 6.88 ERA. He did pick up his first MLB win in his last outing in Minnesota, holding the Twins to just 1 run over 6 innings.

Brett Wallace: The centerpiece of the Matt Holliday deal is hitting .302 in 44 games with Triple-A Sacramento, who is in the Pacific Coast League playoffs. Hopefully the Cards will not regret trading their top prospect.

Brain Barton: Traded to Atlanta earlier this season for the immortal Blaine Boyer, Barton appeared in just one game with the Braves. He has spent the season in Triple-A.

Cesar Izturis: He was a whipping boy in St. Louis for his less-than-stellar batting prowess. Now in Baltimore, he’s hitting .249 in 97 games. I think Cardinal Nation is pleased with Brendan Ryan nowadays.

Felipe Lopez: I thought it was a mistake to let Lopez leave town as the veteran infielder played well here. Now in Milwaukee, Lopez is hitting .309 with an impressive .370 OBP. If you compare his numbers to his replacement, Skip Schumaker, it is pretty much a wash. Defensively, Lopez has committed 14 errors; Schumaker has just 9. As it turns out, it was a worthwhile risk for the Cardinals.

Jim Edmonds: Although unofficially retired, he plans to start a half-shirt company in the near future. 


Sneak Peak: 2010 Schedule
Although Cardinal Nation is gearing up for the postseason, it is fun to look ahead to the 2010 schedule, which was released by Major League Baseball on Tuesday. Here are some highlights in the Cardinals schedule:

* The Cards open the 2010 season in Cincinnati on April 5, the first of a six-game roadtrip that includes a 3-game series in Milwaukee.

* The home opener -- an unofficial holiday in St. Louis -- is scheduled for Monday, April 12, versus Houston. Game time is 3:15 p.m. After three games against the Astros, the Redbirds host a 3-game weekend series against the Mets.

* The Cubs only come to Busch Stadium twice -- Aug. 13-15 and Sept. 13-15. It’s hard to believe that the North Siders don’t come to town until the season’s 114th game. But, on the positive side, the Cards play three weekend series at Wrigley Field -- May 28-30, July 23-25 and Sept. 24-26. Can you say roadtrip?

* The Royals are not coming to town in 2010, but the I-70 series continues at Kauffman Stadium in a weekend series set for June 25-27. The Cardinals must account for 50 percent of Kansas City's summer tourism revenue.

* If you’re interested in a really long baseball trek, the Cards travel north of the border for an interleague series against Toronto on June 22-24.

* Speaking of interleague, the Cards will host the Angels in May, and the A’s and Mariners in June. Despite all of the obvious flaws with interleague (e.g., the Rangers have never played in St. Louis since interleague began in 1997), at least we don’t have to play the Tigers again.

* The Cards close the 2010 season with a seven-game homestand with Pittsburgh and Colorado, concluding a stretch of 43 games in 45 days.


Thanks for reading.
 
Gabriel Kiley is a freelance sports writer based in St. Louis. Feel free to post your comments below or follow me on Twitter.