Wainwright Returns

A lot of people forget that when the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series last fall they did it without one of their best starting pitchers. Adam Wainwright, who won 39 games for the Cardinals between 2009 and 2010, missed the entire 2011 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow last February. Today, Wainwright took the next step in his recovery as he returned to the mound and threw two scoreless innings against the Minnesota Twins. The 30 year righty touched 93 miles per hour with his fastball, didn't allow a hit and fanned both Joe Mauer and Ryan Doumit. The only blemish on his performance was a 2-out walk in the second inning to Sean Burroughs. Otherwise, it couldn't get much better. With the Cardinals lineup no longer featuring Albert Pujols, the Cardinals pitching staff is going to be counted on even more than it was last year and a healthy Wainwright is a huge boost to their chances of defending their World Series Title.

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