Frustrated by the Phillies, Wainwright's seen this film before

ST. LOUIS -- Forgive Adam Wainwright if he feels like he’s stood here before -- frustratingly on the losing end of an otherwise stellar effort against the slugging Phillies and a victim of another lights-out performance by opposing pitcher Zack Wheeler.

Last April, when the Phillies were in St. Louis to face a then-39-year-old Wainwright, the long-time Cardinals workhorse dominated most of the night and went the distance only to lose because of two solo home runs by Rhys Hoskins.

Fast forward to Friday, and Wainwright started the night with a 69.3 mph curveball that drew laughter from Kyle Schwarber. He was again dominant for long stretches, save for two solo home runs from Alec Bohm. The 40-year-old Wainwright accomplished his midweek goal of figuring out ways to go deeper into games by pitching the 28th complete game of his career -- most among active pitchers. Once again, however, Wainwright had to stomach the bitterness of a defeat, 2-0 this time, on a night when his effort usually would be good enough to win.

“This was déjà vu. I finally got Hoskins out, but Bohm got me,” Wainwright said. “That’s what good lineups do; good lineups find ways to score runs. And with their pitcher, Wheeler, has just done great because he’s a stud. It’s fun to pitch against him, but I wish we could have won. But he was great against us again.”

Beaten 2-1 last season by the Phillies and 4-0 on Sunday in Philadelphia, Wainwright said he spent a major chunk of the four days between starts going over his pitching charts with pitching coach Mike Maddux to try to detect whether he had fallen into predictable patterns that prevented him from going no deeper than seven innings all season. Even though he is sometimes 18 years older than some of the hitters he is facing, the 6-foot-7 Wainwright holds himself to a high standard and expects to throw a complete game every time out -- even at his age.

Throwing a complete game was a possibility when he got through the fourth inning at 46 pitches and cleared five innings at 56 pitches. The sixth inning, like it was Sunday in Philadelphia when he surrendered three runs on four hits, hurt him again Friday. Bohm hit an 83.7 mph, letter-high cutter -- “a terrible pitch,” Wainwright lamented -- some 419 feet to break the scoreless tie.

For Bohm, a Nebraska native who played collegiately at Wichita State, he said it was a dream to hit two home runs off a pitcher who has been a dominant force throughout baseball nearly as long as he’s been alive.

“Growing up, I'm from the Midwest, and he was pitching World Series games when I was growing up,” the 25-year-old Bohm said. “Now, here we are. So yeah, it was pretty cool."

Pretty cool is how Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt -- someone who is playing the best baseball of his life at 34 years old -- sees Wainwright still figuring out ways to dominate games at 40. That happens, Goldschmidt said, because of the way Wainwright prepares both mentally and physically when he’s out of the spotlight and away from the pitching mound.

“We are spoiled and we’re getting used to [what Wainwright is doing at 40]. And it’s almost not fair to him to do it that long, and we just kind of come to expect what he’s doing, and it’s incredible,” said Goldschmidt, who Friday was named the NL’s starting first baseman in the All-Star Game. “It takes a lot of hard work, mentally and physically. He’s one of the best I’ve ever been around -- not just on the field, but off the field in how he goes about things. I can’t say enough great things about him because he sets a great example and is an amazing leader.”

According to MLB Stats and Research, Wainwright is the first pitcher to have thrown complete games in his 20s, 30s and 40s since R.A. Dickey accomplished that feat in 2015. Informed on Friday that he had thrown complete games in his three decades of his career, Wainwright blurted out a comment that belied his usual competitive nature.

“There won’t be a fourth [decade],” he said, referring to the possibility of pitching into his 50s.

Later, Wainwright’s competitiveness flashed when he was asked whether his continued success later in his career comes as a surprise to him.

“I wouldn’t still be playing if I didn’t think I could be really good,” said Wainwright, who made his 442nd career regular-season appearance. “I’ve had a good run and if I thought I wasn’t going to be good anymore, I’d go home and be a good dad and husband. I feel like I can still pitch. So, it’s not surprising to me. It’s what I expect to do -- pitch well.”