Wainwright, Cards’ rotation bouncing back

MILWAUKEE — Underestimating the Cardinals is a task that generally turns out to be equal parts perilous and pointless.

It is that way now with St. Louis’ rotation. The Redbirds are contending for their sixth straight postseason appearance. But they’re not going to win anything like the 100 games they won last year, and they aren’t going to win the National League Central for the fourth year in a row.

So go ahead. Take those last two pieces of information and dismiss the Cardinals. But check the standings on the evening of Oct. 2. There is an excellent chance that the Cardinals will finish the regular season as one of the two NL Wild Card teams.

One of the chief concerns about the St. Louis rotation was the status of the longtime ace of the Cardinals staff, Adam Wainwright. He had a fine July — 3-0, with a 1.77 ERA — but in his five August starts going into Tuesday night, he was 0-3 with a 7.50 ERA.

Maybe Wainwright was on a path of inevitable decline. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny didn’t think so.

“I think [before] every start, ‘Here’s the one where he takes off and he goes,'” Matheny said before Wainwright’s outing Tuesday night against the Brewers.

Matheny was right. Wainwright looked like himself in an outstanding outing, working seven innings and giving up one run on three hits, walking none and striking out seven. It was vintage Wainwright, fittingly enough on his 35th birthday. The Cardinals won in 10 innings, 2-1, to take a 2 1/2 game lead over the Pirates and the Mets for the second NL Wild Card spot.

“Best fastball he’s had all year,” Matheny said. “If that’s how he’s going to pitch the rest of the year, it’s going to be fun to watch.”

Wainwright said he …

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