Cards face two-game series with Brewers

ST. LOUIS -- Adam Wainwright was certain he'd be facing the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday in his second start back from the 15-day disabled list, even if St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa took his time confirming it.

La Russa waited until Saturday, a day after Wainwright dominated the Braves for six innings in his first outing since early June, to give the right-hander the assignment in the second game of a two-game series against the team the Cardinals are chasing for the NL wild card.

It wasn't as if Wainwright, the opening-day starter and their stand-in ace last season, was sweating after La Russa played it cagy in his postgame remarks.

"I'll just assume I'm starting until they let me know otherwise," Wainwright said.

He made it clear that this was not to belittle the manager. Just simple logic.

"I don't ever, ever, ever try to get into Tony's head," Wainwright said. "He's got a billion things going and he's 300 or 400 times smarter than I am.

"So I stay out of it, sit in my chair and wait to hear."

There was no reason for intrigue, given how Wainwright had his way with the Braves. He needed only 72 pitches to get through six innings, allowing only a solo home run to pinch hitter Greg Norton.

Against the odds, Wainwright, a 14-game winner last season in his first year in the rotation, appeared in midseason form. The unusual finger injury that sidelined him, a ruptured tendon in the middle finger used to grip the ball, especially to snap a curveball, has not been an issue for a while. Control and stamina were larger factors.

"I think it was more than we should have expected, as far as command," La Russa said. "To be able to spot the ball the way he did and mix things up, I think that's really impressive."

The day the Cardinals awarded Wainwright the start, La Russa said he'd get two or three assignments before the team reassessed the situation. That's the same treatment Mark Mulder consistently got while twice flaming out in comeback efforts from shoulder woes the last few seasons.

Yet on Sunday, La Russa defended his decision not to immediately stick with Wainwright. He's been cagier lately, refusing to anoint rookie Chris Perez as the new closer even though he's 5-for-5 since replacing Jason Isringhausen earlier this month.

Seemingly, Wainwright had to prove he deserved the ball again. La Russa insisted it was not a done deal, not before he saw the right-hander pitch.

"Yeah, there was a doubt," the manager said. "Suppose he goes out there and he ain't ready? Then you don't pitch him.

"It's not a throwaway game [today]; we're playing the Brewers."

Todd Wellemeyer (11-4, 3.79), enjoying a career year in his second year as a starter, and Wainwright (7-3, 3.04) will be on the mound for two critical games today and Wednesday. The Brewers were 3 1/2 games ahead of the Cardinals for the wild card.

La Russa joked that it would be just another series for the Cardinals. Instead, he knew he'd be fiddling with lineups and envisioning scenarios during Monday's day off.

"How much more fun is it? October is the only thing more meaningful," La Russa said. "Instead of going to the movies, you start paying attention to the Brewers. It's part of the fun."

Noteworthy

• Pitcher Chris Carpenter largely duplicated the routine during a 50-pitch second bullpen session Sunday. Another session is set for Wednesday, this one at 100 percent, perhaps as a final test. "I felt good, and I definitely felt stronger than I did the other day," Carpenter said. "But I think we've got to make sure it's right."
• Albert Pujols has a four-game RBI streak, totaling nine, and is hitting .563 (18-for-32) with three homers during an eight-game hitting streak that has him at .3586 and only percentage points behind Chipper Jones for the NL batting lead. He has 30 intentional walks, more than twice as many as anyone else in the majors.