Adam Wainwright saved the Cardinals again, but not with his arm

When things are going well for the St. Louis Cardinals, they’re typically getting contributions from every source on the roster. Sometimes that even entails players taking on tasks they’re not entirely used to and performing them with winning results.

Such was the case on Friday, when starting pitcher Adam Wainwright was forced into pinch-hitting duties with the game on the line.

[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Baseball contest now]

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny had no other real options at the time. The Cardinals and Pirates were still tied into the 12th inning, and the benches on both sides were understandably short. So it was Wainwright who stepped up with two on and two outs, and wouldn’t you know he promptly smashed a two-run double that gave St. Louis the lead and opened the floodgates to a 9-3 win.  

In doing so, Wainwright now joins Cubs reliever Travis Wood as the only pitchers to deliver a go-ahead RBI in extra innings this season. Wood did it with a bases-loaded walk against Milwaukee on May 18. Prior to that, though, you have to go back to May 16, 2011 to find another such occurrance. Then Marlins reliever Burke Badenhop delivered an RBI single. 

“I’ve been getting some hits this year, so I’m the guy right now,” Wainwright said of his pinch-hitting duties. “The last few years, I’ve been kind of skipped over in that spot. I took it upon myself to get that spot back. I’ve been swinging well, and the coaches have helped me a ton, the hitters have helped me a ton. I’m like a kid in a candy store right now. I’m the happiest I could ever be right now.”

[Elsewhere: Johnny Cueto shimmies his way into questionable and costly balk]

At this point, we’d assume Matheny will still refrain from using Wainwright unless it’s an emergency, but it might be difficult to ignore Wainwright’s overall resume as a hitter too. Just this season, he has four doubles, a triple, and a home run and 10 RBIs.  

If those numbers don’t plant the seed of temptation, nothing will. 

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:

– – – – – – –

Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813