Not only did Adam Wainwright stick it to the Mets of the present on Monday night by throwing six scoreless innings in a 7-0 win, he threw some shade at the Mets of the past after the victory.
When asked about a crucial bases-loaded strikeout of New York’s Jeff McNeil to end the first inning, Wainwright looked back on a particularly memorable start nearly 15 years ago, though not one Mets fans care to remember.
“Well, I like nostalgia, and I felt like all the Mets fans wanted to see me in that bases-loaded situation,” Wainwright said with a smirk. “I felt like they wanted to see me throw two curveballs and a changeup and get him out.”
Of course, Wainwright was referencing his bases-loaded strikeout of Carlos Beltran in game seven of the 2006 NLCS, when he froze Beltran with a curveball right down the middle to eliminate New York. Down two with two outs in the ninth, Beltran looked at a first-pitch changeup, then foul tipped a curveball before watching another curve go by for strike three.
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“I just felt like that’s what the Mets fans wanted to see,” Wainwright said. “I gave them what they wanted.”
Now 40 years old, Wainwright is putting together a fantastic season for the Cardinals, now down to a 2.88 ERA with 190.1 innings after Monday’s gem against the Mets. But he had to get over a tough early obstacle before settling into a groove in the form of McNeil, who he struck out on three straight pitches, just like Beltran 15 years prior.
“He’s a very, very tough hitter,” Wainwright said of McNeil. “I felt under control on that situation. The two guys before him, [Pete] Alonso and [Javier] Baez, are both very dangerous. I pitched them very carefully and threw some close pitches and they didn’t offer. That’s not what I expected, honestly…but McNeil, I felt in control that whole at-bat for some reason. Sometimes it doesn’t happen like that, but tonight, I felt in control of it.”
Then, the smirk returned to Wainwright’s face as he once again twisted the knife in his trolling of the Mets faithful.
“But the people wanted it,” Wainwright said. “I could feel the Mets fans, they wanted to recall that moment and they wanted to be back in that moment. I just know they did.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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