(KMOX) - St. Louis Cardinals veteran ace Adam Wainwright performed as well as anyone could have expected in Wednesday's Wild Card loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. But it was something he did immediately after the game ended that may end up being his best work.
Alex Reyes, the 27-year-old All-Star closer, who lost his way in the second half, gave up the walk-off homer to Chris Taylor and ended what could have been a magical postseason run for St. Louis. That was the third time in a row that he pitched in the ninth inning and gave up a walk-off home run (Sept. 5 vs MIL & Aug. 29 vs PIT).
Wainwright, who pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed just one run, said after the game that he "felt like we had a team that was gonna win a World Series, honestly." And he also described what he did and said to Reyes after the loss.
“I just gave him gave him a huge hug,” Wainwright said. “Told him we love him. Told him I loved him and gave him another big hug and just told him how special he was as a player and as a teammate and as a person. It’s all you can say in a moment like that. He doesn’t probably want to hear any of it, but it’s all true. He’s a great teammate, is a great player, he’s a great pitcher, he’s a great friend. And I hate seeing anyone go through that, but he’s got an incredible future ahead of him. I can't wait to see what he does next. It's gonna be great.
"He’s had a career filled with adversity. We’re not here tonight without Alex Reyes. I mean, he was an All-Star closer the first half of the season he he put us on his back a lot of the time this year so we all completely believe he’s going to come back strong."
You can hear the quote from Wainwright in the audio at the top of this page.
Reyes is a former No. 1 overall prospect in baseball, who's missed the equivalent of about three full seasons due to surgeries and injuries between 2017 and this year. He's expected to pitch in the Dominican Winter League this offseason as St. Louis has plans to make him a starter next season.
We'll see come February how the words and actions of Wainwright effected the former top prospect.
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