ST. LOUIS — Adam Wainwright unleashed one last curveball that couldn’t be touched and fireworks erupted above Busch Stadium on Wednesday.
These underdog Pirates might have been the people’s choice, but the Cardinals have danced too many October tangos to disappear quietly into the night.
“I’ve got to put it right up there with the most fun and one of the greatest moments of my career, no doubt,” Wainwright said after his complete-game gem propelled the Cardinals to a 6-1 victory in Game 5 of the NLDS.
Next stop for the Cardinals is Game 1 of the NL Championship Series on Friday against the Dodgers in St. Louis. The Pirates are finished after an improbable rise that included the franchise’s first winning season and playoff appearance since 1992.
With the sellout crowd of 47,231 standing, Wainwright got Pedro Alvarez to swing and miss on one last curveball, setting off a celebration near the pitcher’s mound.
“We’ll take [Wainwright] on the mound, any day, especially in a big situation,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “I love the fact everybody kept asking him about Game 5 last year, because I knew that was just bringing more to the table, if you could even do that.”
Wainwright atoned for his brutal performance in Game 5 of last year’s NLDS against the Nationals — a game the Cardinals rallied to win — by putting a stranglehold on the Pirates. The ace right-hander allowed one run on eight hits with six strikeouts and one walk to earn his second win in the series. The complete game was the first by a Cardinals pitcher at home in the postseason since Danny Cox in Game 7 of the 1987 NLCS against the Giants.
“There was no way I was even looking back at [Matheny] at the end of the game,” Wainwright said. “I wanted that game. I’m so thankful he trusted me there at the end.”
Matt Adams’ two-run homer in the eighth all but sealed the outcome before Pete Kozma brought home a third run in the inning with an RBI single.
The Cardinals will be making their third straight NLCS appearance and ninth since 1996. This one will be a rematch of the 1985 NLCS, which the Cardinals won with help from dramatic home runs in successive games by Ozzie Smith and Jack Clark.
Wednesday’s drama came in the seventh, when the Pirates got three straight infield hits to pull within 3-1 before Wainwright retired Russell Martin with the tying runs on base. Alvarez’s chopper that struck first base and bounced straight up gave the Pirates their first run and a sign of a pulse.
Ahead 2-0 in the sixth, the Cardinals received a cushion with Jon Jay’s RBI single against Justin Wilson. But Vin Mazzaro prevented further damage by striking out David Freese — who already had homered — with two runners aboard.
Gerrit Cole gave the Pirates a chance by allowing two earned runs on three hits with five strikeouts and one walk over five innings. The rookie, who was the winning pitcher in Game 2, departed for a pinch-hitter in the sixth with the Cardinals up by two runs.
Freese’s two-run homer in the second inning got the Cardinals an early lead against Cole. It was just the latest October jolt for Freese, who hit five homers in the 2011 postseason, including the game-winner in an epic Game 6 of the World Series against the Rangers.
“We don’t over-think too many things,” Freese said. “We understand what’s at stake, but just go out there and play the game. With Tony [La Russa] and now Mike [Matheny], it’s always been just kind of even-keel way to go about it.”