ST. LOUIS — The Cardinals might want to send the Mets a Giant thank-you card.
Success must start somewhere, and for Adam Wainwright and the Cardinals, it really started with that strikeout of Carlos Beltran to win the 2006 NLCS.
The Cardinals and Wainwright have found tremendous success because they have confidence as a team, and Wainwright pointed back to that game Friday, that curve ball that froze Beltran.
The Mets froze, too.
The Cardinals went on to win their first World Series in 24 years in 2006.
The meeting against the Giants that begins Saturday is the Cardinals’ fourth straight NLCS. The Mets have been under .500 the last six seasons.
“Success in the postseason breeds future success in the postseason, I really believe that,’’ Wainwright said at Busch Stadium, where he will be the Cardinals’ Game 1 starter Saturday against Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner.
“Gives you confidence, and if you don’t have confidence, you don’t have anything,’’ Wainwright said. “Some of the guys in that room, [Matt Adams’] big swing the other day. My rookie season is still — people talk more about the 2006 NLCS against the Mets and that World Series more than anything else in my career, so you just never know when that’s going to be.’’
Eight days after striking out Beltran, Wainwright was closing the final game of the World Series, a 4-2 victory over the Tigers.
“I do long for another memory, another World Series clincher at some point where people will ask me about that,’’ Wainwright said. “But you know what, if I only have that one memory of closing out the World Series, that’s a pretty good one.’’
This is a tale of two terrific teams that play the game the right way, led by two managers in Mike Matheny and Bruce Bochy who know how to get the job done.
And make no mistake: This one comes down to pitching, with Wainwright going against Bumgarner, another ace. Here is the kind of faith the Cardinals have in Wainwright, even though he was knocked around by the Dodgers and is fighting through some elbow issues:
“He’s our ace, that’s the guy we want out there,’’ third baseman Matt Carpenter said. “The thing I love about him the most is that four out of the five days, he is great, as goofy, as bubbly, the best-teammate-award guy and then on that fifth day, he turns into the bulldog, he’s ready to cut your throat. Watch out.
“He goes out there and pitches with an intensity, and that’s the thing I love the most about him, he can flip that switch as good as anyone I’ve ever been around.”
The Cardinals flip that switch, too, as a team.
“We do a good job of keeping it right as a team,’’ Carpenter said, “and then when it is time to go we put on that game face.’’
Added left fielder Matt Holliday: “Wainwright is always motivated. I think he’ll be fine. He’s proven and we have all the confidence in the world in him.’’
Giants right fielder Hunter Pence knows what his team is up against in Wainwright.
“Wainwright always has a lot of command of a lot of pitchers and Wainwright and Yadier [Molina] are always prepared,’’ Pence said. “So, who knows what you are going to get? But you know they have done their homework and have a game plan. You try to catch on and figure out what they are doing. It’s baseball at the end of the day, you get in there and compete.
“I’m sure we’ll see some fastballs, some curveballs and some cutters. He’s really good at throwing certain pitches that look like strikes and end up balls and other pitches that look like balls and end up strikes. The four-seam fastball off the curve ball. The curve ball has a lot of movement. That’s his strength.’’
Yes, the curve ball is Wainwright’s strength. Beltran and the Mets learned that lesson in 2006, when Wainwright and the Cardinals really began this joyful journey.
