Wainwright brings a little drama to entrance

ST. LOUIS -- Before Adam Wainwright captivated a near-capacity crowd at Busch Stadium with a quality start in Sunday’s 4-1 win over the Padres, he also revved it up.

Wainwright made an especially unusual entrance, one that drew inspiration from years of watching closers make their way into games in dramatic fashion. He stepped out of the dugout, pointed to various sections in the crowd and cued his entrance music. Then, like the conductor of a symphony, he summoned the rest of the team onto the field.

So what prompted Wainwright, in his 146th career home start, to do this now?

“I’ve always dreamed about coming out on the field, cueing the music and getting the guys to run out in front of me, cueing them, and then taking the field,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to do that. I’m sure the other team was looking at me like, ‘What in the world is this guy doing?’”

“It fired me up. That’s what the goal of it was -- to get the crowd engaged. Nothing was cooler, besides the fact that you’re losing, but when Trevor Hoffman used to walk in the game or some of those big closers, [John] Smoltz or [Craig] Kimbrel or Mariano [Rivera], and you get to see that, that’s a cool thing. I don’t know. It was fun.”

Given how well Wainwright pitched following the unexpected introduction, could an encore performance be in the works?

“You’ll have to wait and see,” he said with a grin. “Fans, show up on time.”

Fowler sits vs. lefty
For the first time in three games against a left-handed starter, Dexter Fowler found himself on the bench Monday night and replaced in right field by Jose Martinez. The matchup made statistical sense given Martinez’s track record against left-handed pitching (career OPS of .959) and the switch-hitting Fowler’s struggles against southpaws.

But is it likely to be the norm?

“I wouldn’t say that,” manager Mike Shildt said. “Dexter has gotten his at-bats and his starts against lefties. I will say it’s an opportunity for them, but I wouldn’t make it an absolute. Today it made sense. Dexter has played three straight games. Jose hasn’t had a start since Pittsburgh [on Wednesday]. We’re going to do what makes sense with everybody.”

It’s a small sample size, certainly, but in six at-bats against left-handers this season, Fowler is hitless with three strikeouts. He slashed .161/.264/.290 with a 31 percent strikeout rate against left-handed pitchers in 2018.

The other player who could factor into this is the right-handed-hitting Tyler O'Neill. He was back to being available without limitation on Monday after dealing with toe discomfort on Sunday. That issue was behind Shildt’s decision to double-switch Martinez -- and not O’Neill -- into Sunday’s game in the seventh inning. O’Neill later entered in the eighth.

Reyes returns to mound
Two days after being optioned to Triple-A Memphis so that he could get sharp in a less pressurized setting, Alex Reyes battled command issues yet again.

Coming out of the bullpen for Memphis on Monday, Reyes walked two of the four batters he faced in the Redbirds’ 14-3 loss to Omaha. Reyes threw just 10 of his 21 pitches for strikes before being pulled without completing a full inning.

Reyes headed to Memphis after having walked six batters in three innings with the Cardinals.

Rehab roundup
Luke Gregerson (right shoulder impingement) threw a clean 10-pitch inning on Sunday in his second appearance with Class A Advanced Palm Beach as part of a Minor League rehab assignment. Gregerson struck out one.