Seven times across the five scoreless innings Austin Gomber tossed Friday against the Royals, the rookie left-hander threw a curveball and a slider on consecutive pitches, his two breaking pitches twirling in tandem. The sequences were conspicuous for several reasons.
Gomber rose through the Cardinals' farm system on the strength of his overhand curve. But the slider is a new pitch, the 24-year-old only learning it weeks ago, and at the Major League level. The Cardinals believe adding a weapon for Gomber to play off that curve with will go a long way toward him not only staying in the big leagues, but excelling, especially against left-handed hitters.
But Gomber's execution was also notable because of a conversation that preceded it. Three days prior, in the visiting clubhouse at Marlins Park, Gomber excitedly approached a longtime Cardinals staffer. He peppered him with questions about the slider, anxious to improve the pitch after it bedeviled him during a disappointing start in Pittsburgh. The staffer provided insight. He spoke from experience.
His name was Adam Wainwright.
"I love that I've gotten to that point in my career where the young guys come to me, and feel like they should come to me," Wainwright said. "I love that. But also, the knowledge that has been passed to me is too good to hold for me. I have to pass that stuff on. I've been taught well, and I like to teach well."
Though Wainwright has long been a mentor to younger pitchers, this particular season has provided more chances for him to serve as an additional, de facto instructor. Retirement speculation swirls around Wainwright, 36, who recently planted the seeds for a possible September return. But he has been sidelined with elbow irritation since May.
In the absence of Wainwright, Carlos Martinez and Michael Wacha, the Cardinals have turned to one of baseball's youngest pitching staffs. Five rookies dot the current group. No member of St. Louis' rotation owns more than two years of big league service time.
"Growing up, me, Jack [Flaherty], Dakota [Hudson], all of us, we watched Waino," Gomber said. "He was in the big leagues when we were 12 years old. He's had success at the highest level, so when you hear stuff coming from him, it means something different than hearing it from a coach."
Last week in Miami, Wainwright stressed to Gomber the importance of creating separation between his slider and curve. By differentiating grips and wrist action, the idea is to avoid "morphing" the two into one less-effective hybrid pitch. It was Wainwright who first suggested Gomber fiddle around with a slider grip, much like Wainwright did after transitioning back to the starting rotation (after a brief bullpen role, like Gomber had) at the beginning of his career.
"Any time pitchers are trying to throw two different pitches with the same grip, they can become muddled," Wainwright said. "They can become tweener pitches."
"When he first came up, he added the same thing. He said when he first started throwing the cutter/slider, he thought it took away from his curveball a little bit," Gomber said. "I have to make sure I am treating them as two different pitches. Keep them separated. Don't lose the curveball. But also know how to add the slider."
In doing so, Gomber believes he's developing a more obedient pitch that can help him get ahead of hitters, and also provide insurance on days his curveball defies him. He called it "the one thing missing" from an arsenal anchored by the curve the Cardinals believe can be special. When asked to name a teammate who depended on his curve the way Gomber will, and the way Wainwright did, Wainwright cited Chris Carpenter.
"When I first came up in the bullpen, if I didn't have my curveball, I remember thinking, 'How do I get these guys out?' Now I don't have to rely on it so much. I can almost save it for when I really need it," Gomber said. "[Wainwright told me] when he was really, really good, he used his cutter to control counts, and his curve was the out pitch. But there are days where the curve is hard to throw in the strike zone, so if you're just relying on that, you end up throwing too many fastballs.
"I felt like he was a good person to talk to."