PITTSBURGH -- In Adam Wainwright’s world, as he tells it, the most important days of the year are every fifth day between April and September, when his turn in the rotation comes up. Every game and every win is important, he acknowledges, but he needs to contain that belief in order to thrive -- zeroing in on himself, his preparation and his performance.

Significant dates on the calendar -- the holidays, the birthdays, the anniversaries and ceremonies -- those do mean just a little bit more to him. It happened to be pure misluck of the draw that he pitched two days before his 40th birthday.

• Box score

So Wainwright simply celebrated early, taking a perfect game into the fifth inning, twirling seven shutout innings and facing four baserunners against his feeble foes in the Pirates amid a 13-0 shellacking at PNC Park on Saturday night -- the club’s second-highest offensive output of the season. It was a night of revenge, continuing to reverse his career trajectory pitching both against the Pirates and pitching within the confines of Pittsburgh. It was a night of bounce-back, with two straight wins after Thursday’s heartbreaker. And it was a night of dominance -- two days removed from 40.

"I can remember being a kid on the Little League teams and all the dads were 40, and, uh, I thought they were old,” Wainwright said. “Turns out they weren't old. They were young."

With one earned run in 30 innings against the Pirates this season, Wainwright owns history’s second-lowest single-season ERA against Pittsburgh since earned runs were first counted in 1913 (minimum four starts): 0.30.

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Impressive in its own right, Wainwright made three of his four starts against the Pirates this season in the span of 17 days. Each chance, the Pirates had more intel on the 16-year-veteran, they had more looks at his myopic, out-getting trademark curveball. They had time to game-plan.

And still they were stymied: a Maddux against Pittsburgh on Aug. 11, eight shutout innings at home on Aug. 22 and more dominance on Saturday, securing at least a series split and making up ground on the Reds in the chase for the second National League Wild Card spot.

Wainwright paid no mind.

"As soon as you start thinking you own somebody, they put a crooked number on you really quick,” Wainwright said.

With 24 scoreless innings against the Pirates in August, Wainwright became the first pitcher with as many zeros against a team in a single month since Bill Bailey in 1915, according to ESPN Stats and Info. When Bailey did it, he played for teams called the Baltimore Terrapins and the Chicago Whales. It came against the Brooklyn Tip Tops.

Wainwright is doing it when the prevalence of video and analytics are higher than they’ve ever been.

“It's testament to just his ability to execute,” said manager Mike Shildt.

It also helped on Saturday night how and when Wainwright received his support. Edmundo Sosa contributed triples in the second and third innings en route to a career-high five-RBI night. In doing so, he became the first Cardinal with a pair of triples and five RBIs in a contest since club Hall of Famer Ken Boyer accomplished the feat in April 1962.

“We always knew he was a very good defender, but his offense is starting to really come around,” Wainwright said. “... You know what I really liked about Sosa, his mind is always in the game. He plays aggressive, he wants to win. You can tell he's fighting there, and I love that.”

But the night, like nearly all 26 starts of his this season, belonged to Wainwright.

Had Wainwright pitched one more scoreless inning, he would have become the first pitcher age 39 or older since Tom Seaver to throw at least five scoreless outings of eight innings or more in a season.

But a stingy seventh that saw him throw 26 pitches ended such hopes. Wainwright took a comebacker off his right knee in the fourth inning and was cutting his way both through the Pirates' lineup and the humidity left by thunderstorms earlier in the day in Pittsburgh.

He was gassed, he said, up to 93 pitches by his exit. He wanted one more frame, one away from tying Seaver, but knew it was not in his or the team’s best interest, operating with a 10-run cushion.

“I said, ‘What are we thinking big boy? I think that’s probably good,’” Shildt recalled. “He goes, ‘Yeah, I think that's good.’”

The only decision Wainwright now has to make is if he wants to do this when he turns 41 in August 2022. Yadier Molina, his lifetime friend with whom he’s set to become just the fourth battery in AL/NL history to make 300 starts together their next time out, is locked in for one last dance. Molina, who was nudged all last offseason to re-sign with the Cardinals by Wainwright, is prepared to return the favor.

And the return campaign is already underway.

"He did it 2 1/2 minutes ago,” Wainwright said. “He hasn't put on the full court press yet, but he's started. Yes, he’s started."