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Matheny considered Wainwright to start Game 4

PITTSBURGH -- In confirming that Adam Wainwright will start a potential Game 5 in St. Louis, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny also revealed that his ace nearly started Game 4 on Monday. Matheny said that he would have used Game 4 starter Michael Wacha out of the bullpen in Sunday's Game 3 if the situation had situation called for it, leaving Wainwright to pitch Game 4 on Monday.

"If things would have gone crazy last night, we had Michael ready to potentially come in late," Matheny said before Monday's game. "That would have changed gears, and we would have pitched Adam today."

Matheny said in order for Wacha to pitch on Sunday, the Cards would have had to use Shelby Miller early in the game and then need significant innings late in the game.

"That would have been a situation," Matheny said. "So Michael was prepared for that. And then we would have, obviously, had to make a different move for today."

Wacha, 22, split his big league service time this year between the rotation and the bullpen, but his last five outings have been starts.

Jenifer Langosch is a reporter for MLB.com. Read her blog, By Gosh, It's Langosch, and follow her on Twitter @LangoschMLB. Joey Nowak is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter at @joeynowak. John Schlegel is a national reporter for MLB.com.
Read More: St. Louis Cardinals, Adam Wainwright