Wainwright throws gem in Cardinals' Game 5 NLCS loss

Adam Wainwright insisted all postseason his arm was fine. He certainly pitched like it Thursday. 

Wainwright turned in his best outing of the playoffs in the St. Louis Cardinals' biggest game of the year, hurling seven innings of two-run ball before handing things off to the bullpen.

St. Louis' bullpen, however, couldn't hold on to the 3-2 lead Wainwright provided them with and the Cardinals were eliminated 6-3 by the San Francisco Giants in Game 5 of the NL Championship Series. 

But Wainwright did his part, gutting out an at-times dominating four-hit effort. 

The Cardinals' ace got better as the game went on, retiring the final 10 batters he faced and punching out six of them. It was a far cry from the pitcher who entered the outing 0-4 with a 5.14 ERA over his last five postseason starts. 

Wainwright ran his fastball up to 94 mph, but it was his signature curveball he kept turning to that was the difference-maker in the start. The 33-year-old threw his curveball on 35 percent of his 97 pitches - only the third time in 35 outings this season (playoffs included) he has turned to the breaking pitch as often, according to Brooks Baseball. 

Wainwright looked like the Wainwright of old - the one who has started All-Star Games and been among the league's best starters for years. 

He won't get a chance to pitch again this season, but he shook off his previous two lacklustre playoff starts to end his year on the right note.