Wainwright enjoying historic season at the plate

Adam Wainwright has not been himself on the mound this season.

The longtime St. Louis Cardinals ace owns a career-worst 4.57 ERA, leads the National League in hits allowed and earned runs allowed, and has seen his home run-fly ball rate spike dramatically to 11.5 percent.

And yet, the Cardinals still have an advantage when they run Wainwright out every five days, thanks to his suddenly potent bat. The 35-year-old wasn't totally sharp as a pitcher on Tuesday, allowing four runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings, but still helped his team to a pivotal 10-5 win over Colorado with a two-hit, four-RBI effort that moved his season at the plate into historic territory.

(Courtesy: MLB.com)

Wainwright's performance Tuesday night was the fourth time this year he's driven in three or more runs - only the fifth time since 1913 that a pitcher's had that many three-RBI games in a single season, and one shy of the record for his position.

With two more starts scheduled during the regular season, he might not be done adding to his totals. His 18 RBIs are already the most by a pitcher since 1973 - the year the designated hitter was introduced in the American League. If he knocks in 20, he'd be the first pitcher to reach the mark since Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins in 1971, and just the fourth since 1960.

Wainwright's transformation as a hitter - his season also includes a career-best .733 OPS, seven hits, and two homers - has helped him come to terms with his sub-par season on the mound. Not only does he now see hitting as the best way for him to contribute to the Cardinals' playoff push, but he's also eyeing a bit of silver hardware.

"The way I look at it now is I don't have enough starts to get in the 2.00 (for ERA) like I want to be. I don't have enough starts to get to 20 wins like I want to be," Wainwright told reporters Tuesday, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

"But I do have a chance to help this team win a World Series. And if that's offensively winning a Silver Slugger along the way then that's great. And I don't really care to look back."