ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny says rumors that Adam Wainwright is hurt are overblown.
Matheny is sticking with the same rotation that clicked in the first round, and Wainwright, the 20-game winner, is set to pitch Game 1 of the National League Championship Series against the San Francisco Giants. Matheny announced the starters on Thursday, two days ahead of the series opener.
Matheny said before the Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS Game 4 clincher that Lance Lynn was available on regular rest if Wainwright couldn’t go.
“I think there were some things taken out of context and blown up probably more than they needed to be when it was a statement of basically the obvious … in case something didn’t look right, feel right,” Matheny said. “He’s fine and we’ll just watch him closely like we watch everybody else.”
Lynn will work Game 2, followed by John Lackey and Shelby Miller. Michael Wacha, who didn’t pitch in the Division Series, will remain a long-relief option out of the bullpen.
Wainwright had a rough start in Game 1 of the Division Series, allowing six runs on 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings. His velocity was down and he seemed to be emphasizing his curveball more than usual.
Matheny said it was “stating the obvious, too, that Waino was struggling to find a good feel in Game 1.”
“But that’s happened at different times throughout our season and he’s been able to bounce back and figure it out and make it work,” Matheny said. “Not just make it work but being the lead pitcher.”
O’s shortstop Hardy gets 3-year contract
BALTIMORE — J.J. Hardy signed a three-year contract with the Orioles on Thursday night, the eve of Baltimore’s first appearance in the AL Championship Series since 1997.
The contract comes with an option for 2018. Terms were not released. His current deal expires at the end of this season.
Hardy has been a fixture at shortstop for the Orioles since 2011, playing solid defense and providing decent hitting in a lineup filled with sluggers.
Although he hit only nine homers this season, Hardy totaled 77 long balls over the previous three years and won Gold Gloves in 2012 and 2013.
Free agency was tempting, but in the end Hardy wanted to stay with the Orioles.
“It crossed my mind, but at the same time this is where I wanted to be,” he said. “There’s a lot of uncertainty in free agency. You don’t know what’s going to happen. I knew that I liked it here and I liked playing with all my teammates. Bottom line, it comes down to winning and I think we’ve got a good thing here.”
The 32-year-old Hardy batted .268 with 52 RBIs in 141 games during the regular season, then went 3 for 10 in Baltimore’s three-game sweep of Detroit in the AL Division Series.
In the field, he ranked second among AL shortstops with 99 double plays turned, was third in fielding percentage (.978) and assists (394), and fifth in putouts (187).
Hardy is a two-time All-Star, in 2007 with Milwaukee and last year as a member of the Orioles.
Orioles won’t carry suspended Davis
BALTIMORE — Suspended slugger Chris Davis won’t be playing in the AL Championship Series for the Baltimore Orioles.
Manager Buck Showalter said Thursday that Davis will be omitted from the 25-man roster, which must be submitted on Friday morning before the Orioles host the Kansas City Royals in Game 1.
Davis was suspended for 25 games by Major League Baseball on Sept. 12 for testing positive for amphetamines associated with the drug Adderall.
His suspension included the final 17 games of the regular season and Baltimore’s three-game sweep of Detroit in the AL Division Series, meaning the first baseman has five games left to serve.