Cardinals Pitcher Michael Wacha Ripped Himself After Another Rough Start
By Zack Jiang
In Wednesday's game against Kansas City Royals, Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha threw away his team's chances of winning with an awful performance. In just 4.2 innings pitched, he gave up six runs in the 8-2 loss.
After the game, Mark Saxon of The Athletic asked Wacha whether he believed he would remain a starter. The pitcher did not make excuses for himself and severely criticized his own play.
With #Cardinals manager Mike Shildt still in the presser room, sitting and watching players talk, after he answered questions about whether Wacha would remain a starter, this is how Wacha answered @markasaxon’s question about whether he was pitching to stay in the rotation. pic.twitter.com/qpps82jREe
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) May 22, 2019
Coming into the game, Wacha had given up 25 runs in 42 innings pitched. He has been dreadful outside of his first two appearances, posting an ERA of 6.23 during that stretch.
The right-hander has had an up-and-down career thus far. His lone All-Star appearance came in 2015 when he went 17-7 with a 3.38 ERA. He disappointed the two following years but was stout last year, going 8-2 with a 3.20 ERA before having his season cut short with a left oblique strain.
Fans had high hopes for Wacha after his bounce-back season last year. However, he simply hasn't been the same.
I don't want to overstate things, but if Michael Wacha makes another start the entire Cardinals front office should be imprisoned.
— viva el birdos (@vivaelbirdos) May 22, 2019
The Cardinals sit currently at 24-24 and will likely be fighting for a Wild Card berth. Manager Mike Schildt will have to contemplate a change to the rotation, even if Wacha recognizes his own shortcomings.