Adam Wainwright Earns First Win in over a Year as Cardinals Top Pirates

After undergoing Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for all of the 2011 season, Adam Wainwright is finally back in the column.

He earned his first win since September of 2010 on Tuesday night against Pittsburgh, working seven innings of four-run ball against the Cardinals' divisional foes.

The four runs came on two home runs by Jose Tabata and Pedro Alvarez in the seventh inning, but Wainwright was otherwise strong in the contest.

Wainwright has now allowed twice as many home runs as anybody else in the Cards' rotation, but he feels as if he is executing his pitches well: "Really, I didn't make a lot of bad pitches. The home run to Tabata, I never expected him to hit it out on the first pitch."

He has fallen victim to the long ball this season. After Tuesday night's game, Wainwright now leads the National League with seven home runs allowed.

Despite the rough seventh inning, Wainwright felt he performed well: "If you look at 90 percent of my game today, it was pretty good. I feel like each time I'm getting a little sharper."

At 1-3, it's clear that he has struggled in his return. His gaudy 6.75 ERA, and 1.313 WHIP is above his career mark of 1.205.

Improvements have been made over his past two starts. Prior to his start against the Pirates, Wainwright tossed six innings of one-run ball against the Cubs.

After totaling 39 wins from 2009-2010, Wainwright becomes the most recent Cardinals starter to earn a victory in 2012.