Pressure Now on Lance Lynn to Be New No. 1 of the Cardinals' Playoff Staff

If it wasn't obvious before, it is now: Adam Wainwright isn't himself. Which means someone else has to save the day. Paging Lance Lynn.

Wainwright wasn't lit up in the St. Louis Cardinals' 3-0 loss to the San Francisco Giants in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series Saturday night. But he didn't look like the shutdown ace the Cards expect—nay, need—him to be.

The injury questions, which Wainwright tried to deflect before his second start of the 2014 postseason, will surely resurface.

It began when Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on Oct. 8 that Wainwright was battling elbow issues. Wainwright dismissed the story as "overblown" prior to Game 1, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.

But on Saturday night, it was painfully apparent: This isn't the same guy who won 20 games during the regular season.

Yes, Wainwright was victimized by some shoddy defense and surrendered only two earned runs.

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Yet he labored through 4.2 innings, looking like a shadow of his All-Star self. Which raises the unavoidable, deeply troubling question for St. Louis: If Wainwright can't be the man, who can be?

How about Lynn, the scheduled Game 2 starter?

Lynn pitched a good game against the Dodgers in the National League Division Series, lasting six innings while allowing two runs and striking out eight, though St. Louis ultimately lost, 3-2.

As the worries over Wainwright mount, the Cardinals will need more than "good" from their No. 2.

It isn't just Saturday's loss that casts doubt over Wainwright's ability to shoulder the load. He had an even worse outing in Game 1 of the NLDS, as the Dodgers tagged him for six runs and 11 hits.

As Jayson Stark of ESPN.com noted Saturday:

The Cardinals managed to come back and beat LA ace Clayton Kershaw in that NLDS game, but that's not a result they should expect to replicate.

On Saturday night, they got nothing against Giants ace Madison Bumgarner, who blanked them through 7.2 innings before the San Francisco bullpen finished the job.

No two ways about it: The Cards must win Game 2 at Busch Stadium. The alternative is limping to the Bay Area down 2-0, with the very real possibility of never playing another home game in 2014.

Lynn can change all that. The big 27-year-old right-hander posted a 2.74 ERA in the regular season and eclipsed the 200-inning mark for the second straight year.

His playoff career has been a bit rockier; Lynn owns a 4.57 ERA in 22 postseason appearances. But he won a pair of games in last year's NLCS against the Dodgers, helping St. Louis reach its second World Series in three years.

This is a pitcher who has been on this stage and succeeded. He knows the pressure and understands the stakes. 

"Confidence has never been a problem, that’s for sure," Lynn told Joe Ostermeier of the Belleville News-Democrat prior to Saturday's game. "I just go out and pitch; I don’t worry about anything. Pretty simple."

Jeff Roberson/Associated Press

Added Lynn's skipper, Mike Matheny, "He's probably one of the most underrated pitchers in the game."

MLB.com's McCalvy concurs:

"

[Lynn] has been among baseball's most successful over the past three seasons, at least in the regular season. Only Lynn, Max Scherzer and Zack Greinke have won at least 15 games in each of the past three years, and if wins aren't your game, then consider Lynn surrendered three or fewer runs in 27 of his 33 regular-season starts in 2014, surrendered the NL's third-fewest home runs per nine innings (0.57, trailing only Clayton Kershaw and teammate Adam Wainwright), and posted a 2.11 ERA over his final 16 starts to lead the Cardinals' staff.

By many measures, Lynn has developed into one of the NL's most formidable pitchers, though you rarely hear about it.

"

Lynn won't be under the radar for long if he dominates Sunday and keeps the Cardinals on track for another Fall Classic appearance.

He's not the only hope. Even without a maximum-strength Wainwright, St. Louis has a deep rotation, featuring postseason veteran John Lackey and 24-year-old Shelby Miller, who started the NLDS clincher against the Dodgers.

But if anyone besides Wainwright is going to anchor this staff, it will be Lynn. This could be his moment—his official October coming-out party. 

Last time Lynn faced the Giants with the NL pennant on the line, the results weren't pretty. He went 0-2 in the 2012 NLCS, allowing eight runs in 7.1 innings. The Giants won the series and went on to hoist the Commissioner's Trophy.

The Cards are looking to turn the tables. It looks like they'll have to do it without the real Adam Wainwright.

Maybe the real Lance Lynn will save the day.

All statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.