Former Cardinal Michael Wacha a different pitcher now with the Royals: Cardinals Extra (2024)

KANSAS CITY — Kansas City Royals right-hander Michael Wacha won’t have trouble mustering motivation for his start against his former ballclub, and he openly admitted it while standing in front of his corner locker in the home clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium on Friday afternoon.

“There’s definitely a little something extra, you know, coming from them and spending that many years with them,” Wacha, a former first-round draft pick of the Cardinals in 2012. “As far as preparation goes and getting ready for the start, I try to just treat it just like I would any other start.”

The right-hander will start against his former club for the second time this season on Saturday night in the finale of the two-game set and finale stanza in this season’s I-70 series.

Last month at Busch Stadium, Wacha earned the win in the second game of a doubleheader sweep by the Royals. Wacha, 33, tossed five innings and allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits and one walk on July 10.

Wacha, who signed a one-year contract this offseason with a player option for 2025, has gone 8-6 with a 3.55 ERA in 20 starts for the Royals this season. He struck out 93, walked 35 and posted a 1.24 WHIP in 114 innings.

Wacha has enjoyed a lot of success this season when pitching at Kauffman Stadium. He’s gone 4-1 with a 3.22 ERA in nine starts at The K this season. The Royals have won three of his past four home starts.

In 165 career games with the Cardinals (151 starts) from 2013 through 2019, he went 59-39 with a 3.91 ERA, 7.9 strikeouts per 9 innings and a 2.52-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Wacha last played for the Cardinals in 2019. At that time, his teammates included current Cardinals Paul Goldschmidt, Matt Carpenter, Miles Mikolas and Ryan Helsley as well as Wacha’s current Royals teammate Paul DeJong.

In previous seasons with the Cardinals, Wacha also shared a clubhouse with Tommy Pham and Lance Lynn. Lynn returned to the club this offseason as a free-agent signing, and the Cardinals reacquired Pham as part of a three-team deal at this year’s trade deadline.

In 2020, Wacha pitched for the New York Mets. Then in 2022, he pitched for the Tampa Bay Rays. From his last season with the Cardinals through his seasons with the Mets and Rays, Wacha went 10-16 with a 5.11 ERA in 66 games (54 starts).

Since the start of the 2022 season, Wacha has compiled the third-best winning percentage of any starter in the majors. He has gone 33-12 (.733) in 67 starts.

“It’s really just understanding who I am as a pitcher,” Wacha said of him being a different pitcher at this point in his career. “I had some pretty serious injuries there a couple years and coming back just not quite the same guy. So just figuring out who I am as a pitcher, what works for me and how my stuff plays. Getting a better understanding of that over the past few years has really helped me out.”

Wacha specifically referenced his oblique injury in 2018. He made just 15 starts that season. He described that injury as having ended up being “a lot more serious than I was thinking” and having completely tore up his left side. Wacha said coming back from that took “a year plus.”

O’Brien, Matz continue rehab assignments

Relief pitcher Riley O’Brien continued his minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis. The right-hander was scheduled to pitch again on Friday night, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said.

O’Brien, on the 60-day injured list with a right forearm flexor strain, made eight appearances in the minors since July 20, not including Friday night’s scheduled outing.

Left-handed starter Steven Matz will make the next outing of his minor-league rehab assignment on Sunday. He’s slated to pitch up to four innings or approximately 65 pitches for Triple-A Memphis.

Cardinals right-hander Lance Lynn, who is on the IL with a balky right knee, traveled with the team to Kansas City. He played long-toss pregame on the field Friday, and he also played catch off the mound. He’s eligible to come off of the IL on Aug. 14.

Herzogs honored pregame

The Royals held a special presentation on the field prior to Friday’s game recognizing the family of former manager Whitey Herzog. The former manager of both the Cardinals and Royals, Herzog died on April 15, at age 92.

Herzog, who was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, managed the Royals from 1975 through 1979 and the Cardinals from 1980 through 1990. His tenure with the Royals came after he managed the Texas Rangers in 1973 and a brief stint with the California Angels in 1974.

Herzog went 410-304 with the Royals, and he went into the Royals Hall of Fame in 2000.

Herzog amassed a record of 822-728 with the Cardinals, and his clubs won three NL pennants as well as the 1982 World Series. He was part of the inaugural Cardinals Hall of Fame class in 2014.