Wainwright 'starting over' following rough start to 2016

Adam Wainwright is done with 2016.

After stumbling through another rough outing Thursday in Anaheim, where he won his third game of 2016 despite coughing up seven runs on 11 hits over five innings, the St. Louis Cardinals' venerable right-hander declared that, in his mind, a new season begins the next time he takes the mound.

"I'm starting over," Wainwright told MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch. "I'm putting all this crap that's happened this year for me behind me, and I'm going to move forward knowing that my stuff is pretty dang good right now. The only way I can move on from that is I have to start over. It's a new season for me from now on."

Last year, Wainwright was limited to just 28 innings due to an Achilles injury suffered in April but, somehow, the 2016 campaign has been more painful. Through his first eight starts, the 34-year-old owns a ghastly 6.80 ERA - the worst mark among baseball's 100 qualified starters - while posting his worst strikeout rate (12.9 percent) and HR/9 (1.00) since becoming a starter in 2007. Wainwright, a three-time All-Star and two-time Cy Young runner-up, has allowed at least three earned runs each time out this season, too, and hasn't completed seven innings since April 19, 2015.

Understandable, then, Wainwright felt drastic measures (well, symbolically, at least) were necessary after Thursday's series finale. Matt Holliday wasn't nearly as dramatic, telling reporters that his club's longtime ace is just a tweak away from returning to his old self.

"He's just one of those guys you know when things are right and he gets his rhythm, he'll be who he is. He's the least of my worries right now. He's one small adjustment away from being dominant."