“In that spot, a couple of things happened,” Wainwright continued. “One, I had complete confidence and trust in Yadier. Two, I had just a ton of moxie at the time; I still have a lot of moxie, but I had a lot right there.

“And at that point I’m not sure I really knew how hard the game was, at that level. In my mind, when he put it down there, it just made sense to me. Of course, if I give up a double right there, I probably would have never gotten back to the big leagues.”

Beltran took that surprise changeup, and then took a hellacious third-strike curveball to seal the pennant for St. Louis. Wainwright would close out the World Series against Detroit, too; after the final strikeout, he and Molina leapt in joy, bumping chests in midair. It was an awkward but happy memory.

“A couple of pups,” Wainwright said, laughing. “No matter how many times you practice that or think about what you’re gonna do, you don’t really know what you’re gonna do till you’re in that moment. Those moments are the greatest — I need another one.”

The Cardinals missed the playoffs last season for the first time since 2010. Wainwright, a two-time 20-game winner, had a career-high 4.62 earned run average after missing most of the previous year with a ruptured Achilles’ tendon. He pitched well in his first start this season but struggled in his second.

“It becomes more important to stay ahead when you have less stuff, because if you fall behind with less stuff, then that means you have to come in with a predictable pitch — with less stuff,” said Tim McCarver, the Cardinals broadcaster and a former catcher.

“Adam, sure enough, in his first start this year had 17 out of 21 first-pitch strikes, and that’s the way to go about it,” McCarver continued. “It’s more imperative to stay ahead. And they definitely have a connection, there’s no question about it. You can feel that when you see them work together. That’s important.”