To tell a baseball fan whether a starting pitcher received a pitching "win" in a given start is to tell that fan nothing except that the starter recorded at least fifteen outs. A starter can be assigned a pitching win if he gives up 10 runs over five innings so long as his offense scores 11 runs before he is relieved and the bullpen and his relief corps records another 12 outs before the opposition ties the game or takes the lead. A starter can receive a pitching "loss" if he throws a complete game and allows an unearned run if his offense fails to generate any offense. Some pitching "wins" are more deserved than the others; the same goes for "losses."

Every offseason I like to look back at the most- and least-deserved pitching "wins" for the Cardinals during the year before. To do so, I use Game Score, a method of evaluating starts first developed by Bill James. Here is how Game Score is calculated:

Start with 50 points.

Add 1 point for each out recorded; or, 3 points per inning pitched.

Add 2 points for each inning completed after the 4th.

Add 1 point for each strikeout.

Subtract 2 points for each hit allowed.

Subtract 4 points for each earned run allowed.

Subtract 2 points for each unearned run allowed.

Subtract 1 point for each walk issued.

I cross-referenced Cardinals starters who notched a pitching "win" with their Game Score in those starts. The first chart shows the 10 pitching performances with the highest Game Score that also earned a pitching "win." The second chart shows the 10 games with the lowest Game Score in which the starter received a pitching "win."

2014 Most-Deserved Starter Pitching "Wins" by Game Score

Rank SP Date Opp. GSc IP R ER SO BB HBP H HR 1 Wainwright 5/20 ARI 94 9.0 0 0 9 0 0 1 0 2 Wainwright 4/17 WSH 88 9.0 0 0 8 3 0 2 0 3 Lynn 6/13 WSH 86 8.0 0 0 8 0 0 2 0 4 Miller 6/7 TOR 85 9.0 0 0 5 1 0 3 0 5 Wainwright 5/25 CIN 83 8.0 0 0 12 1 0 5 0

Lynn 6/23 COL 83 8.0 0 0 7 0 0 3 0 7 Wainwright 4/27 PIT 81 8.0 0 0 7 2 1 3 0 8 Lynn 4/14 MIL 79 7.0 0 0 11 3 0 3 0 9 Wainwright 9/22 CHC 78 7.0 0 0 8 1 0 3 0

Wainwright 9/17 MIL 78 9.0 0 0 7 2 0 7 0

This gives us an inkling of just how valuable Adam Wainwright is to the Cardinals. The staff ace accounts for six of the 10 highest Game Scores in which a starter received a pitching "win" for his effort. They range from Wainwright's sterling May 20 outing versus the Diamondbacks to his solid complete game against Milwaukee in which he scattered seven hits.

Wainwright being so great isn't to say that Lance Lynn is not quite good in his own right. The third-year starter accounted for three of the ten starts in his own right, an indication of how important he was to last year's club. He ate innings and made it tough for the opposition to score while doing so.

I was surprised to see Shelby Miller on this list. His 2014 season was lackluster by just about any metric. But that's probably why I vividly remember the Toronto start that places fourth on this list. It felt like a breath of fresh air after months of struggles.

2014 Least-Deserved Starter Pitching "Wins" by Game Score

Rank SP Date Opp. GSc IP R ER SO BB HBP H HR 1 Masterson 8/2 MIL 39 6.0 5 5 4 3 0 7 0 2 Lynn 8/8 CIN 40 6.0 5 5 4 0 1 8 0 3 Lynn 8/10 BAL 44 5.2 3 3 6 1 0 9 0

Wainwright 9/2 PIT 44 6.0 4 4 3 1 0 7 3 5 Lynn 8/3 CIN 45 5.0 3 3 7 1 0 8 2 6 Miller 7/19 PHI 46 6.0 3 3 1 3 0 6 2 7 Miller 5/5 ATL 50 5.0 2 2 5 2 0 6 0

Miller 5/11 PIT 50 5.1 2 2 2 4 1 4 1 9 Kelly 4/5 PIT 52 5.1 1 1 4 4 1 6 0 10 Martinez 7/22 PHI 53 5.0 3 3 5 1 1 3 0