Cardinals' Adam Wainwright to start NL wild-card game

The St. Louis Cardinals know they'll make at least a brief appearance in the upcoming MLB playoffs but aren't yet sure who they'll face or where they'll head following Sunday's regular-season finale against the Chicago Cubs. 

St. Louis manager Mike Shildt told reporters Thursday he's already selected a starting pitcher for that must-win contest, however. 

Per Zachary Silver of the MLB website, Shildt confirmed that 40-year-old right-handed veteran Adam Wainwright will take the bump next Wednesday for the National League wild-card game at either the San Francisco Giants or Los Angeles Dodgers, depending on which of those clubs finishes second in the race for the NL West crown. 

The Giants began Thursday holding a two-game lead over the Dodgers. 

"We’ll have all hands on deck," Shildt said of his pitchers for Wednesday's outing. "As far as the rest of this, I mean, we got Adam Wainwright going. He gets better as the game goes, goes deep in games, is a big-game pitcher. It's not like we're going to get him out of the game in the fourth. It'll be dictated on a lot of variables, but we'll have all our pieces ready to go." 

Wainwright, a three-time All-Star and one-time World Series champion, is 17-7 with a 3.05 ERA this season. According to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN), he has made 28 postseason appearances during his lengthy career.