[BigRedChief]

Adam Wainwright continued his climb back toward the majors and his planned late-inning role in the Cardinals' bullpen with an increase in pitches and an improvement in performance Monday.
He threw 48 pitches in Memphis in his three innings for the Cardinals' Class AAA affiliate. The righthander allowed four hits, two runs (both earned) and struck out two and was not involved in the decision in a 3-2 loss to New Orleans.

At pitching coach Dave Duncan's urging, the Cardinals upped Wainwright's pitch count from the planned 25. Duncan said it was "to give him a better chance to work on all of his pitches." In his first rehab start Friday, Wainwright had to throw his curveball at odd counts just to get a few in before he ran out of pitches on his 25 limit.

Of his pitches Monday, 29 were strikes. Seven of the nine outs he collected were groundouts, and he did not have a fly out.

The Cardinals have Wainwright, who made 13 starts before a finger injury put him on the disabled list, on a rehab assignment tailored for a reliever. He is scheduled to throw again Thursday for Memphis, at which time the Cardinals will consider activating him.