Advice: It was his first shutout victory since Aug. 6, 2010, and third in his career. Wainwright (3-5), who missed 2011 with elbow ligament replacement surgery, struck out nine and walked one while throwing 111 pitches. He retired the first eight batters and allowed just one runner to reach third base.

Recommendation: Wainwright finally showed the stuff that made him an ace for the Cardinals prior to Tommy John surgery last season. Whether or not he can do it consistently against teams with more firepower than the Padres remains to be seen, but there's reason to believe once against with Wainwright.