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Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright has been champing at the bit to get back on the mound ever since suffering an Achilles injury early in the season. On Monday, he seized at the opportunity to toss the ball again, when the pitching machine at his daughter’s softball game mysteriously went out of commission (really, Adam?).

SOFTBALL CONSPIRACY

This isn’t the first time Wainwright has made softball news. After pitching at last year’s MLB All-Star Game, Wainwright admitted to serving up a “softball” to retiring Yankees captain Derek Jeter.

''I was going to give him a couple pipe shots. He deserved it. I didn't know he was going to hit a double, or I would have changed my mind.''

— Adam Wainwright, on pitching to Derek Jeter

Wainwright later recanted his admission in a dugout interview with Fox Sports reporter Erin Andrews.

Skip Bayless of ESPN First Take didn’t buy Wainwright’s later explanation, while Stephen A. Smith took the media to task for haranguing Wainwright for grooving a pitch (or not) in an exhibition game.