Wacha (1-1) fanned eight and gave up nine hits and four runs (three earned) on two walks over six innings in a 4-3 loss to the Yankees on Friday.
Wacha pitched well enough for what would have been his second victory of the season, firing 61 of 98 pitches for strikes and ringing up 14 missed swings on the evening. However, Masahiro Tanaka essentially matched him pitch for pitch and the Cardinals righty also ran into some trouble with the long ball, surrendering a 389-foot homer to Starlin Castro in the first with Brett Gardner aboard, and then saw Austin Romine tag him for a solo shot in the second. Wacha has gone six innings apiece in his first two starts and posted an impressive 14:3 K:BB over that span, so his stuff seems to be largely hitting on all cylinders. He'll look to bounce back in a Wednesday home matinee against the Pirates.