"For the second year in a row, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright stands on the precipice of becoming a 20-game winner.

He will try to become the second 20-game winner in his league after Philadelphia's Roy Halladay, and after New York Yankees lefthander CC Sabathia in the American League.

But Wainwright (19-11) said Thursday he won't really consider the impact of the moment until after today's 1:20 p.m. game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

"It's just another game, but after the game I'll be excited when we win," Wainwright said.

Wainwright said his self-imposed discipline was "just me guarding myself about getting too excited about something that might not happen.

"I could go out there and pitch shutout ball twice in a row for nine innings and not win a game. Or I could go out there and pitch two innings and give up eight (runs), which is very unlikely to happen.

"But I'll hold my excitement until after we win. Any outside distraction will take my focus away from where it needs to be."

Notice the confident righthander didn't say "if we win."

Given that the Cardinals likely won't be going to the playoffs this year as they did last year, Wainwright said this stab at 20 won't have quite the same significance. Last year, he knew his next start would be in the playoffs. This year, he knows his next start after today's outing likely will be his last one.

A year ago, Wainwright had 19 wins and a 6-0 lead over Milwaukee after five innings on the last Friday of the season and then came out in the seventh with the Cardinals still ahead, 6-1. They would lose the game, 12-6, as the bullpen collapsed.

Even though the game got away from the Cardinals, Wainwright never will forget the curtain call he received from the Busch Stadium fans after he had left the game. "That's still one of the coolest moments of my career," he said. "It was awesome."

Manager Tony La Russa thinks Wainwright has been even better this year than last year.

"It's another year of hitters getting to face him," La Russa said. "They've gotten a better shot at seeing him over and over."