WASHINGTON -- Shortly after his emergency five-out relief appearance ended, Adam Wainwright retreated to the visitors¡¯ clubhouse at Nationals Park and went through his normal post-pitching routine. He was convinced the Cardinals¡¯ season was not about to end, which meant he might have to pitch again.

As the Cardinals' lineup erased most of their seven-run deficit, Wainwright thought back to the last time they faced the Nationals in October: Game 5 of the 2012 National League Division Series. Seven years ago, the Cards climbed out of a six-run hole that Wainwright put them in, stunned the Nats in the ninth inning and advanced to the NL Championship Series.

¡°It had 2012 written all over it, didn¡¯t it?¡± Wainwright asked a group of reporters late Tuesday night. ¡°Didn¡¯t it feel like that for a minute?¡±

The feeling faded, and this time, the Nationals celebrated. The Cardinals¡¯ season is over, and Washington is headed to the World Series next week after a 7-4 victory over St. Louis in Game 4 of the NLCS.

Now, the 38-year-old Wainwright -- who will become a free agent shortly after the World Series ends -- must consider his future. Or he will, anyway, when he¡¯s ready to think about it.

¡°I haven¡¯t even thought about it. We¡¯ll talk about it over the next couple weeks,¡± Wainwright said. ¡°Right now, I¡¯m just feeling for these guys in here. We battled through a lot of stuff this year, battled through a lot. People did not think we were going to be here. I think if you¡¯d have asked all of Cardinal Nation in Spring Training, if we got to the NLCS, would they be happy? Most of them would probably say yes, I don¡¯t know.

¡°But our ultimate goal is to win the World Series, and I know our fans¡¯ [goal] is too. We¡¯re all disappointed collectively. We could have done better, and we didn¡¯t.¡±

In the immediate aftermath of the Cardinals¡¯ final game, Wainwright shrugged off a handful of questions about what comes next. Eventually, he will know for certain if his final appearance in a Cardinals uniform was Tuesday¡¯s 16-pitch, 1 2/3-innings relief outing after starter Dakota Hudson got knocked out in the first inning.

Wainwright's teammates certainly want to believe he¡¯ll return for a 15th season with the Cardinals.

¡°I hope he¡¯s back. I think he¡¯s got more in the tank,¡± shortstop Paul DeJong said. ¡°He¡¯s done everything he can, recovery-wise, to be out there every day, and you have to give him credit for how unbelievable he really is.¡±

¡°I hope he¡¯s back,¡± added lefty reliever Andrew Miller. ¡°It¡¯s as good as it gets.¡±

This season wasn¡¯t as good as Wainwright gets, perhaps, but it was better than he¡¯s been in years. Late last October, Wainwright and the Cardinals worked out what amounted to a ¡°prove-it¡± deal: one year for $2 million guaranteed with up to $8 million in incentives.

After making only eight starts in 2018, Wainwright went 14-10 with a 4.19 ERA in 171 2/3 innings over 31 starts this season. He earned his performance bonuses. Did he prove anything in the process?

¡°The only person I¡¯ve got to prove anything to is me,¡± Wainwright said. ¡°I wanted to make all my starts, which I pretty much did -- missed one start, I think -- and I wanted to pitch well in the postseason. I did that. ¡­ I could¡¯ve always done better, but I was throwing the ball better in the postseason than I did all year, so I can hang my hat on that.¡±

Twice in the last 10 days, the Cardinals saw ¡°Vintage Waino¡± take the mound when it mattered most. Wainwright worked 7 2/3 scoreless innings in their NLDS Game 3 loss to the Braves, and he pitched into the eighth inning again in Game 2 of the NLCS, even though he was outdueled by Nationals righty Max Scherzer.

¡°He¡¯s everything the Cardinals could ever ask for. He has done everything you could possibly imagine to make an organization, to make a team so proud,¡± second baseman Kolten Wong said. ¡°Waino is one of those guys I¡¯ll cherish as a friend for the rest of my career, regardless of if he¡¯s with us or not next year. I¡¯m always going to be a fan.¡±

If Wainwright is contemplating retirement or considering a future with another team, if this truly was the end of an era, he didn¡¯t show it Tuesday night. He¡¯ll spend the next few days decompressing before planning the next step of his storied career.

But when Wainwright left Game 4, he was focused on pitching another game.

¡°Right now, I¡¯m thinking about what just happened in these four games,¡± Wainwright said. ¡°In just a minute, I¡¯m going to be thinking about what kind of food I¡¯ve got to eat in there. After that, I¡¯m going to think about what kind of shampoo I¡¯m going to use in the shower. Then, I¡¯m going to think about which sock I¡¯m going to put on first. Then, I¡¯m going to think about going to kiss my beautiful wife. Then, I¡¯m going to think about going to get on the bus. That is where my head is at right now.¡±