Cardinals season gets cloudy with Yadier Molina thumb injury
Cardinals lead majors with 93 victories, but cannot afford to lose their field commander, who sustained a left thumb sprain Sunday. He's getting an MRI on Monday.
By
Dave Brown
•
2 min read
The St. Louis Cardinals made a statement Sunday afternoon with their defense, cutting down two Chicago Cubs scoring opportunities with the outcome of the game on the line. They made another statement by hanging on for a 4-3 victory that averted a series sweep at Wrigley Field and brought the Cards a step closer to clinching the NL Central title.
Here's a statement the Cardinals don't ever want to hear, however:
Catcher Yadier Molina is hurt.
Molina sprained his left thumb on a play at the plate in the eighth inning, tagging Anthony Rizzo -- who represented the tying run -- after Jason Heyward's strong throw from right field. Molina was visibly pained after making the play, and was unable to finish the game (never a good sign with him). He'll get an MRI on Monday to check for damage.
Watch the play at the plate:
Losing him, or keeping him but at diminished effectiveness, could be a crippling development for the Cardinals, who at 93-56 have the best record in the majors. But a lot of their success runs through Molina and their pitching staff.
Here's what Molina thinks, via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
After the game, his left thumb wrapped in bright red tape, Molina said he would have an MRI on the joint Monday.
"It hurt," Molina said. "It hurts right now standing here. We'll have to wait until tomorrow to know what it is."
He did not try to grip a bat.
Manager Mike Matheny didn't sugarcoat it:
"I'm concerned," Matheny said of Molina's injury. "We'll get the doctors to look at it and see."
In the moment, the Cardinals were covered by backup catcher Tony Cruz. Matheny had pinch-hit for Molina in the top of the ninth, and that put Cruz behind the plate when Quintin Berry tried to steal second base with nobody out in the bottom half. Cruz threw down to Kolten Wong and Berry was out by a thumbnail.
Watch on repeat:
Cruz is in the major leagues because of his defense; he can throw, as anyone can see. The team's ERA with Molina vs. Cruz is not that different. Their pitchers are a little better with Molina, who also has an edge in pitch-framing. Molina, though his framing numbers aren't as great as they used to be, will get calls that Cruz won't.
The one big difference for Molina could be batting. Though we don't know the nature and severity of Molina's injury yet, it stands to reason that gripping a bat will be the hardest thing for him to in the coming days or weeks. Molina has not been an above-average hitter this season, but a severely sprained thumb might render him useless in the batter's box. Cruz isn't much of a hitter when healthy. He has a .425 on-base plus slugging percentage.
So, the Cardinals will hope for positive news with Molina's MRI and, absent that, they'll hope Molina can at least be effective on defense playing with a severe sprain.
