(TSX / STATS) — MILWAUKEE — Despite rumors to the contrary over the last few weeks, Yadier Molina is still Yadier Molina.
The veteran catcher hit a pair of home runs and finished with three hits Wednesday night in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 5-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.
“He is our captain, he is our leader, he is the St. Louis Cardinals,” St. Louis second baseman Kolten Wong said. “We are going to hop on his back whenever he is going. He is our man. When he goes, we go.”
Both home runs came at the expense of Brent Suter (2-2). The Milwaukee left-hander had a 1.50 ERA since replacing Chase Anderson in Milwaukee’s rotation a month ago, but he gave up a season-high five runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out seven over 5 1/3 innings.
“(Molina) definitely (has) a lot left in the tank from what I saw tonight,” Suter said. “Obviously, he has a lot of power. One of them was opposite field on a down-and-away sinker, so he has a lot left in the tank from my vantage point.”
Molina’s big day made things a little easier for Cardinals right-hander Luke Weaver (1-1), who struck out eight and held the Brewers to two runs on five hits and a pair of walks over 6 1/3 innings. It was his second start in place of Adam Wainwright, who is out with a back injury.
“He was awesome,” Wong said. “The ball was exploding out of his hand. It looked like he had a really good feel on the changeup. It was a good day.”
Eric Thames put Weaver in an early hole, giving the Brewers a 1-0 lead in the first inning with his 25th home run of the season, but the advantage didn’t last long.
St. Louis tied the score at 1 in the second inning when Luke Voit bounced into a bases-loaded force with no outs. Suter got out of the inning without further damage, but Molina’s leadoff homer in the fourth gave the Cardinals a 2-1 lead.
“He was seeing me well,” Suter said. “Some of those pitches weren’t bad pitches, they were pitches I was getting away with and getting swings and misses from other guys. He just hammered all of them, so you’ve got to tip your hat. That guy’s on his way to the hall of fame, so if you’re going to give them up, you might as well give them up to one of the bests in the game.”
Molina struck again in the sixth, leading off with his second homer of the night, and Jose Martinez and Voit followed with back-to-back singles. Suter struck out Randal Grichuk to bring his day to an end, but after Jeremy Jeffress retired Weaver, Wong doubled home two runs, making it 5-1.
“(Suter) was good, but Yadier Molina got him,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “That was really the story of the game. Molina is the first hitter we’ve seen that has had a big game against him.
“I haven’t looked at the pitches yet, but Molina did a nice job and got some pitches he could hit. Other than that, I thought it was a good Brent start. I thought he pitched really well and did his job.”
The Brewers managed to get one back in the seventh on an RBI single from Hernan Perez that chased Weaver. Jesus Aguilar made it a one-run game with a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the eighth against John Brebbia, his 10th home run of the season.
Trevor Rosenthal snuffed out the threat, then came back with a scoreless ninth for his seventh save.
Milwaukee went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position and has just three hits in its past 46 chances in those situations.
“We’ve had some baserunners tonight, but not that big second and third with nobody out that leads to a big inning,” Counsell said. “That’s certainly what we are missing.”
NOTES: RHP Jeremy Jeffress gave up a two-run double and struck out a batter in his return to Milwaukee on Tuesday. He was added to the Brewers’ active roster prior to the game, two days after he was acquired from the Texas Rangers. … Cardinals RHP Adam Wainwright threw a bullpen session as he works through a bout of tightness in his back. … Brewers RHP Matt Garza (4-5, 3.83 ERA) will come off the disabled list and start Thursday afternoon in the series finale against Cardinals RHP Michael Wacha (8-4, 3.71). Garza has been out due to a strained calf. … To clear space for Garza on the active roster, Milwaukee optioned LHP Wei-Chung Wang to Triple-A Colorado Springs.
Photo credit – Benny Sieu / USA Today Sports / Milwaukee, WI
