St. Louis Cardinals’ Yadier Molina back in the lineup – MLB News
The St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday, August 26, had their catcher Yadier Molina back in the line-up after he could not play the game on Saturday due to a swollen ankle. Molina, who retains an important place in the Redbirds’ defence and offence, had caused concern in the team after Friday’s rolling.
Nonetheless, to make an appearance on Sunday, Molina’s return was good news for the team as a whole.
"He bounces back, and he just grinds through it," said manager Mike Matheny before the game. "[Saturday] was a good day for him to take off and hopefully get ahead of it."
Among the Major League catchers, it is Yadier Molina who is leading with a .328 batting average. All the same, the opener of the three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds saw Molina hit 3-for-5, which eventually led to the team’s victory.
While Molina is back, the Redbirds can cheer the news that David Freese will soon be back in the line-up. He had to leave the game on Friday after taking a grounder from Zack Cozart off his left wrist. But things seem not particularly worrying for him.
The team manager Mike Matheny opted for giving him a day off on Sunday. The decision apparently was to ward off any risk potentially accompanying the player if he were to play.
"They got all the tests done and they came back negative, which was good news," Matheny said. "But it's still keeping him from letting it go. It'll probably be another day. I think we'll also be able to have him off the bench [Sunday], if necessary. We still want him to do some more swinging and a little more therapy to make sure. I thought he might be able to go [Sunday]."
The Cardinals will have a series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, starting from Monday. With their two major players back, the Cardinals will certainly have a psychological advantage as far as the line-up is concerned. The fact that Pirates have dropped five of their last six games will be more of a pressure for the club to rid themselves of.
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