ST. LOUIS — Even the most dramatic twists and turns Game 2 of the National League Championship Series took after Yadier Molina’s at-bat Sunday in the sixth inning remained secondary to the mundane twists and everyday turns that are now
ST. LOUIS — Even the most dramatic twists and turns Game 2 of the National League Championship Series took after Yadier Molina’s at-bat Sunday in the sixth inning remained secondary to the mundane twists and everyday turns that are now too painful for Molina because of injury.
Three innings before Busch Stadium shuddered with celebration as Cardinals rookie Kolten Wong’s game-winning home run nestled into the right-field seats for a 5-4 win against San Francisco, the stadium felt silent, eerily so.
As if a mute button had been pressed on the city, the crowd of 46,262 watched as the Cardinals’ beloved catcher hit a ground ball to second base, took a step and stopped.
Randal Grichuk said on the field it was possible to hear fans whisper their concerns. A quick double play would erase the base runner and halt any threat the Cardinals had that inning. Molina standing motionless, bent over, hands on his knees, and his ribcage muscle strained, threatened to end much more.
Late Sunday, as the thrill of a sudden walk-off win mixed with the somberness of an injured leader, music played in the Cardinals clubhouse at an elevator-approved volume and there were two meanings to “big blow.”
Molina’s prolonged absence would be a “big blow” to the team, players said.
Wong’s homer on the second pitch of the ninth was a “big blow” for the series.
“There were certainly some ups and downs in this game,” third baseman Matt Carpenter said. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say there were some dull moments in the dugout when things happened. Certainly the ninth inning — losing our lead — that was a letdown, but Kolten gets us right back where we wanted to be. A lot of ups and downs. A really emotional game.”
Prospects on parade kept the Cardinals from falling behind 2-0 in the best-of-seven NLCS. Top prospect Oscar Taveras tied the score with a pinch-hit homer in the seventh.
Second-year first baseman Matt Adams pushed the Cardinals ahead with a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth. And then after a rupture in the ninth on a wild pitch from Trevor Rosenthal, rookie Wong wrenched the game back for the Cardinals and knotted the series with his second homer of the postseason.
Both have provided the game-winning run.
The Cardinals and Giants, tied at a game apiece, shift the NLCS to San Francisco after a travel day Monday.
Molina was receiving tests on his strained left oblique muscle late Sunday night to determine the severity of the injury, which he first felt on a swing in the first inning. A team official said it’s likely that Molina would travel with the team Sunday night to San Francisco. How deep into the series the Cardinals will have to go without Molina will be clearer in the coming days.
The Cardinals had three catchers on the roster, and that saves them from a tricky decision about replacing Molina on the roster.
Postseason disabled list rules mandate that putting Molina on it now would make him ineligible for the World Series if the Cardinals advance.
“I am not going to jump to conclusions,” manager Mike Matheny said. He said the initial report “didn’t look real good.”
The Cardinals had to rally once Sunday from a one-run deficit, and they twice had to break a tie game before winning Game 2. Such resilience will be tested if Molina is lost for a stretch — or the rest of the month.
Adams’ solo homer deep into the right-field seats gave the Cardinals a 4-3 heading into the bottom of the inning. But Rosenthal could not overcome his penchant for walking batters — and even Molina might not have been able to help. The Cardinals’ closer spiked a full-count, two-out pitch to Joe Panik, and the squirrelly ball skipped far enough away from backup catcher Tony Cruz that the tying run scored from second base. The runners broke on the pitch, giving pinch-runner Matt Duffy a head start from second. Third-base coach Tim Flannery never hesitated, sending him around third and home ahead of Cruz’s throw to the plate for a 4-4 tie.
Seth Maness rescued Rosenthal by getting a bases-loaded groundout, and for his work Wong made Maness a winner.
As he went for his bat to lead off the ninth, Wong received some advice. Catcher A.J. Pierzynski told him: Base hit.
“Don’t be a hero,” Grichuk recalled the dugout telling all three youngsters as they stepped to the plate. “Don’t be a hero. Get on base. Keep the line moving.
Wong connected on the second pitch he saw from Sergio Romo to send the ball beyond the right-field wall. The 362-foot shot traveled even further when it came to getting the Cardinals back into the series.
As teammates tore at his jersey, Wong searched for Pierzynski.
“Is that good enough for you?” he recalled saying.
