(Busch Stadium) After taking not one, but two consecutive foul balls off the mask last night, St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina remains in MLB Concussion Protocol.
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“I feel much better today, so hopefully tomorrow I’ll keep progressing,” said Molina, who was driven to the ballpark by his wife. “Obviously, when you get hit in the head you have to be cautious with that and that’s where we are right now. I’m not going to pretend and will give the head time to rest and that’s where we are right now.”
Molina was able to stay in the game after being hit the first time, but on the very next pitch he was hit again and his physical reaction was immediate.
“They hit me pretty good, both of them,” said Molina. “I was in pain. I was confused.”
As far as Yadi returning to play before this season ends, that question will have to wait until at least Thursday.
“I don’t know, I’m going to try my best to come back in the lineup,” said Molina. “In two days, we’ll see how my head feels and how my body feels. We’ll go from there.”
“Everything’s going to rely on what the doctors see,” seconded Mike Matheny. “It’s not my call nor his. It’s the doctors and what they see. There’s a pretty extensive battery of testing that you have to get through. Tests aren’t going to really give you a way out. If he’s ready to go, then he’ll be ready to go.”
Getting hit in the head or elsewhere is not anything new for Molina, who acknowledges that it comes with the job of getting behind the plate. But the one-two punch of last night was something new.
“I’ve been hit in the head many times, but not twice in a row like last night,” admitted Molina. “Like I said, last night was pretty bad. But right now, I feel much better. My nausea went away and my head is feeling better…rest for 24-48 hours and see what’s going on after that.”
photo credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
