There’s no place like home and for Yadier Molina home has meant seeing his batting average soar since the St. Louis Cardinals arrived at Busch Stadium last week. With his pair of hits in Thursday’s 4-0 victory over Milwaukee, Yadi raised his average to .276 compared to the .143 two games earlier.
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“When you play everyday, you’re going to get that timing back–right now I’m in that process,” said Molina, who after going hitless in his first three games, has hit .421 (8-19) over the last five games.
Yadi also has three runs batted in but only one extra base hit this season. He lost 25 pounds over the off-season, but believes there is not an adjustment to be made at the plate.
“I don’t feel any different,” stated Molina. “I feel the same since last year.”
Rather than the weight loss, Molina points more to the schedule to begin the season–four days off in the first eleven days of the season.
“It’s hard to play like that, but you’ve got to get used to it,” acknowledged Molina. “Battle every game, try to do the best that you can. But when you play everyday, it’s easy to get that timing back.”
Molina has five hits in the last two games–a feat he equaled three times last season: July 3-4 vs SF/MIA, August 30-31 vs CHC, and September 13-14 vs COL.
–Matt Carpenter had a pair of doubles in Thursday’s win, marking four straight games with multiple hits.
–Jhonny Peralta (11 games) and Matt Holliday (8 games) both extended their hitting streaks on Thursday. Holliday also stole his second base of the season, a mark he didn’t reach last year until game number 61 in June.
–John Lackey (1-0) combined with Jordan Walden and Matt Belisle on the shutout. Lackey struck out 8 hitters to tie his best since joining the Cardinals. He also in the midst of a 12.2 scoreless innings streak at Busch Stadium dating back to last season.
photo credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
