St. Louis Cardinals Yadier Molina is in pain after swinging in the sixth inning against the San Francisco Giants in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series at Busch Stadium on October 12, 2014. Molina left the game. UPI/BIll Greenblatt
The Cardinals were set to leave on their chartered flight to San Francisco after game two and Yadier Molina was going to stay behind as he was examined by doctors after getting injured in the sixth inning on Sunday.
Instead the team waited for Molina and he joined them on the flight to San Francisco and was back on the field Monday afternoon playing catch.  Molina says he feels much better than he expected after describing his strained oblique as the “worst pain I have ever felt in my career…It’s like someone is nailing you with a knife. It’s a tough pain.””
St. Louis manager Mike Matheny is leaving a roster spot open for Molina, but don’t expect the Gold Glove catcher to be in the lineup today. Â Molina did not swing the bat and it looks like A.J. Pierzynski, added to the NLCS roster after the Divisional Series will get the start behind the plate.
Pierzynski caught John Lackey not only in Boston, where the two started the season, but they also had two games together in St. Louis. Pierzynski will provide a better offensive option than Tony Cruz.
As talented as the Cardinals are, there always tends to be a silver lining to the club’s misfortunes. Â Pierzynski was just added to the roster for this series after not being eligible to play against the Dodgers. Â Matheny’s pre-series move to add the veteran catcher paid off.
Matheny’s decision to keep Molina on the roster may have more to do with a potential World Series than this NLCS. Â If Molina was taken off the roster for this series with the Giants, he would not be eligible to play in the World Series.
Yadi talks about the injury (video/MLB.com)
