By Chris Brown / STL Baseball Today | @cbrown_STLBBT | Oct. 14, 2015, 12:10 am, updated 10:44am
After exiting Monday night’s game with a re-aggravation of his hand/thumb injury, catcher Yadier Molina did everything in his power to be back in the lineup for the Cardinals’ do-or-die Game 4 at Wrigley Field. While Molina’s name was on the original lineup card, the invaluable backstop was a late scratch after he was unable to pass grip and strength tests prior to the game.
Molina could only watch from the dugout as the Cubs ended the Cardinals’ season, clinching a postseason series at home for the first time in the club’s 139-year existence.
[Related: STL Baseball Today’s Complete NLDS Game 4 Coverage]
“I tried everything (to play),” Molina told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I tried everything.”
Now, Goold reports that the seven-time All-Star will see a doctor in St. Louis on Wednesday and have an MRI to determine if the torn ligament in his left hand will require surgery.
The 33-year-old admitted that he “probably” made the injury worse on a violent swing during Game 3 of the series.
Molina missed the final 13 games of the regular season after straining a ligament his his left thumb on a play at the plate against the Cubs on September 20. He returned to action in Game 1 of the Division Series after making the team’s roster.
Goold notes that Molina was scheduled to see a hand specialist on Wednesday — regardless of the outcome of Tuesday’s contest — to determine whether or not he could play through the pain he’s been experiencing and start in a potential Game 5. During the NLDS, Molina wore a special splint while catching and even used a different kind of bat to reduce the discomfort in his left hand.
Latest STL Baseball Today NLDS Coverage:
Recap: Cubs end Cardinals’ season with 6-4 win in NLDS Game 4
Videos: Matheny, Mozeliak, and Cardinals players react to NLDS loss to Cubs
Photos: Scenes from Game 4 of the National League Division Series
Media Reaction: Top Reads after Cards knocked out of postseason
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Feature image used under Creative Commons by Barbara Moore. No changes made. Image license.
