By Chris Brown / STL Baseball Today | @cbrown_STLBBT | Oct. 13, 2015, 12:46 am CT

UPDATE 10/13 @ 12:40pm: NLDS Game 4: Molina in lineup, Lackey gets the ball as Cards look to fend off elimination

When John Lackey takes the mound for the redbirds in a do-or-die Game 4 on Tuesday afternoon, he may not have All-Star catcher Yadier Molina behind the plate.

Molina, who missed the final 13 games of the regular season after straining a ligament his his left thumb on a play at the plate, re-aggravated the injury during a swing early in Monday’s 8-6 loss to the Cubs.

After attempting to stay in the game, the 33-year-old left the contest in the fifth inning in favor of pinch-hitter Brandon Moss.

Don’t know yet,” manager Mike Matheny said postgame as far as Molina’s status moving forward. “For him to come out, I think people who follow our team closely realize that’s significant as far as what it must feel like. We could tell a little bit in how he was catching today and definitely when you saw the one particular swing, but watched him in all the warm-ups and watched him in BP – he looked good.”

(Via MLB.com)

As far as the cause of the re-agravation, Matheny said many factors could have been in play.

“You just never know with that particular injury if there’s a ball that gets fouled off or a swing that doesn’t quite feel right, it could set him backwards. We’re going to let our medical guys get their hands on him – part of the messaging with him was let’s try and get ahead of this before it goes any further to where we have to rule you out altogether.”

Since returning from the injury at the beginning of the series, Molina has worn a specially designated splint to help ease the pain while catching.

While it stands to reason that the seven-time Gold Glove Award winner will do everything in his power to be in the lineup for Game 4, Tony Cruz would draw the start if Molina is unable to play.

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Feature image used under Creative Commons by Barbara Moore. No changes made. Image license.