The St. Louis Cardinals will place all-star catcher Yadier Molina on the disabled list due to a right knee strain, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
He played just three innings in Tuesday nights' game against the Pittsburgh Pirates before he had to come out.
“I tried to play through it, but it was getting worse,” Molina said. “The smart thing to do is to give my knee some time to rest. I did whatever I could to be on the field, but right now I need time.”
The 31-year old catcher was having a remarkable season at and behind the plate, propelling him to consideratoin for National League MVP. He is batting 330 with eight homers, 54 RBIs and playing great defense.
He had been struggling with the knee for a month and aggravated the injury Tuesday. .
“Some days I was feeling better,” Molina said. “Catcher is a tough position. You have to be 100 percent. You can’t be 75 percent or 74 percent. At the same time, going up and down isn’t helping. It was bothering me.”
This blow adds to the Cardinals current woes on the baseball field. They are no longer the first place team in the NL Central after getting swept by the Pirates. They’ve gotten swept in back to back series—they lost three straight games to the Atlanta Braves before playing the Pirates—giving them a six game losing streak heading into today.
Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said the current struggles will test his team’s resilience.
“It’s an opportunity for us to find out what we’re made of,” Matheny said. “These are the times that define you. They happen during the season. They’re never fun when you go through them. But you see what kind of fight you have.”
