ST. LOUIS - The sight of Yadier Molina gingerly walking off the field and into the clubhouse was considerably more painful for the St. Louis Cardinals than the double play the All-Star catcher grounded into in the sixth inning.
Molina hit a hard grounder to second and appeared to have hurt his torso on the swing. The Cardinals reported he sustained a strained left oblique, the kind of injury that takes weeks to recover.
Molina was unable to leave the batter's box and was replaced by backup Tony Cruz in the seventh, with the score tied 2-2, and the Giants immediately capitalized. Cruz committed a passed ball in the inning, and the Giants eventually took a 4-2 lead on a two-run single by Gregor Blanco.
The importance of Molina to the Cardinals' cause can't be overestimated. He's a master at handling the pitching staff and controlling the running game - he threw out nearly 48 percent of base-stealers during the season - and he provides a clutch bat as well.
Molina missed 40 games between July and August with a thumb injury and St. Louis went 20-20 in his absence. That helped the club tread water in a 162-game season - the Cardinals heated up after his return - but won't cut it in the postseason, especially with St. Louis going into Sunday down 1-0 in the NLCS.
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