The St. Louis Cardinals were potentially a pitch from disaster on Sunday night as Pablo Sandoval left the bases loaded in the top half of the ninth inning for the San Francisco Giants.
More from MLB Postseason
- World Series MVP winners: Full list
- When do the MLB Playoffs start?
- MLB Playoffs 2023 format, key dates, predictions and more
- Rodriguez, Harris II earn 2022 AL, NL Rookie of the Year honors in historic voting
- Astros World Series championship swag: Here’s where to buy
A victory for San Francisco would have pushed their NLCS series lead to 2-0 and the St. Louis Cardinals would then be heading on the road to play at the very tough AT&T Park for three straight. But a walk-off home run sent the St. Louis Cardinals to the Bay Area with a 1-1 series tie and All-Star catcher Yadier Molina accompanied them on the trip.
Molina, who is thought to be the heart and soul of the St. Louis Cardinals was forced from action Sunday night after suffering an oblique strain and many questioned if he’d even make the trip West. He did just that though as noted by Derrick Goold.
What exactly this means however is not known. Does Yadier Molina flying to San Francisco suggest he’s actually going to play at some point during the three game set at AT&T Park? Or was his inclusion in the flight simply because the team wanted him to be in the dugout? At this point we don’t know though it seems odd to believe that Molina, who could hardly walk during Sunday’s game, would be available to catch just two days after the injury which is known to keep players out for up to a month.
St. Louis is carrying three catchers on their roster so it’s very doubtful they’d deactivate Yadier Molina, especially because doing so during the NLCS would result in him not being eligible for a potential World Series birth.
[recentpots]