The St. Louis Cardinals had quite a rough night against the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday, losing 11-3 and dropping their first series since losing three of four to the New York Mets.
However, there was some good to be taken away from all of it, as Yadier Molina took the mound for the bottom of the eighth.
Molina not only threw a scoreless inning, but also recorded his first career strikeout.
The Cards have a little experience this year with position players taking the mound, with Molina himself doing it in Pittsburgh and Albert Pujols getting a chance against the San Francisco Giants.
Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch posted a funny tweet with a list of active Cardinals ERA leaders, provided that they spent at least 10 years with the team.
Updated career #stlcards ERA leaders (active, minimum 10 years with team)
1. Adam Wainwright 3.34
2. Yadier Molina 18.00
3. Albert Pujols 36.00#Cardinals #MLB— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) June 9, 2022
A Trio Of Aces
This is a funny little list here, especially given that Adam Wainwright is the only actual pitcher on the list.
His ERA at least looks good.
But as Molina and Pujols enjoy their final seasons in the big leagues, they’ve gotten to do some pretty amazing things.
Who would’ve ever expected to see those two pitch at any point in their careers?
Their ERAs obviously are not great, with Molina’s sitting at 18 and Pujols’ sitting at 36.
But hey, at least they’re capable of pitching, right?
The Cards may have some new two-way players on their roster now.
These three legends are spending one last year together and it’s great they’ve been able to have a little fun and enjoy each other’s company.
But this list, despite Pujols and Molina’s ERAs being high, is full of elite players.
Maybe one day, Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt can join the list.
NEXT: Yadier Molina Did The Impossible Wednesday Night
