The St. Louis Cardinals are really making sure to roll out some of their position players to get some reps on the mound.
First it was Albert Pujols.
Now, it’s Yadier Molina.
With the Cardinals well ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates in Sunday afternoon’s game at PNC Park, manager Oliver Marmol chose to give Molina an inning to rest the bullpen.
Like Pujols’ outing, it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing, but Molina finished the game for St. Louis.
In fact, their pitching lines were almost identical, and Katie Woo of the Athletic posted a tweet comparing their pitching lines, calling it “bff things.”
Albert Pujols' pitching line: 1 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 HR,
Yadier Molina's pitching line: 1 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 2 HR
Just bff things. #STLCards
— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) May 22, 2022
Yadi Takes The Bump
Pujols and Molina are obviously the closest of friends and have been through a lot together over the course of their careers.
But now, with a rough pitching performance of his own, Molina can join Pujols in some legendary company.
Molina, like Pujols, allowed four runs on two homers in his outing.
But the two are both legends in Cardinals’ history, as well as baseball history and each of them have had their fair share of memorable moments, which now includes a pitching performance by each of them.
Position players clearly do not make the best of pitchers, but when they take the mound, there are bound to be some laughs.
That was the case when Pujols took the mound against the San Francisco Giants and when Molina made his appearance yesterday against the Pirates.
Who knows?
The Cardinals might just have a couple two-way players on their hands.
They won’t reach the level of proficiency that Shohei Ohtani has reached on the mound, but it’s never too late to try something new.
NEXT: Albert Pujols Keeps Hope Alive For Home Run History In 2022