What looked a little like another Yadier Molina injury at the time turned out to be more exotic—but thankfully, less serious. The St. Louis Cardinals' 8-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies Sunday was all thanks to Yadier Molina's first-inning grand slam, but their star catcher left in the fifth inning after what turned out to be a bout of dehydration. Word after the game was that the move was precautionary; he's unlikely to miss any additional time for it. Which is good news for the Cardinals, since he's off to a scorching start: through two months he's hitting .324/.370/.538, with seven home runs and 28 RBI.
He finished the game 2-2 with the grand slam; his little-used understudy, Tony Cruz, finished the game off 1-2. It won't have much to do with this particular bout of dehydration, but the Cardinals are likely to give Cruz more chances to spell Molina going forward; he's on pace for 145 regular-season games this year, which would be a career high. And since they're on the hook for him through 2017, the Cardinals suddenly have a major incentive to look at what's best for Yadier Molina's career over the long-term.