ICYMI: Molina helps Cardinals win again

The St. Louis Cardinals have a habit of pulling out wins in the final innings, and Wednesday was no exception.

A bases-clearing triple by Yadier Molina was the difference-maker as the Cardinals came from behind to defeat the Chicago White Sox, 3-2, at Comiskey Park.

Thanks to a 5-1 loss by the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Kansas City Royals, the Cardinals find themselves six games up on the Pirates once again. That’s a far cry from the 2-1/2 game deficit at the All-Star break, wouldn’t you say?

Molina has been hitting well at the plate, but this is the first time a member of the Molina family has hit a triple in nearly four years. Yadier and Jose both hit triples that year.

Molina is hitting .286 in July and the good news is he will have one chance to hit American League pitching Thursday night. The veteran catcher is hitting .278 against the Kansas City Royals.

Why did we say one chance?

Remember that the game Thursday night is the makeup of a rainout, but with the 60-34 record St. Louis owns and the 57-36 mark Kansas City has, this could be a World Series preview.

John Lackey pitches for the Cardinals against Chris Young. Lackey last faced the Royals on May 23 and gave up three runs in a 3-2 loss.

According to MLB.com reporter Jeffrey Flanagan, Stephen Piscotty should make his home debut in this game and will likely play first base. Time will tell if Piscotty is the long-term solution at first to replace Matt Adams, at least for this season.