The St. Louis Cardinals’ legendary battery of Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright tied a record they will soon beat with Thursday’s game.
On Thursday, the St. Louis Cardinals traveled to American Family Field to kick off their slate against the Milwaukee Brewers in 2022. As soon as the first pitch was thrown in the bottom of the first, a milestone was tied that will soon be beaten.
Officially, Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright have paired up in the third-most games ever by a single combination of catcher and starting pitcher.
The start between Molina and Wainwright was their 306th of their careers, officially tying the duo with Red Schaber and Ray Schalk in the third spot on the list.
This marks another in what will be a long list of records to keep an eye on in 2022 as the old trio of Wainwright, Molina, and Albert Pujols finish up their final seasons of their long careers. Moving into sole possession of third place with one more start together, the long-standing battery will be well within reach of getting to the number one overall if both stay healthy.
With 11 more starts, the duo moves into 2nd place passing Warren Spahn and Del Crandall and with 19 more starts, they’ll pass Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan and stand alone at the top of the list.
Molina and Wainwright already hold the second-most wins by a catcher/starter duo in baseball history as well. They should have the opportunity to top that list by the end of the year as they sit just two wins behind the aforementioned Spahn and Crandall.
While the game didn’t go quite as well as Wainwright would’ve wanted, there will be more chances for the Cardinals and Wainwright to beat the Brewers this season. Ideally, all of Wainwright’s starts will come with a healthy Molina behind the plate in 2022 so they can make the push for the most starts ever by a battery.
While winning will be the top priority for fans and the team this season, seeing how many records Molina, Wainwright, and Pujols can stack up will always be on the back burner as great things to watch out for.