The St. Louis Cardinals currently lead the National League Central by 2.5 games over the Chicago Cubs and 7.5 games over the struggling Milwaukee Brewers. To get to this point, the contributions of both Paul DeJong and Yadier Molina cannot go under-appreciated.
DeJong just broke his own franchise record for home runs in a season by a shortstop, a record he originally set in 2018. Having hit his 26th long ball of the season in a 10-0 win against the San Francisco Giants on Thursday afternoon, DeJong has a little less than a month left to continue to extend his long-ball record.
DeJong has joined two other Cardinals with 25 home runs or more, as both Paul Goldschmidt (29) and Marcell Ozuna (25) have pushed St. Louis to have at least three players with 25-plus long balls for the first time since 2008.
Behind the plate, Molina also decided to get in on the historical makings, as he made his mark on both the offensive and defensive side against the Giants. His 1,927th time playing catcher moved him into a tie for ninth all-time with defensive whiz Jim Sundberg for most all-time starts as a catcher.
Molina has become one of the franchise’s all-time legends in his 16 seasons with the club, and he continues to help the team’s cause even as he gets into his age-37 season and beyond.
Molina knocked in a run with a single in the third inning, tying him with fellow Cardinals legend Ozzie Smith for seventh all-time in Cardinals history with 1,944 hits. Molina has fought to get back to form from degrading injuries this season, so this monumental event is important.
As the Cardinals look to sew up their divisional title, both DeJong and Molina will be counted on as the month of September continues.
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