It’s always a special accomplishment when you pass a Hall of Famer.
And that’s exactly what happened in Miami on Monday night.
With his 382nd career double, future Hall of Famer Yadier Molina passed (already) Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench on the all-time list for doubles among catchers, putting him in sole possession of eighth on the all-time list.
And as for the Cardinals, they snapped a two-game losing streak, defeating the Marlins 4-1.
The scoring started right away for St. Louis in the top of the first inning when Tommy Edman scored on a passed ball by pitcher Trevor Rogers.
While Rogers struggled on the mound, Daniel Ponce de Leon did not.
Making his first start of the season, Ponce de Leon had the best outing by favor of any Cardinals starting pitcher up to this point, throwing five innings while only allowing one run. He brought the heat for most of his start, with 89% of his pitches (93 total) being fastballs.
In the fifth inning, and the Cardinals already up 3-0, Edman hit a solo shot deep into right field to make it 4-0 Cardinals.
And while Miami would pick up a run in the bottom half of the fifth, that would be all that they could muster up.
The bullpen trio of Jordan Hicks, Giovanny Gallegos and Alex Reyes took care of business for the remainder of the game, giving the Cardinals their second win of the season, and in less dramatic fashion than the previous series in Cincinnati.
Awesome!