ST. LOUIS — In a most sticky situation, Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina couldn’t find a ball that clung to his chest protector and the Chicago Cubs turned the bizarre play into a late rally Thursday, beating St. Louis, 6-4.
The Cardinals led 4-2 in the seventh inning when things became kooky at Busch Stadium.
IT'S A FACT
Relief pitcher Michael Lorenzen of the Reds hit a pinch-hit home run to lift Cincinnati over the Phillies on Thursday. It was the first pinch-hit home run by a pitcher since Micah Owings in 2009.
Pinch-hitter Matt Szczur led off by striking out on a pitch from Brett Cecil that skipped in the dirt. The ball bounced into Molina’s protector and appeared to get trapped by a sticky substance.
Molina kept looking around for the ball and didn’t find it until Szczur made it to first base. The Gold Glove catcher could only smile and fans as a sellout crowd laughed – really, who’d ever seen such a thing?
“That play changed everything,” Molina said. “If we get that first out, everything changes.”
Catchers sometimes put pine tar somewhere on their uniforms, often around the shin guards, to help give them a better grip.
Once Szczur reached on what was scored as a wild pitch, the Cardinals lost their grip on this game.
After a walk, Kyle Schwarber hit a go-ahead, three-run homer.
REDS 7, PHILLIES 4: Relief pitcher Michael Lorenzen connected for a pinch-hit homer that put Cincinnati ahead at home.
Adam Duvall also homered as the Reds rallied from an early three-run deficit to take the opening series, winning 2 of 3.
ROCKIES 2, BREWERS 1: Nolan Arenado and Mark Reynolds homered, and Antonio Senzatela pitched five strong innings in his major league debut to help Colorado win at Milwaukee
Arenado homered leading off the ninth. Reynolds hit his second homer of the season.
MARLINS 4, NATIONALS 3: Justin Bour doubled in the go-ahead run with two outs in the 10th inning at Washington after the Marlins erased two leads against a shaky Nationals bullpen, and Miami earned its first win of the season.
DODGERS 10, PADRES 2: Yasiel Puig homered twice for Los Angeles at home.
METS 6, BRAVES 2: Matt Harvey dominated with a fastball in the mid-90 mph range and uncommon efficiency in his return from major surgery, winning at home and giving New York hope his injury woes are behind him.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
TWINS 5, ROYALS 3: Jason Castro and Jorge Polanco hit consecutive RBI doubles in the seventh inning at Minneapolis as Minnesota dented Kansas City’s bullpen again to sweep the season-opening series.
WHITE SOX 11, TIGERS 2: Matt Davidson had his first career triple and first home run with the White Sox as Chicago won at home.
ATHLETICS 5, ANGELS 1: Andrew Triggs pitched into the sixth inning for his second major league win, Ryon Healy homered to cap a four-run third and Oakland won at home for an opening four-game split.
BLUE JAYS 5, RAYS 2: Kendrys Morales hit his fourth career grand slam, Marcus Stroman pitched 61/3 effective innings and Toronto won at St. Petersburg, Florida.
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