He honored Roberto Clemente with his sweat, with his swag, with his swing, this brushstroke upon a California canvas on Wednesday afternoon, hit after hit after hit.
Yadier Molina plays for Clemente — the man whose face he wore on a shirt pregame, the man whose service award he humbly won two years ago — and Wednesday he played like Clemente. Three hits, two runs, one RBI. And game-altering defense.
“Mental willpower,” teammate Paul Goldschmidt said.
In the Cardinals’ September, a month when winning every game seemed important, winning the last game of the month seemed imperative.