ST. LOUIS -- Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina and most everyone else at Busch Stadium laughed at the bizarre sight -- a ball somehow stuck to his chest protector, in plain view of everybody except him.
The St. Louis star didn't think it was so funny when asked if a foreign substance helped the thing cling.
"Did I put anything on my chest protector to stick?" Molina said. "That's a dumb question."
Whatever happened, it sure made for a strange situation at Busch Stadium. And it was the key play that sent the Chicago Cubs past St. Louis 6-4 on Thursday.
The Cardinals led 4-2 in the seventh inning when things turned kooky.
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 smack ... it stayed there.
As Molina frantically looked for the ball, Szczur headed toward first base.
By the time Molina looked down and discovered the ball, it was too late -- Szczur was safe. The Gold Glove catcher could only smile and fans in the sellout crowd roared.
"I haven't seen that one before," Cardinals Manager Mike Matheny said. "I have no idea what happened there."
Catchers sometimes put pine tar somewhere on their uniforms, often around the shin guards, to help give them a better grip.
Molina was certain about one thing.
"That play changed everything," he said. "If we get that first out, everything changes."
Once Szczur reached on what was scored as a wild pitch, the Cardinals lost their grip on the game.
After a walk, Kyle Schwarber hit a go-ahead, three-run home run. The Cubs added another run later in the inning against Cecil (0-1).
REDS 7, PHILLIES 4 Michael Lorenzen connected for a pinch-hit home run that put Cincinnati ahead and overcame a rough major league debut by Rookie Davis to beat Philadelphia.
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 beat Milwaukee.
DODGERS 10, PADRES 2 Yasiel Puig homered twice to help Los Angeles rout San Diego. Puig hit a two-run home run to left off the first pitch from Jered Weaver (0-1) in the second inning. He homered off Weaver again in his next at-bat in the fourth inning, belting another two-run shot to left field to give the Dodgers a four-run lead.
MARLINS 4, NATIONALS 3 (10) Justin Bour doubled in the go-ahead run with two outs in the 10th inning after Miami erased two leads against a shaky Washington bullpen to earned its first victory of the season.
METS 6, BRAVES 2 Matt Harvey dominated with a fastball in the mid-90 mph range in his return from major surgery, beating Atlanta and giving New York hope that his injury woes are behind him. Travis d'Arnaud hit a two-run double and Wilmer Flores added a two-run home run against Jaime Garcia (0-1).
AMERICAN LEAGUE
TWINS 5, ROYALS 3 Jason Castro and Jorge Polanco hit consecutive RBI doubles in the seventh inning, as Minnesota beat the Royals to sweep the season-opening series.
WHITE SOX 11, TIGERS 2 Matt Davidson had his first career triple and first home run as a member of the Chicago team in a victory over Detroit. James Shields (1-0) threw 51/3 innings, allowing 2 hits and striking out 5.
ATHLETICS 5, ANGELS 1 Andrew Triggs pitched into the sixth inning for his second major league victory, Ryon Healy homered and Oakland beat Los Angeles. Triggs (1-0) allowed 1 unearned run, 4 hits and 3 walks in 52/3 innings.
BLUE JAYS 5, RAYS 2 Kendrys Morales hit his fourth career grand slam, Marcus Stroman pitched 61/3 innings and Toronto beat Tampa Bay.
MARINERS 4, ASTROS 2 Jarrod Dyson hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the ninth inning and Jean Segura drove in a run later in the inning to lift Seattle over Houston.
Sports on 04/07/2017