Yadier Molina homered and doubled before leaving because of a sore foot, and the St. Louis Cardinals sent the Cincinnati Reds to their fifth straight loss, 5-4 Friday night.
Molina raised his batting average to .339 in helping St. Louis build a 5-0 lead. But the star catcher exited after batting in the fifth inning because of soreness in his right foot.
Manager Mike Shildt didn’t have a report on the severity of the injury postgame.
Cardinal pitching labored through a rough 9th inning before holding on for the win. Kwang-Hyun Kim (1-0) allowed one run and five hits with a career-high eight strikeouts. Three of Kim’s four major league wins have come against Cincinnati.
Sonny Gray (0-1) gave up five runs and six hits and three walks in 3 2/3 innings in his second start after opening the season on the 10-day injured list with a strained back muscle.
LHP Wade Miley (2-1, 2.25 ERA) starts for the Reds against John Gant (0-2, 3.21) 12:20 with the pregame and the first pitch at 1:15 on KIRX.
The Brewers lead the NL Central by one game over second place Chicago, the Cardinals and Reds are tied for third place two games out.