It appears Yadier Molina likes being 31.

He also likes breaking out of a hitting slump in a big way, as he went 4 for 6 with 4 RBI, 3 runs scored and a home run on the day after his birthday.

Oh, and there’s no doubt he likes winning games. Pretty sure he doesn’t mind leading the National League in hitting either.

He did all of those things on Sunday night, as the Cardinals entered the All-Star break with a 10-6 win over the Cubs and the best record in the major leagues as well as a 1-game lead over the Pirates in the NL Central. Yadi increased his NL-leading batting average to .341.

Of course, given that the Cards had 21 hits to go along with those 10 runs, Yadi was hardly alone in having a big night at the plate. Allen Craig increased his second-best-in-the-NL batting average to .333 by going 4 for 5 with a tie-breaking RBI in the top of the ninth inning. He’s also tied for second in the NL in RBI with 74.

Plus, there’s this: Pete Kozma — yes, Pete Kozma! — had 3 hits and 2 RBI.

Crazy, right? Just like the game itself.

It definitely was one for those who like offense, as the pitchers’ duel between All-Stars Adam Wainwright and Travis Wood didn’t exactly live up to the billing. Wood threw 100 pitches but only lasted 5 2/3 innings, giving up 10 hits and 3 earned runs while Wainwright got one more out than that, threw 11 more pitches and gave up 4 earned runs on 8 hits.

Continue reading →