MILWAUKEE -- Every time Yadier Molina steps on the field, he has a chance to move his way up the record books.
Tuesday night was an example of that. During his two-homer game in the Cardinals' 6-3 win over the Brewers, Molina played his 1,919th career game as a catcher. That moved him into 10th place in Major League history for most behind the plate. His two home runs gave him 152 in his career and helped him pass Joe Medwick, moving into 11th in Cardinals history.
The veteran backstop appreciates his accomplishments, but he got more pleasure from helping extend the Cardinals' winning streak to a season-high six games.
"It's a great honor to be on those lists with a bunch of Hall of Fame players, but at the same time, my focus is winning games," Molina said. "We're on a great run right now, we're playing good baseball and that's what matters to me."
St. Louis has won nine of its last 10 games and 15 of its last 18 to move a season-high 15 games over .500. The Cardinals remain three games ahead of the Cubs, who beat the Mets on Tuesday, in the National League Central while pushing third-place Milwaukee 6 1/2 games back.
Both at the dish and behind the plate, Molina played a big part in St. Louis' win. He delivered with his bat, hitting a game-tying solo home run in the fifth inning off Brewers starter Adrian Houser and then putting St. Louis ahead for good with a two-run shot in the seventh.
“Every time we play Yadier, he always comes clutch," Brewers utility man Hernan Perez said. "He always hits a big hit. He’s a great player."
Including a solo shot in Monday's series opener, Molina has hit three of his seven home runs this season in the last two games. It's the first time he's homered in consecutive games since April 12-13, 2018.
That his offensive outburst came in Milwaukee probably isn't a coincidence. Molina has a history of flashing his power at Miller Park, with four of his seven career multihomer games taking place at Miller Park, where he's hit 18 career home runs.
"I feel good hitting here," Molina said with a grin. "Everyone knows this stadium is a good hitters' park. With the background, you see the ball pretty well here."
Molina doubled to start what became a two-run ninth inning for the Cardinals to finish 3-for-3 with a walk (the 500th of his career), three runs and three RBIs while tying a career high with 10 total bases.
"A lot of guys contributed, but Yadi was definitely the lead actor on this one," Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said.
Behind the plate, Molina helped Miles Mikolas put together a fantastic effort. The right-hander allowed one run on four hits and one walk while striking out a career-high 10 to earn his first victory since July 25 and his first against a team other than the Pirates since June 17.
"Miles was throwing really good," Shildt said. "His stuff was crisp tonight. He gave us a really good six [innings], and the bullpen was able to bring it home."
The only blemish on Mikolas' night came in the second when Milwaukee took a 1-0 lead on a two-out, RBI single by Orlando Arcia. Mikolas recovered quickly, ending the inning by striking out Houser and retiring eight of his next nine batters.
"We made some mistakes in the middle of the plate [in the] second inning, but after that, he pitched a great game," Molina said. "His curveball was working well tonight and his fastball, too. That's what we need from him. We need him to be our ace, and he showed that tonight."