Prior to playing his first Minor League rehab game on Thursday, catcher Yadier Molina said the driving thought in his mind is getting himself back to a point where he can once again play alongside Cardinals teammates Adam Wainwright and Albert Pujols.

Molina took the first step toward that mission on Thursday night -- although he did hit a pothole on his journey back to St. Louis.

Molina, who has been on the injured list since June 16 with inflammation in his right knee, appeared in his first game action in more than a month when he started at designated hitter for the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds against Norfolk. Molina was moved from the No. 3 spot in the order to No. 2 when Paul DeJong was scratched so he could travel to Washington, D.C., to join the Cardinals for their weekend series against the Nationals. Molina went 0-for-3, but he did score a run and steal third base off Norfolk starter Matt Harvey after reaching on an error. However, Molina had to leave the game when he was hit by a Louis Head pitch in the seventh inning.

"It caught him in a good spot," Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. "I spoke to him last night, and he said he wasn't concerned."

Marmol said the plan was for Molina to leave the game after that at-bat anyway, and that the off-day he took Friday was also pre-planned. Molina, who spent the early portion of this week working on conditioning and baseball drills, remains on track to catch Saturday and Sunday and return to the Cardinals on Tuesday.

“I can’t wait to go back and enjoy the rest of the season with them,” Molina said in a pregame media session with Memphis reporters while referring to Wainwright and Pujols. “But right now, our mentality is to win games, and that’s the plan -- to win games. Like I said, I can’t wait to get back.”

Molina, who is in his 19th and final MLB season, spent much of his time rehabilitating his knee in Puerto Rico after being given permission to do so by team president John Mozeliak.

“This is special to me and I’m happy being back playing the game,” said Molina, who spoke of his affection for Memphis because of the fan support he saw in the Bluff City early in his career and when he's rehabilitated an injury in the past. “This is great for me. I’m good. This is going to be the first game, and hopefully everything goes well. We’ll see what happens.”

Molina missed the first week of Spring Training with a personal matter. After that, he was in and out of the lineup because of lingering pain in his right knee. This season, he’s hit .213 with two home runs and 10 RBIs in 40 games. Now healthy and expected back in St. Louis soon, Molina thinks he can help the Cardinals make another postseason run.

“We’ve got a great team and we’ve had a great run the last couple of weeks,” Molina said. “But right now, we have to focus on us, get healthy and get back to winning some games.”