MiLB Pitcher of the Day: Mason Molina
THE CARDINAL CHRONICLE
Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day: Mason Molina Settles In as Memphis Rolls
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
Mason Molina had to get through a bumpy first inning Friday night.
Then he took control.
Molina is the Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day after giving Memphis six strong innings in the Redbirds’ 12-2 win over Durham.
His final line: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 K
The night did not start clean. Durham scored twice in the first inning, both runs coming on solo home runs, and for a moment it looked like Molina might have to grind through a difficult start.
Instead, he settled in and gave Memphis exactly what it needed.
After the first inning, Molina held Durham quiet. He allowed only two hits total, struck out eight and kept the Bulls from building anything after that early damage. By the time Memphis’ offense started piling on runs in the third and fourth innings, Molina had already steadied the game.
That mattered.
The Redbirds scored four runs in the third, five more in the fourth and eventually turned the night into a 12-2 win. With that kind of run support, the job for Molina became pretty simple: keep throwing strikes, avoid the big inning and hand the game to the bullpen with Memphis in control.
He did that.
Molina threw 82 pitches, 52 for strikes, and worked through six innings before turning the ball over to the bullpen. Matt Svanson handled a scoreless seventh, and Pete Hansen covered the final two innings without allowing a run.
Memphis pitching held Durham to four hits on the night.
The offensive fireworks belonged to Chase Davis, who drove in five runs, and Colton Ledbetter, who drove in four. But the pitching headline belonged to Molina.
Six innings.
Two hits.
Eight strikeouts.
A Memphis blowout win.
That is a strong night’s work.
Molina has had to battle through some uneven moments at Triple-A, but Friday was the kind of outing you can build from. The first inning could have sent the game in a different direction. Instead, he stopped it there and gave Memphis length, strikeouts and stability.
Sometimes the best starts are not perfect.
Sometimes they are about making the adjustment before the game gets away.
That is what Molina did.
He took the early punch, answered it, and helped Memphis roll to one of its cleanest wins of the week.
That earns the spotlight.
Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day:
Mason Molina, LHP, Memphis Redbirds
Final Line: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 K
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Photo Credit: Mason Molina, Memphis Redbirds | MLB