ST. LOUIS — Yadier Molina's second-inning home run in Game 1 of the Cardinals' doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday was special for a number of reasons.
First off, it came while Molina was wearing the number 21 on his jersey, instead of his usual 4. The Cardinals were observing Roberto Clemente on Thursday, since they had an off day on Wednesday.
Molina, like the late Clemente, is a native of Puerto Rico and is a previous winner of the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award, which recognizes humanitarianism.
Puerto Rican players around the game were granted permission to wear number 21 this Roberto Clemente Day.
The home run was also notable for a few other reasons.
It was the 159th home run of Molina's career, moving him past Johnny Mize for sole ownership of 10th place on the Cardinals' all-time home runs list.
The two-run shot also moved Molina into 7th place in the franchise's all-time RBI list with 930. He passed new Hall of Famer and fellow catcher Ted Simmons.
With two hits in the game, Molina is now just 11 hits shy of 2,000 for his career. Only five other players have notched 2,000 hits all with the Cardinals.
The Cardinals beat the Tigers in Game 1 by the score of 12-2.
