ST. LOUIS — Wednesday evening at Busch Stadium, an all-time record fell, and it's one that's bound to stand for a long time.
Facing the Milwaukee Brewers for career start No. 325 as a pitcher and catcher battery, the Cardinals' combo of Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina broke the all-time starts record (since 1908) for a battery in MLB history.
The pair passed Detroit Tigers duo Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan, who had held the record since 1975.
Wainwright and Molina made their first-ever start together back on April 6, 2007, against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Wainwright went seven innings, allowed just one run, got the win and also added an RBI double for good measure.
Coming into Wednesday's record-breaking game, the Cardinals were exactly 100 games over .500 (212-112) in games started by the battery of Wainwright and Molina. That's good enough for the most team wins by a battery in baseball history, 10 more than the Braves' duo of Warren Spahn and Del Crandall.
In their 18 years as teammates for the Cardinals, Wainwright and Molina have combined for two World Series titles, 13 All-Star Game nods, 11 Gold Glove Awards, two Silver Slugger Awards and a countless number of memories for a generation of Cardinals fans.
Those 18 years as teammates are unique, too. Only two other sets of teammates (Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter with the New York Yankees and Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell with the Detroit Tigers) have been teammates for more seasons in baseball history.
The all-time battery starts record now owned by Wainwright and Molina will likely stand for decades, if not forever due to the evolution of the game and consistent player movement throughout the league.
Molina, along with fellow future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols, have announced that 2022 will be their final season in the major leagues. Wainwright has continued to leave the door open for another year in 2023.