Cardinals' Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina make MLB history with 325th career start as a battery

Cardinals' Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina make MLB history with 325th career start as a battery

Wednesday night at Busch Stadium, St. Louis Cardinals stalwarts Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina made a rather remarkable bit of history versus the Milwaukee Brewers (GameTracker). The duo started their 325th game as a battery, setting a new Major League Baseball record. The two have been teammates since Wainwright was first called up to the big leagues in 2005. Molina debuted in 2004.

"It's been a good run," Wainwright told the Associated Press last week. "(Molina is) an incredible teammate, friend, and partner in crime. We've been together for a long time. So, you know, we got to finish strong."

The pair received a standing ovation on their way in from the bullpen, as captured here by MLB.com's John Denton:

With the start against the Brewers, Wainwright and Molina broke the record held by longtime Tigers teammates Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan. Here are the most common pitcher-catcher starting batteries in history:

Adam Wainwright to Yadier Molina

Cardinals

2007-22

325

Mickey Lolich to Bill Freehan

Tigers

1963-75

324

Warren Spahn to Del Crandall

Braves

1949-63

316

Red Faber to Ray Schalk

White Sox

1914-26

306

Don Drysdale to John Roseboro

Dodgers

1957-67

283

Red Ruffing to Bill Dickey

Yankees

1930-46

282

Steve Rogers to Gary Carter

Expos

1975-84

270

Bob Lemon to Jim Hegan

Cleveland

1946-57

264

Early Winn to Jim Hegan

Cleveland

1949-57

250

Tom Glavine to Javier Lopez

Braves

1994-2002

248

Molina has been behind the plate for 325 of Wainwright's 387 career starts, a staggering 84 percent. For comparison, no catcher has caught more than 30 percent of Clayton Kershaw's career starts, or 26 percent of Justin Verlander's career starts.

Wainwright entered Wednesday with a 10-9 record and a 3.33 ERA in 28 starts and 173 innings. His resurgence the last three seasons has been nothing short of incredible. Molina has hit .222 with four home runs in 67 games around injuries this year.

The 40-year-old Molina has announced this will be his final season. Wainwright, 41, has not yet committed to any plans beyond 2022. Fellow Cardinals legend Albert Pujols, who is chasing 700 career home runs, has also said he will retire after the season.

The Cardinals entered Wednesday's series finale with the second-place Brewers with a 83-59 record and a seven-game lead in the NL Central.

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