Molina expected to go on DL

PITTSBURGH -- Falling out of first place and an anemic offense are hardly the biggest problems for the St. Louis Cardinals at the moment.

Now, they've got to find a way to stay in a playoff race without franchise cornerstone Yadier Molina.

The All-Star catcher left with a sprained right knee after the third inning of a 6-0 loss to Pittsburgh in the second game of a doubleheader on Tuesday night. Molina will fly to St. Louis on Wednesday for further examination and expects to be placed on the disabled list.

Molina has been dealing with inflammation in the knee for more than a month. The pain simply became too unbearable to go on.

"I tried to play through it but it's getting worse," Molina said. "The smart thing is to take time off and try to fix it."

Molina allowed the Pirates to take an early lead in the second game with a rare passed ball and was in obvious discomfort during his two at-bats. The Cardinals replaced him with Rob Johnson in the top of the fourth and aren't certain when Molina will be able to return.

The timing couldn't be worse for a slumping offense that now must replace the second-leading hitter in the National League. St. Louis has scored just five runs during its season-high, six-game losing streak and put together nine hits in 20 innings on Tuesday.

"That's the sad part," Molina said. "I want to be here for my team and for my teammates, but the smart thing to do is take care of my knee and come back as soon as possible."

The injury came hours after general manager John Mozeliak insisted the Cardinals aren't panicking even as the Pirates leapfrogged them in the NL Central standings.

"I still think it's a good team," Mozeliak said. "There's definitely ups and downs and peaks and valleys in every season and this is certainly a down time for us."