The teenage girls back in St. Louis will be excited.

Having devoted their season to “leaving it on the field,” the Cardinals took the creed to an extreme Monday in a conclusion befitting a maddening eight-game trip.

On a night in which starting pitcher Adam Wainwright hung around late with less than his best, catcher Yadier Molina left the fifth inning lacking most of his gear...
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The Brewers already led 7-1 when plate umpire Paul Schrieber ruled Wainwright’s first pitch to right fielder Corey Hart out of the strike zone. Molina turned to object and was quickly ejected by Schrieber. Molina then methodically stripped his mask, glove, chest protector and shin guards.
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Molina objected on the 70th of Wainwright’s 87 pitches, apparently furious that Schrieber was “squeezing” his pitcher. Wainwright... rarely touched 90 mph with his fastball; his breaking pitches frequently short-hopped the plate.
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Usually a polite presence behind the plate, Molina was unforgiving with Schrieber. La Russa wedged himself between the two as Molina stripped, but the catcher had more for Schrieber as Molina untucked his shirt while third-base coach Jose Oquendo escorted him to the dugout.

La Russa wedged himself between the two as Molina stripped, but the catcher had more for Schrieber as Molina untucked his shirt

After Prince Fielder struck out, Corey Hart came to the plate and took a borderline pitch low and outside for a ball. Molina complained about the call and was ejected by home plate umpire Paul Schrieber as La Russa was walking out of the dugout.

“Everything was OK,” Molina said. “It was that pitch. I asked him where it was. He didn’t like it, and he threw me out.”

Molina protested his ejection by taking off his gear and leaving it in a pile at Schrieber’s feet.

“That was awesome,” Wainwright said. “If you’re going to get tossed, you might as well make it a good one. That was one of the better ones I’ve seen.”

The St. Louis Cardinals are expecting Yadier Molina to be disciplined for his antics.
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“We’ll hear something,” manager Tony La Russa said Tuesday before the Cardinals began a six-game homestand. “It’s not going to go unnoticed.”

Molina, the youngest of three catching brothers in the major leagues, declined to revisit the matter.

“Well, I thought it was a pretty good show,” said pitching coach Dave Duncan, a former catcher who said he was never ejected during his playing career.

Duncan thought Schrieber did a good overall job on ball-strike calls, but that Molina was set off by some calls that went against the Cardinals in key situations.
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La Russa said he didn’t learn about Molina removing his equipment until after leaving the field.