Win 202 ties Waino-Yadi battery atop all-time list

Wainwright, 40, furthered the link between himself and winning Wednesday when he teamed with catcher Yadier Molina to equal the mark as one of the winningest starting batteries in the history of baseball. In holding the Royals to one hit and one walk in seven scoreless innings, Wainwright paved the way for he and Molina to notch 202 team wins as a starting battery.

That ties them for first all-time with Warren Spahn and Del Crandall, who also were a part of 202 wins from 1949-63.

Molina, who played despite battling through a non-COVID illness a day earlier, hates talking about numbers and his historical significance in the game. But if the statistics revolve around winning, Molina said he welcomes those conversations.

“Of course, any time you have [records] about wins, that makes you a winning player,” Molina said. “That’s a big deal for us—winning. That’s what we’re about.”