Adam Wainwright threw seven innings of one-hit ball in a 10-0 win over the Kansas City Royals on a cold, damp day at Kauffman Stadium.
Wainwright and Molina, who went 1 for 5 at the plate, tied the Braves' Warren Spahn and Del Crandall for the most team wins by starting battery mates with their 202nd together.
Now, Wainwright and Molina need just six more starts to match Spahn and Crandall for second in history behind Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan of the Tigers.
Wainwright (3-3) allowed just a one-out single to Michael Taylor in the third against the weak-hitting Royals, whose only other baserunners against the 40-year-old right-hander came on a fielder's choice, an error and a walk.
Meanwhile, the slumbering St. Louis offense came alive in a big way: Nolan Arenado hit a three-run homer and drove in five runs, Tyler O'Neill hit a two-run shot and drove in three, and Harrison Bader and Paul DeJong also drove in runs.
The final scheduled game between the cross-state rivals this year was moved from a night game to the afternoon because of the threat of rain, though sprinkles still fell on the sparse Kauffman Stadium crowd midway through it.
By that point, the few fans still in their seats were mostly wearing red.
It took a mere 17 pitches from Kris Bubic (0-3) for Tommy Edman and Paul Goldschmidt to work leadoff walks and Arenado to turn on a 2-1 pitch, depositing it 410 feet away in the left-field stands and giving the Cardinals a 3-0 lead.
The three runs were more than they had scored against Kansas City the past two games combined.
Juan Yepez, who was recalled from Triple-A Memphis to replace ailing INF Edmundo Sosa a day earlier, got the start in RF in his big league debut. He finished 2 for 3 with a pair of bloop doubles down the right-field line.
Royals C MJ Melendez got his first start behind the plate Wednesday. Last year's minor league home run champ went 1 for 3 after also getting a hit as the DH in his big league debut Tuesday night.
Cardinals RHP Miles Mikolas (1-1, 1.52 ERA) starts the opener of a four-game series in San Francisco on Thursday night. The Royals have the night off before RHP Carlos Hernandez (0-1, 6.00) opens a three-game set in Baltimore on Friday.
