When the end came, with so little fanfare and all of the fireworks still in their casings waiting for another year or another event, Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols watched from the dugout, having done all they could against Philadelphia to extend their careers one more night.
The Cardinals, their leading hitters stymied time and time again, had yet to muster a run in an elimination game when it was up to the bottom of the order to create something, anything to keep the season alive, to keep two beloved Cardinals’ careers going.
The two of them had already stretched it 90 feet farther on their own.