Last night's 6-3 Cardinal victory was an event that transcended a mere win, as it featured a momentous occurrence that, once it happened, made you appreciate all the time and effort spent to get to that point, all the opportunities for failure but also, yes, success.

Last night, in the 5th inning with nobody out and David Eckstein on first after being hit by a pitch, Jim Edmonds grounded into a 3-6-3 double play---ending his streak of of not grounding into a DP all year.

Of course, last night featured something else, something bigger, something less about NOT doing something, and more about DOING, about dogged striving, day in day out, to attain a record of undeniable achievement... You know what I'm talking about...

...Yes, last night Yadier Molina finished the game with an OBP above .300, the first time he's done that all year.

Let's look at some key dates in Ya Mo's steady climb:

April 12.... .000 (after 5 games played)
April 13.... .053 (after a single, he has reached base in 1 of 19 PAs)
April 16.... .074 (draws first walk of the season)
April 17.... .067 (at the infamous 1-for-29 stage)
April 18.... .143 (after 3-for-5 performance against Pirates)
April 19.... .175 (new high-water mark after going 2-for-5)
April 27.... .180 (new high after a single and his 2nd walk of the year)
April 30.... .197 (new high after two hits and 3rd walk of the year)
May 1....... .224 (new high after two hits and 4th walk; now has 3 walks over 5 games)
May 13..... .267 (sixth straight game in which he's achieved a new season-high OBP; goes 9-for-21 with a walk)
May 25..... .279 (4-for-4 vs. Pirates)
May 28..... .280 (2-for-3 vs. Nationals)
May 30..... .285 (1-for-3 vs. Rox)
June 1...... .294 (2-for-3, two(!!) walks vs. Rox; only multi-walk game of the year)
June 7...... .300 (after 1-for-3 and a walk, highest point of the season before last night)
June 19..... .282 (0-for-5 vs. DRays caps skid where he reaches just 3 times in 19 PAs)
June 28..... .299 (hitless, but a walk in 3 PAs after game in which he was 2-for-3 with a walk leaves him knocking at the .300 door)
July 7........ .292 (hit by Claudio Vargas pitch, out for 6 weeks)
Aug 18...... .288 (0-fer on return from DL sends OBP below .290 for first time since June 20)
Aug 25...... .301 (responds to insertion into cleanup spot with single, double, and a walk to surge past .300)