ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Cardinals All-Star catcher Yadier Molina will undergo surgery Friday to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb and could miss the rest of the season. The team estimated Molina could be sidelined eight to 12 weeks. Hes hoping to make it back in seven or eight weeks. "I almost cried," Molina said before Thursday nights game against the Pirates. "Mentally, its so frustrating. You play hard for something to happen like that, its bad." Molina got the news Thursday morning, three days from his 32nd birthday. The Cardinals left Busch Stadium Wednesday night prepared for the worst news and minor league call-up Audry Perez was already on the way. General manager John Mozeliak said hed be on the lookout for a "stopgap" solution. For now, backup Tony Cruz is the starter for the defending National League champions whove had a rash of serious injuries recently. Lefty Jaime Garcia also will undergo season-ending thoracic outlet surgery Friday to relieve nerve pain and numbness and right-hander Michael Wacha is on the 15-day disabled list indefinitely with a stress fracture in his pitching shoulder. Manager Mike Matheny said its important for the players to just keep going. The first step, he said, would be to consider the series finale against the Pirates as a day off for Molina. "Im going to continue to scream at the top of my lungs that this is an opportunity for us to step up, all of us," Matheny said. "The great players, the great teams, take this stuff and figure out a way to get it done." Molina was injured Wednesday when he planted his hand for balance after sliding feet-first into third base in the second inning. He caught another half-inning before Cruz hit for him in the third. The slide was the same as its always been, except for one critical difference. "This time," he said, "my thumb got stuck in the dirt." Molina said it would take five weeks for the thumb to heal after surgery and then hed begin a rehab program. Matheny said the team had to formulate a rehab plan. Perez was recalled from Triple-A Memphis and will be the backup behind Cruz, who totalled 51 at-bats the first 92 games with a .255 average and eight RBIs and also is a strong defender. "Ive got 100 per cent confidence, I have no doubt he can do it," Molina said. "Tonys smart, hes a good player, a good hitter, a good catcher." Molina was voted to his sixth straight NL All-Star team Sunday and is a starter for the fourth time. He was hitting .287 with seven homers and 30 RBIs and led the major leagues by throwing out 47 per cent of attempted base stealers along with three pickoffs. He has been extremely durable, averaging 135 games the past six seasons. He missed two weeks with a sprained knee last season. Now, hell be an adviser and unofficial cheerleader for the defending National League champions. "I will be in the dugout, Ill be with the team," Molina said. "Im part of the team." The 27-year-old Cruz has been a backup the past four years with 12 starts this season. He had 28 starts both in 2013 and 2012. The 25-year-old Perez was batting .288 with two homers and 11 RBIs in 44 games at Memphis and threw out 29 per cent of base stealers. He played in two major league games last season with one at-bat. Wholesale Spurs Jerseys . The defending champions sent their preliminary list to FIFA on Tuesday, with coach Vicente del Bosque to announce the final 23-man squad on May 25. Costa is set to lead the attack in his native Brazil, with Atletico Madrid teammate David Villa and Chelseas Fernando Torres also included, while David de Gea replaces injured goalkeeper Victor Valdes. Joe Hamilton Jersey . Crawford hit his slam off Pirates starter Edinson Volquez to give San Francisco a four run lead in the fourth and they never looked back. Brandon Belt had three runs batted in as well. Bumgarner pitched all nine innings and allowed just four hits. https://www.cheapspurs.com/1036j-marco-b...rsey-spurs.html. Louis Cardinals a hard-fought victory. The Colorado Rockies intentionally walked Yadier Molina with one out and runners on first and third to load the bases for Kozma. Tom Nissalke Jersey . Smiths former Atlanta teammates were glad to hang on for an ugly win. John Beasley Jersey . Next years tournament is also within sight for Bosnia-Herzegovina, which has never played in a World Cup, but Cristiano Ronaldo looks destined for the playoffs with Portugal after a night when the qualifying picture in the nine groups became much clearer.Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - The Chicago Cubs and pitcher Jason Motte agreed to terms on a one-year contract Friday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the Chicago Tribune reported it to be worth $4.5 million. Motte was the closer for the St. Louis Cardinals before undergoing Tommy John surgery during the 2013 season. He returned last year and was 1-0 with a 4.68 earned run average in 29 games. The 32-year-old right-hander owns a career record of 18-13 with 54 saves and a 3.03 ERA in 311 relief appearances -- all with St. Louis -- from 2008-14. He has 290 strikeouts in 285 innings pitched.dddddddddddd Motte helped the Cardinals to the 2011 World Series championship, closing out Game 7 against Texas to cap a postseason in which he produced five saves and a 2.19 ERA in 12 games. In 2012, Motte tied for the National League lead with 42 saves and posted a record of 4-5 with a 2.75 ERA in 67 games. He developed an elbow injury in spring training the following year and eventually underwent surgery in May, forcing him to miss the entire 2013 season. The Cubs will likely employ Motte as a setup man for Hector Rondon, who notched 29 saves last season. ' ' '