The Pittsburgh Pirates will take on the St. Louis Cardinals as they welcome back one of their biggest hitters Thursday afternoon at 1:35 pm ET.

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Via ESPN:

Making his return from the disabled list, Yadier Molina tries to help the Cardinals move closer to the first-place Pittsburgh Pirates in Thursday's series finale at Busch Stadium.

Out since July 30 with a sprained right knee, the All-Star catcher was activated on the first day he was eligible. Though Molina was mired in a 3-for-19 slump at the time of his injury, he's second in the NL with a .330 average.

Molina hopes to get back on track and help St. Louis (68-51) cut into Pittsburgh's three-game lead in the Central.

"You have to give it your all every time because it's only a month and a half left," he said. "Every time you get a day off it's beautiful for your body but right now my team needs me and I'll be ready to go."

Though manager Mike Matheny is glad to have one of his stars back, he plans to be cautious with Molina.

"We're going to be careful," Matheny said. "You just have to try to do the right thing."

St. Louis pounded out 27 hits and scored 12 runs to win two straight before being held to four hits by Pittsburgh's Francisco Liriano in a 5-1 loss Wednesday.

The victory snapped a season high-tying four-game skid for the Pirates (71-48), who won for the second time in nine road contests.

"It was important because every game counts, especially after (Tuesday's 4-3, 14-inning loss)," Liriano said. "It was a tough game last night and we had to put that one behind us and come ready to play."