ST. LOUIS -- The Cardinals have preached patience with Yadier Molina this season. Patience as his right thumb tendon strain healed. Patience as he found the timing of his swing when he returned. Molina, the ultra-competitive veteran catcher, has had to be patient with all of that, too.

It’s all paying off for both Molina and the Cardinals.

Molina’s solo home run and RBI double were two of the six runs the Cardinals scored off Reds starter Trevor Bauer in their 10-6 win Saturday afternoon at Busch Stadium in the first game of a doubleheader.

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Since Monday in Milwaukee, Molina is batting .600 with four home runs in four games. And since returning to the lineup on Aug. 13 after his injury kept him out for a month, Molina is batting .333 and has started 15 of the Cardinals’ 16 games.

“Yadi’s in a good place,” Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said. “Getting good balls to hit and putting good swings on them. He drove that ball out of the ballpark. He’s in a good spot.”

Molina’s work behind the plate is invaluable to the Cardinals, and it will continue to be down the stretch. It’s a big reason why he’s started so many games since his return. Molina's freshness after missing a month helps Shildt to plug the 37-year-old catcher into the lineup every day as well.

Molina’s bat catching up and igniting the bottom half of the lineup is becoming another reason why, too, although the back-to-back doubleheaders this weekend will likely mean that backup Matt Wieters gets a start or two.

And Molina seems ready for it all. Why?

“I think he smells playoffs,” said starter Dakota Hudson, who threw a career-high 7 2/3 innings Saturday afternoon. “He’s doing what he does, and it’s fun to be a part of our lineup. He’s doing exactly what he does. He’s being himself. It’s fun to watch.”

With Molina’s help, Cardinals are sprinting toward the postseason. They’ve won 17 games in August with the chance to win one more on Saturday night. And the first-place Cards are two games ahead of the Cubs in the National League Central.

Molina and the rest of the offense is surging at the right time as the season races toward the finish, and Molina’s productiveness is an example of the Cardinals’ offensive spark that’s coursing through the whole lineup.

Leadoff man Dexter Fowler was 3-for-5 on Saturday afternoon with his 16th homer of the season -- and team-leading 20th RBI in August. Kolten Wong went 2-for-3 with two walks right behind Fowler. The top two hitters in the lineup are not only getting on base for guys like Paul Goldschmidt -- who had two RBI singles Saturday afternoon -- but also driving in runs. The entire lineup clicking the way it has recently allows them to do that.

“I’m just trying to get on base,” Fowler said. “There are guys out there, that’s their job to drive in runs. I’m just trying to get on base. ... I’m getting the right opportunities.”

Shildt praised the at-bats taken throughout the lineup on Saturday afternoon. It started at the top, but it continued throughout, including with Molina.

“It lengthens it out,” Shildt added. “You have [Molina] swinging the bat well, the guys at the top, Goldy taking good at-bats. [Marcell] Ozuna hitting the ball hard ... it’s a collective team effort.”