Molina denies using foreign substance on chest protector

In a bizarre turn of events near the end of Thursday's game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs, a would-be strikeout pitch from reliever Brett Cecil was lost in plain sight. On a third strike to Matt Szczur, the pitch went wild and the ball was stuck to the bottom of catcher Yadier Molina's chest protector.

Despite a white star-shaped streak where the ball landed, Molina denied applying any sticky substance to his gear, according to ESPN's Mark Saxon. And he didn't take too kindly to the question.

"Do I put anything on my chest protector? No. That's a dumb question," Molina said.

Molina and Cardinals manager Mike Matheny were both confused about how the ball could stay there. Meanwhile, Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward had a few theories.

"It was probably Tuf-Skin, sticky spray, something like that, maybe pine tar," Heyward said. "Probably Tuf-Skin. I've never seen that happen. We joked about it the next time I came up to the plate. We had a saying when I was over here: 'Never seen it.'"

Former catcher and current Cubs outfielder Kyle Schwarber, who hit the go-ahead 3-run home run two at-bats later, explained it's not uncommon for catchers to put pine tar on their gear.

"Catchers like to put pine tar on their shin guards and throw balls to second base and get a good feeling," Schwarber said. "Maybe it rubbed off some and it stuck. You never know. That's a pretty crazy theory. I don't know. I put pine tar on my shin guards. It happens."

Either way, the incident helped unravel the inning that turned a 4-2 Cardinals lead into an eventual 6-4 Cubs win.

(Video courtesy: MLB.com)