Cardinals' Brendan Donovan Continues Epic Year With First-Pitch Blast

Saturday’s victory for the St. Louis Cardinals will be remembered for its thrilling comeback arc, but don’t forget what happened in the top of the first inning.

Soon-to-be All-Star second baseman Brendan Donovan stepped into the batter’s box for the Cardinals and didn’t waste much time at all before doing damage.

Donovan took the first pitch of the ballgame — a fastball from Cleveland Guardians’ Slade Cecconi — over the right-center field wall, giving St. Louis an early 1-0 lead.

Oddly, it was a familiar sight for the Guardians, as noted by MLB.com’s John Denton.

“It was the sixth time this season a Guardians starter allowed a home run on the opening pitch of the game — most in the majors,” Denton wrote on Saturday following the game. “Cleveland gave up six such homers from 2017-24.”

Donovan’s blast was also a familiar sight to the Cardinals. The 28-year-old has been crushing the baseball all season amid a career year. Donovan won’t be starting in the All-Star game but certainly deserves to.

Donovan is slashing .302/.372/.434/.806 this season with six home runs and 31 RBI (entering Sunday).

Saturday’s win lifted the Cardinals to 46-38 on the season, 3.5 games back for the division lead and tied for the third spot in the National League Wild Card race with the San Diego Padres.

St. Louis entered Sunday with the opportunity to sweep the Guardians on the road, which would be the Cardinals’ sixth-straight road victory.

Donovan and the rest of Oli Marmol’s boys are humming -- that much is undeniable.