Donovan awarded Gold Glove, hits leadoff homer in Cardinals win

Before Sunday’s game, St. Louis Cardinals IF/OF Brendan Donovan was presented with a Gold Glove, alongside Nolan Arenado.

However, during the game, Donovan was flashing the lumber more so than the leather.

On the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning, Donovan turned a hanging changeup from Toronto starting pitcher Chris Bassitt into a leadoff home run, setting the tone for the Cardinals' 9-4 win over the Blue Jays in Busch Stadium.

“He's good,” Donovan said of facing Bassit. “Some guys you don't want to get into deep counts with. I saw a good pitch that I could get a good swing off and I mean that's the result you hope for.”

What immediately followed was a solo home run from the next batter in the lineup, Alec Burleson, who tagged Bassit's fastball high and outside.

Nolan Gorman later hit a two-run home run to finish the first-inning barrage and put the Cardinals comfortably on top 4-0.

Everyone on the Cardinals' starting lineup got a hit in the game.

"It's super dangerous," Burleson said of the Cardinals lineup. "I definitely don't want to be a pitcher on the other side against this lineup."

After Toronto responded with a three-run second inning, Arenado hit an RBI single and Gorman hit his second two-run home run in the third inning. Donovan and Burleson continued to drive in runs in the fourth inning to round out the scoring for St. Louis.

"There's no brakes," Donovan said. "That's the biggest thing. There's no brakes for the arms, for the opposing pitchers. So I think it's good and it's like we also have a team mentality. So, if someone gets on, you can move them over, and then the next guy gets on and you just pass the baton back. And I think that's an awesome thing about this lineup."

Donovan had a solid rookie season for the Cardinals last year, slashing .281/.394/.379 with five home runs and 45 RBIs. He carried his hitting streak over to the new season and extended it to 11 games, which is currently the longest active streak in the NL and second only to former Minnesota Twin and current Miami Marlin Luis Arraez (12).

Donovan also became the first Cardinal to win the Gold Glove as a rookie and the first in the National League since Arenado won it as a member of the Colorado Rockies in 2013. Arenado also became the second player in MLB history to begin his career with 10 successive Gold Gloves, joining Seattle legend Ichiro Suzuki from 2001-10.

Most notably, Donovan is the first NL player to win a Gold Glove as a utility player. He played every position, except center field, catcher, and pitcher last year.

He started Sunday's game at second base and has the bat to keep him in the lineup as much as possible. His versatility makes for a more flexible lineup, alieving the stress of figuring out how to rest key players while simultaneously plugging those holes.

"It's a hard role. I think it's a key role. You need to give guys days off. You need to give the manager some flexibility and I think if throughout the course of the season, if you can just bounce all over the field, it keeps guys healthier and it keeps me in the lineup too. So obviously extremely blessed and thank you Rawlings for that utility Gold Glove. I'm just super blessed and thankful for that."

Even with the award, Donovan said he is, "A firm believer that you don't really master any" position.

"You just get comfortable being uncomfortable," he said.

__Bassitt hounded__

Chris Bassitt made both his season and Blue Jay debut and allowed a career nine earned runs on 10 hits over 3.1 innings pitched.

“I've never had a game like this where six different pitches were hit hard,” Bassitt said. “Sometimes you've just got to say they're a really good team and hit the heck out of it.”

Last year with the New York Mets, Bassitt established career highs in wins (15), starts (30), innings (181.2), and strikeouts (167). He signed a three-year, $63 million deal with Toronto over the offseason.

Cardinals starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery went five innings, allowing three runs on five hits and three strikeouts.

“It was good enough to get the win, that's what matters,” Montgomery said.

__All bark and no bop__

The Blue Jays led the Majors with a .264 average and 1,464 hits last year. Toronto racked up 32 hits during the three-game series but left St. Louis without a single home run. It's the first time in club history the Blue Jays started the season with three homerless games.

__Moving along__

Despite a total of 13 runs and 26 hits, Sunday's game lasted two hours and 29 minutes. The average MLB game last season went three hours and three minutes. It's a sign that the implementation of the pitch clock is cutting out the fat of a baseball game and moving the action along.

__Up Next__

The Cardinals remain home to take on the Atlanta Braves. Jake Woodford (4-0, 2.23 last season) will face Charlie Morton on Monday.

Southeast Missouri State alum Dylan Dodd will make his MLB debut for the Braves on Tuesday and will go up against Steven Matz.