Brendan

Donovan

Donovan was the Cardinals’ engine in this one. He homered in the third inning to break a 0-0 tie and then hit an RBI single in the fifth that started the domino effect to chase Giants’ starter Hayden Birdsong. Donovan wound up with a fine season as a full-time starter with 14 home runs and a .278/.342/.417 slash line.

Donovan was hitting .373 in his last 17 games entering play Saturday. Maybe he was due for a hitless game, but he’s also hitting .265 with no home runs against left-handed pitching this year compared to .280 with 13 home runs against right-handed pitching. While the difference in average may seem negligible, with no home runs against left-handed pitching this year Donovan is tough to use in matchups against left-handed pitchers like Matthew Boyd on Saturday.

Donovan drove in a run with a single in the fourth inning and a double in the sixth inning. He has a hit in 15 of his last 17 games. Donovan is 25-for-67 (.373) with three home runs and 11 RBI in that time. He’s hitting .277 with a .756 OPS and 68 RBI on the year.

Donovan put the Cardinals on the board with a two-run blast off Jake Woodford in the second inning. He added a base hit in the third, then drew a walk in the seventh before scoring on a double by Jordan Walker. The versatile 27-year-old is up to 13 homers, 63 runs scored, and 66 RBI while slashing .271/.338/.408 across 610 plate appearances.

Since Thomas Saggese was called up earlier this week, he has started every single game with the Cardinals rotating out another player in the lineup each game. One game Masyn Winn sat, the next game Lars Nootbaar sat, and now Brendan Donovan will sit. It’s a bit of a frustrating situation for fantasy managers because you’ll never know who will sit in which game.

Donovan has been out of action for the last few games while he deals with a foot infection. The 27-year-old may need to have some maintenance days as the season comes to a close, but he’s feeling well enough to hit at the top spot against Rhett Lowder and Cincinnati.

There was some hope that Donovan could play Sunday after missing Saturday while dealing with an infection in his foot, but the Cardinals will give him at least one more day off. José Fermín again gets the start at second base in Donovan’s absence.

Cardinals manager Oli Marmol told reporters before Saturday’s game the infection makes it difficult for Donovan to put pressure on his foot. Marmol also did note that the team is considering Donovan day-to-day, and they’re hopeful Donovan can play Sunday in the series finale. José Fermín is starting at second base with Donovan unavailable.

Donovan’s three-run blast off Yankees starter Will Warren in the third inning put St. Louis ahead in the early stages of the contest as they managed to hang on for a narrow victory at Yankee Stadium. It was his 11th round-tripper of the season.

Donovan had been stuck on nine homers since July 20, so it’s nice to see hm back on the board there. His .266/.333/.393 line is perfect solid, but the hope that was he’d do a little better in homers and steals this season. He’s at 10 and four, respectively, through 122 games this season. Last year, he finished with 11 homers and five steals in 95 games.