Brendan Donovan's go-ahead, pinch hit double latest spark for scrappy Cardinals

New York Times

17 hours ago

ST. LOUIS — Brendan Donovan had every intention of returning to the St. Louis Cardinals' lineup Monday. The team's lone All-Star had missed two games with nagging groin discomfort but was hopeful he'd be available — even for one at-bat — in Monday's series opener against the Colorado Rockies.
He sure picked the right time.
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With St. Louis trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the eighth, Cardinals manager Oli Marmol turned to Donovan to pinch hit for catcher Pedro Pagés with two runners on and one out. The skipper was encouraged by Donovan's pregame work but did not make a final decision on his availability until just before first pitch. When Marmol saw his team in a prime scoring spot, he didn't hesitate.
Donovan emerged from the dugout, worked a 1-2 count off Rockies reliever Juan Mejia, and then promptly drilled a two-run, go-ahead double to right field to give the Cardinals a 3-2 lead. Thanks to another stellar outing from Kyle Leahy — who posted 2 1/3 scoreless frames in relief of Miles Mikolas' quality start — that one-run lead held. St. Louis beat Colorado for its sixth win in its last 10 games and moved to just three games out of the final National League wild-card spot.
Not too shabby for a team that traded its top three relievers and pledged its focus to the future less than two weeks ago.
'Even though we did sell at the deadline, you still don't lose belief,' Donovan said. 'If you lose belief, you have nothing. And I think that's one thing that this team has done a really good job of is responding. Very cool tonight to see that.'
DONNIE DELIVERS! pic.twitter.com/BTVSkAwL1E
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) August 12, 2025
After a dismal July that sank their chances of adding to the roster, the Cardinals have strung together wins despite a depleted bullpen and a limited bench. The team is without Nolan Arenado (shoulder strain) indefinitely and traded its closer, top setup man and a key left-handed reliever. It has also seen its roster jam to the point where its opening day starting catcher is seeing reps in left field. Maneuvering through the logistics of the roster has been complicated for Marmol, who must try to field his best nine each game while also finding sufficient playing time for a slew of players the front office is evaluating for next season and beyond.
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Marmol has had to change his managerial strategy to make this happen. His players have had to respond accordingly. Both have done so — and it's led to a surprising surge. Dating back to the deadline, the Cardinals have taken series victories over the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs. But Monday's win was arguably this month's most impressive yet, due to how the late innings were navigated.
St. Louis entered play knowing Donovan would only be available in a needed at-bat. Its bench became shorter when Lars Nootbaar departed in the top of the sixth with a left knee contusion, sustained after fouling a ball off his leg in the third. X-rays were negative for Nootbaar, who is considered day to day. Jordan Walker took over for Nootbaar in right field, leaving backup catcher Yohel Pozo and outfielder Garrett Hampson as the only two full-time replacements.
The bullpen wasn't much better. Both JoJo Romero and Riley O'Brien were unavailable after their usage over the weekend, leaving Leahy as the highest-leverage reliever. St. Louis was aided immensely by Mikolas, who allowed two earned runs over 6 2/3 innings, to create an optimal lane for Leahy from the seventh inning.
That's where the coaching staff's navigation and the players' execution truly came into play.
Before the deadline, Marmol and pitching coach Dusty Blake had created consistent roles for their relievers. With Romero the only left-handed reliever on the roster, that can no longer be the case. Marmol also didn't want to use Donovan in the field Monday, and preferred to deploy him only for a pinch hit opportunity with the game on the line.
Things changed quickly when the Cardinals started to rally. Leahy emerged from the seventh unscathed and followed up with a shutdown eighth inning, punctuated by back-to-back strikeouts to end the frame. Nolan Gorman worked a key one-out walk in the bottom half of the inning and advanced to second on Thomas Saggese's third hit of the night. This was when Marmol decided to empty his bench, knowing it would mean Donovan would need to play defense in the ninth.
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Hampson pinch ran as the lead runner for Gorman, and Donovan took the at-bat for Pagés, advancing to third on the throw home. When the Cardinals took a one-run lead, Marmol weighed the options in his bullpen, determined Leahy to be the best option (even though it would mean a third inning of work) and went for adding an insurance run over relying on defense, an uncharacteristic move. Marmol pinch hit Pozo for Victor Scott II, who roped a 105 mph liner right to third baseman Kyle Karros, who doubled off Donovan to end the inning.
Hampson took over for Scott in center field, Saggese moved to third base in lieu of Gorman, and Donovan took over second base for the ninth. Leahy pitched around a two-out single to secure his third win of the season. It was not how Marmol usually manages his one-run leads, but a different roster means different decisions.
'We veered a little bit from what we've done all year,' Marmol said. 'We take the lead there, we typically leave Scott in the game as our best defense. With no Romero and no O'Brien, knowing Leahy is going to go back out in a one-run game, I'm trying to add one more run, let Pozo take that at-bat and make it a two-run game.
'We took our shot, and we're OK with Donovan playing defense if we can get the win. Glad it worked out that way.'
I'm looking at the schedule. I'm calling it now. The @Cardinals shock everybody and are playing for a wild card spot on the last series of the season against the @Cubs Cubs-Cards last 3 days of the regular season at Wrigley could be wild
— Adam Wainwright (@UncleCharlie50) August 9, 2025
While asking a bullpen arm to log more than two innings can be a tall order, Marmol felt comfortable riding with Leahy, who has grown accustomed to longer relief outings.
'He was efficient, he looked good and I trust him,' Marmol said. 'Especially in that moment, a one-run game, nothing's going to speed this kid up. We felt good with the other guys down with him being the guy to go back out and finish that game.'
The Cardinals feel good about a lot of things, and all things considered, they should. The expectations externally have been lowered, but internally, the daily grind remains the same. Much can happen within the final seven weeks of the regular season, and the Cardinals are in no way declaring themselves a playoff team. But they continue to play compelling baseball in what could have been a lost second half of the season.
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'There are a lot of young guys in this locker room that have tremendous amounts of fight in them and tons of heart,' Mikolas said. 'We're not giving up no matter what anyone else is going to throw our way. We have athletic guys making great plays, hitting, running the bases, having fun. And I think as long as we have fun, we're pretty dangerous.'
(Photo of Oli Marmol and Brendan Donovan: Joe Puetz / Getty Images)
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