Central STL News

The St. Louis Cardinals have continued their push for a postseason spot despite trading away three of their most experienced relievers at the trade deadline. The team, currently holding a 61-59 record, pulled within three games of the New York Mets for the third National League Wild Card position after defeating the Colorado Rockies 3-2 at Busch Stadium on Monday night.

Brendan Donovan played a key role in the win, returning from left groin tightness and coming off the bench to deliver a go-ahead two-run double in the eighth inning. Donovan had missed two previous games and was not in the starting lineup due to injury concerns but told manager Oliver Marmol he was available to pinch-hit after participating in pregame drills.

“Unfortunately, there’s still a lot of season left when the Deadline happens, and it’s baseball, and luckily it’s a very long season,” Donovan said about his team's mindset following recent trades. “Even though we did a sell at the Deadline, you still don’t lose belief. If you lose belief, you have nothing. One of the things this team has done a good job of is responding, and it was very cool to see that tonight.”

Donovan's hit brought home Garrett Hampson and Thomas Saggese, who had collected three hits during the game. Manager Oliver Marmol commented on Donovan's limited use: “Our goal was to use Donovan off the bench for an at-bat and no defense, but then it presented itself [to go for the big inning]. We were OK with him playing one inning of defense if we could get that win, and I’m glad it worked out that way.”

Pitcher Miles Mikolas started strong with over five innings of no-hit pitching before yielding two runs in the seventh inning. He praised Donovan's contribution: “It was good to see Donny getting off his butt after taking a three-day vacation and finally doing something. … What he did was huge. But he’s an All-Star, and that’s what he’s supposed to do. He’s got to carry that All-Star badge and do those things on a regular basis and save us when we need him.”

Donovan acknowledged feeling restless while sidelined: “I try to be present and supportive, but I’ve been bouncing around from place to place and seat to seat [in the dugout], and I’ve probably been driving people nuts,” he said. Despite missing some games due to various injuries as well as a family emergency, Donovan has appeared in 108 out of 120 games this season.

He added about his injury issues: “But this [injury] just kind of crept up on me. It all stems back to the toe. When your feet -- the things that contact the ground -- get all banged up, it tends to go up the chain and that’s what caused this. … But I still want to play every day.”

Mikolas emphasized that despite roster changes at midseason, players remain determined: “There are lots of young guys in this locker room who have tremendous amounts of fight in them and tons of heart,” Mikolas said. “We’re not giving up, no matter what anybody else is throwing our way. As long as we have fun, we’re a dangerous team.”

The Cardinals’ resilience comes as they lead Major League Baseball with 29 come-from-behind victories this year—ranking ninth overall among all teams—and remain contenders for playoff qualification.