The Cardinals had already scored on Lars Nootbaar’s solo homer two innings earlier to snap a five-day cold spell and, players acknowledged later, allow the dugout to exhale any of the anxiety roiling from three consecutive shutouts. Not that Donovan felt any. The veterans on the team rave about the rookie’s precocious calmness. So there he was, down by two runs but well ahead in the count.
“No panic,” as Donovan says often.
He took the 3-0 pitch as planned — a cutter over the plate.
When he got the cutter again, he pounced.
Donovan’s first big-league grand slam catapulted the Cardinals out of their offensive malaise and into a 5-4 victory Thursday evening at Petco Park.