PITTSBURGH — As the temperature has climbed over the course of the season, Brendan Donovan’s bat has also heated up and provided the Cardinals with crucial production. He entered July as arguably the club’s hottest hitter of late.
Donovan, who had three hits and a walk Tuesday night, put up a slash line of .303/.349/.465 over the course of 26 games in June. He also hit four home runs, collected 16 RBIs and scored 10 runs.
“As much as I don’t want to admit it, I think just getting back into it after missing some time with the injury probably had a little bit to do with it,” Donovan said. “They say getting timing back — that is definitely one of those things — but also, I think, every year there’s an adjustment period.”
Donovan, who made his debut in 2022, missed the final two months of last season following internal brace surgery on his right elbow. He played through elbow discomfort that limited him to designated hitter for several weeks before he had surgery.
The left-handed hitting Donovan, who’d reached base safely in 15 consecutive games entering Wednesday, acknowledges there’s always a bit of an adjustment to start every season.
After all, pitchers spend so much time in the offseason on pitch design, developing and creating new pitches to add to their arsenal and teams are diving into data and scouting reports in order to recalibrate where they want to attack opposing hitters. That said, he also admitted the sub-par results got to him at times.
“I’ve always said, especially in the cold, pitchers have a little bit of an advantage,” Donovan said. “But for me, I was getting a little frustrated because I felt like I was doing a lot of the right things. Just getting a little unlucky.”
Through his first 29 games this season in March and April, Donovan slashed .228/.311/.377 with three home runs and 16 RBIs. A career .279 hitter during his time in the majors, his batting average on balls in play (BABIP) was just .240 in March/April.
This last month, he’s posted an almost identical line-drive percentage (22.4% compared to 23.5%), groundball percentage (40.8% to 39.5%) and flyball percentage (36.7% compared to 37%) as he did during that initial 29-game period. However, his BABIP climbed to .329 in June.
Donovan said having a larger sample size of at-bats this season has also helped him start “honing in on” cues in order to help him find consistency at the plate.
He likes to analyze a two-week sample of at-bats at a time. He then uses that to guide the fine-tuning and adjustments he makes at the plate. Those adjustments then influence his pregame prep work.
“I feel like in this league if one team has success with something — and they all have their own philosophies and strategies on how they want to attack people — but if one thing works one series, then a lot of times you’re going to get it the next series,” Donovan said.
“If it’s one pitch — a breaking ball or if it’s a sinker down and away or whatever it is — if someone is having success and they have guys that can do that, then you’re going to get a bunch of them until you make that adjustment.”
Donovan began play on Wednesday ranked second on the club in hard-hit balls (95 mph or more exit velocity) behind Paul Goldschmidt.
“He’s feeling better about where he’s at swing-wise,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said of Donovan. “Even his misses are the way he wants to miss. The swing path has been super-consistent. So you’re seeing more productive at-bats.”
Helsley continues chasing history
Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley earned National League Reliever of the Month honors for June, MLB announced on Wednesday.
With his 31st save of the season on Tuesday night, Helsley set a new club record for the most saves prior to the MLB All-Star break. His 31 saves through 84 games are also the most in team history. He passed Hall of Famer Lee Smith for both marks.
“Just looking back on it, obviously I’ve had a busy first half,” Helsley said. “Not only I’m pitching well, but all the other guys down in the bullpen are too to get me in the ninth. Our team is playing good ball to get me in there and get me opportunities. So I think it’s not just me that deserves the credit, a lot of other guys too. It’s pretty cool to look back on and see where I’ve come to thus far.”
Helsley has converted 31 consecutive save opportunities, and he entered Wednesday with a 2.54 ERA, 47 strikeouts, 16 walks and a 1.15 WHIP in 39 innings.
He has mounted his assault on the record books despite having battled inconsistent fastball command during stretches this season.
“I felt like I just lost the feel of my fastball, I guess, for a couple weeks there,” Helsley said. “I just tried to compensate for it and kind of go outside my mechanics for a little bit.”
Helsley said he’s still trying to get more consistent in that regard, but added he definitely feels better and hopes to continue to make progress.
Nootbaar plays the full game
Outfielder Lars Nootbaar played the full game in the field for Double-A Springfield on his minor-league rehab assignment on Tuesday night. Nootbaar, who is on the injured list with an oblique strain, been progressively playing more each game with Springfield.
Tuesday marked the first time he’d played a full game. He started in right field and went 2 for 5 with a double and a run scored.
He was scheduled to serve as the designated hitter for Springfield on Wednesday night.
- Catcher Ivan Herrera (lower back tightness) is set to begin a minor-league rehab assignment on Thursday with Triple-A Memphis. He’s expected to catch five innings.
- Left-handed pitcher Steven Matz (lower back strain) received clearance to begin throwing on Thursday.