28-year-old second baseman Brendan Donovan was a reserve selection to the National League's Midsummer Classic roster and entered the game in the top of the fifth, replacing Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman and National League starter Ketel Marte. Donovan was able to collect three at-bats across the final five innings of the ballgame to help the NL to an unprecedented victory that ended with a homerun derby-esque swing-off. Donovan's first bit of action came in the bottom of the sixth when he got his first plate appearance of the game against Kansas City Royals left-hander Kris Bubic.
Cardinals' Brendan Donovan impresses with 2-for-3 performance in All-Star Game originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Even with a 51-46 record and exceeding most fans' expectations in 2025, the St. Louis Cardinals only had one player represented at the 95th Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Atlanta, Georgia, on Tuesday evening. But their lone representative was able to leave his mark on the game.
28-year-old second baseman Brendan Donovan was a reserve selection to the National League's Midsummer Classic roster and entered the game in the top of the fifth, replacing Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman and National League starter Ketel Marte. Donovan was able to collect three at-bats across the final five innings of the ballgame to help the NL to an unprecedented victory that ended with a homerun derby-esque swing-off.
"That's a good piece of hitting right there!"
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) July 16, 2025
A two hit night for Brendan Donovan at the All-Star Game! pic.twitter.com/C59LLN96nL
Donovan's first bit of action came in the bottom of the sixth when he got his first plate appearance of the game against Kansas City Royals left-hander Kris Bubic. Donovan worked a 2-1 count before smacking a ball softly on the ground for an infield single, giving the NL two runners on with nobody down in the inning.
The next batter was New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, who rocked a 1-0 fastball into the seats in right to bring Donovan home and give the National League a 5-0 lead.
Donovan got another chance to hit in the seventh, with the NL now clinging to a 6-4 lead. His opponent this time was another Royals pitcher, closer Carlos Estevez. After fouling a pair of pitches off and taking two close ones, Estevez threw Donovan a 2-2 slider that caught enough of the plate for Donovan to float it into shallow left-center for his second hit of the evening.
Although he was left stranded on first after Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson struck out to end the seventh, Donovan had another chance to add to his day and put himself in the conversation for the All-Star Game MVP award in the bottom of the ninth.
With the game tied 6-6, Donovan stepped to the plate as the last chance for the National League to win the game in conventional means. Facing Red Sox fireballer Aroldis Chapman's 100 MPH sinker, Donovan battled with the veteran. He was able to fight off some tough pitches and worked a 2-2 count before he dribbled an 85.9 MPH slider just barely fair and was tagged out by Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk, sending the game to a swing-off.
Donovan was the first Cardinals hitter to record two hits in a Midsummer Classic since 2008, when Albert Pujols also went 2-for-3 with two singles en route to a 4-3 American League victory.
Related: Cardinals Conclude Day 2 of 2025 MLB Draft by Selecting 10 College Arms
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 16, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Baseball
