ST. LOUIS -- With one swing of the bat, All-Star second baseman Brendan Donovan showed the Cardinals what they have been missing the past couple of days without him in the lineup.

Out of the starting lineup for a third straight game because of left groin tightness, Donovan delivered a go-ahead two-run double as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning to lift the Cardinals to a 3-2 win over the reeling Rockies on Monday night.

Donovan, the Cardinals’ lone representative at the MLB All-Star Game in July, took ground balls and batting practice prior to the game and proved to manager Oliver Marmol that he was ready to play following a two-game absence. Donovan hooked a 1-2 slider from Juan Mejia into the right-field corner, scoring pinch-runner Garrett Hampson and Thomas Saggese to vault the

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