ST. LOUIS — — Nolan Gorman hit a pair of two-run homers — including a first-inning blast that capped off a three-homer inning — and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Toronto Blue Jays 9-4 on Sunday.
Brendan Donovan and Alec Burleson also homered to start the game off of Toronto pitcher Chris Bassitt, who made his debut for the Blue Jays.
Bassitt (0-1) signed a three-year, $63 million deal in December, gave up the three homers on the first 14 pitches and ended up allowing nine runs on 10 hits over 3 1/3 innings.
Jordan Montgomery (1-0) gave up three runs on six hits over five innings to pick up the win.
Donovan, who ran his hitting streak to 11 games, paced the Cardinals’ 16-hit attack with two doubles and his first home run of the season. He teamed with Burleson to give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead after just three pitches.
St. Louis catcher Willson Contreras, who signed a five-year free agent contract in December, returned to the lineup and had two hits.
Cardinals: St. Louis RHP Jake Woodford (4-0, 2.23 last season) will face Atlanta RHP Charlie Morton in the first of a three-game series Monday, 5:50 with the pregame and the first pitch at 6:45 on KIRX.