Bassitt allows 9 runs in Blue Jays debut as Toronto drops 2nd straight to Cardinals

Nolan Gorman hit a pair of two-run homers, including a drive that capped a three-homer first inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the visiting Toronto Blue Jays 9-4 on Sunday.

Brendan Donovan and Alec Burleson also homered to start the game off Chris Bassitt, who made his debut for the Blue Jays.

"You've got to go back to his off-season, that's where the changes really took place," manager Oliver Marmol said of Gorman's plate discipline. "He was tasked with making some changes. Immediately in spring, you could tell we had a different player. Mechanically and his overall personality. There's a calmness and confidence in what he is doing,"

Gorman has two homers and six RBI in nine at-bats so far this season.

"It's good to see it's coming together," Gorman said. "The confidence is definitely building. I've just got to continue it."

NOLAN GORMAN X 2 <a href="https://t.co/Wv7trZcLO7">pic.twitter.com/Wv7trZcLO7</a>

Gorman had the second two-homer game in his career, the first last June 21 at Milwaukee.

St. Louis has 22 runs and 41 hits in winning two of three.

"There's no break is this lineup, no break for the [opposing] arm," Donovan said. "You just pass the baton around. That's the great thing about this."

Jordan Montgomery (1-0) gave up three runs and six hits over five innings.

Donovan, who extended his hitting streak to 11 games, paced a 16-hit attack with two doubles and his first home run this season. He teamed with Burleson to give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead after just three pitches.

Donovan, a leadoff hitter, is known for working pitchers deep in counts. This time, he jumped on Bassitt's first offering.

"I saw a good pitch that I could get a good swing off," Donovan said. "That's the result you hope for.

Dylan