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Watch Cardinals Young Core Slug Three Home Runs In First Inning Vs. Blue Jays

St. Louis is in good hands with their young talent erupting

The St. Louis Cardinals broke out the bats for Opening Day and kept the damage coming all series long against the Toronto Blue Jays to open the season. 

In Game 3 of the three-game set, the Cardinals spoiled the highly-anticipated debut of Chris Bassitt -- wasting no time in doing so.

Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan got the party started immediately with a lead-off home run in the bottom of the first inning. He would be followed up by outfielder Alec Burleson's big fly to make it 2-0 before Bassitt could process the first bomb. 

Moments later Cardinals designated hitter Nolan Gorman blasted a 446-foot, two-run homer to dead center. 

The offensive outburst started a high-scoring trend early on, as the Blue Jays added three runs of their own to cut the score to one. After an RBI single by Cardinals superstar third baseman Nolan Arenado, Gorman came up to the plate for the second time and put the game away with another two-run shot off of Bassitt in the third inning. 

The Cardinals won the game 9-4 to claim their first series win of the season, largely aided by their budding young core. 

Donovan, 26, made his mark last season, capturing a National League Gold Glove Award at second base while finishing third in NL Rookie of the Year. 

Burleson, 24, enters the season as the Cardinals' No. 5 prospect according to MLB Pipeline and projects to have a bright future at the big-league level. 

Gorman, the star of the show Sunday, continues to showcase the pop in his bat after launching 14 home runs in just 89 games a season ago. The 22-year-old slugger could be an X-Factor alongside a slew of talented players on the roster moving forward. 

Meanwhile, the Cardinals' No. 1 prospect, Jordan Walker, has fared well in his limited action at the major-league level despite being just 20 years old. It won't be long before hard-throwing shortstop Masyn Winn -- the Cardinals' No. 2 prospect -- joins the party as well.

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