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Trailing by one run entering the second inning on Thursday at Busch Stadium, three-run home runs by Brendan Donovan and Willson Contreras powered the Cardinals to a six-run frame against Padres starter Yu Darvish. The RBIs driven in by Donovan and Contreras provided the support the Cardinals needed to overcome a rocky start by starter Sonny Gray in their 9-7 win over San Diego.

The three-run homers in the same inning by Donovan and Conteras marked the first time the Cardinals received multiple three-run homers in the same inning since Albert Pujols and Tino Martinez did so on Aug. 12, 2003.

The Cardinals (53-51) also received an insurance run in the form of a solo homer from Ivan Herrera in the sixth inning to give them their largest offensive output in a game since scoring eight runs in a July 10 win over the Nationals. The Cardinals had been held to three or fewer runs in four of their previous six games since the regular season resumed after the All-Star break.

Charged with a career-worst nine runs in his previous outing, Cardinals starter Sonny Gray was left with a second consecutive laboring outing. Gray allowed seven runs on 11 hits, the latter of which tied a career-high and equaled the amount he allowed Sunday against the Diamondbacks, over five innings.

The righty surrendered two runs in the first inning, allowed three in the third on homers from Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado, and surrendered two more runs in the fifth inning. He’s allowed 16 runs (14 earned runs) and totaled 8 2/3 innings in his first two starts coming out of the All-Star break. The back-to-back rocky starts have elevated Gray’s ERA from 3.50 before the break to 4.33 two starts into the second half.

Gray departed the game with a lead that four Cardinal relievers combined to protect.

Riley O’Brien (1/3 of an inning), JoJo Romero (1 2/3 innings), Phil Maton (one inning), and Ryan Helsley (one inning) kept the Padres to two hits and one walk in relief of Gray.

The inning of work by Helsley secured him his 20th save of the season.

Beating up breaking pitches

Down by a run heading into the second inning, four two-out hits against Darvish’s breaking pitch mix helped the Cardinals climb into a lead.

The string of hits began with a jolt from Brendan Donovan after a walk by Victor Scott II extended the inning and put two runners on base for the All-Star second baseman.

Donovan took the first pitch he saw from Darvish before yanking the second one, a sweeper the veteran righty left over the middle of the plate, over the wall in right field for a three-run homer that put his team up 4-2.

The Cardinals continued their success on Darvish’s breaking pitch with a single from Ivan Herrera on a slider Darvish placed away from the slugger and a double from Alec Burleson on a 1-2 curveball Burleson drove to left field.

Willson Contreras capped the six-run frame with a 415-foot, three-run homer on a 1-2 sweeper Darvish hung over the middle of the plate.

Romero in relief

Before the Cardinals could get the game to their late-inning righties in Maton and Helsley, Romero, one of their late-inning lefties, escaped a jam in the sixth inning.

Called in from the bullpen in relief of O’Brien, Romero was welcomed to the game with runners on first and second base, one out, and San Diego’s Nos. 4 and 5 hitters due up.

Romero worked a five-pitch at-bat against Jackson Merrill that ended with the left-handed hitting center fielder caught looking on a sinker Romero placed on the low outside corner. Against Xander Bogaerts, who owns a .365 and .989 on-base plus slugging percentage in his previous 29 games entering Thursday, Romero fell behind 2-0 in the count before getting a called strike on a slider that caught the top of the strike zone. Romero placed a slider away from the right-handed hitting outfielder and got him to hit an inning-ending groundout that left runners stranded at first and second base.

The Cardinals’ lefty followed the escape effort with a 1-2-3 seventh inning that included three strikeouts.

Romero struck out Gavin Sheets swinging on three pitches, froze Jake Cronenworth on a 3-2 sinker for a third strikeout, and needed three pitches to strike out Bryce Johnson, looking, to end the inning and his outing.

Tatis gets Padres going

In each of the three innings during which the Padres scored runs against Gray, their leadoff hitter either jump-started their offense or helped it keep moving.

The former All-Star led off Thursday’s game with a single to right field and scored on a double from Luis Arraez in the next at-bat of what became a two-run inning. When the Cardinals took the lead with a six-run second inning, Tatis helped the Padres chip away at their deficit with a leadoff homer that sparked a three-run inning.