By MATT PIKE
Promoted just before the game, Nelson Velázquez hit a three-run home run, and Iván Herrera and Thomas Saggese added solo shots, powering the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-5 win over the Chicago Cubs in the first meeting of the season between the teams at Busch Stadium.
The Cubs opened the scoring in the top of the first with a three run home run by Ian Happ, driving in Michael Busch and Alex Bregman. But in the bottom half of the inning, promoted from Triple-A Memphis and playing in his first game in the majors since June 23, 2024, Velázquez hit the first pitch he saw over the left field fence to tie the game 3-3 scoring Herrera and Jordan Walker. Velázquez last played in the majors with the Kansas City Royals. He was 0-for-6 in 2023 in games against the Cubs, a team he played for in 2022-23.
Velázquez was a surprise not on the Opening Day roster for the Cardinals, after a stellar Spring Training with the Redbirds. Despite posting a slash line of .357/.449/.667 with four home runs and 10 RBIs, St. Louis opted to keep Velázquez, who was signed to a minor league contract, on the minor league roster. He did struggle out of the gates in Memphis, but turned things up in May slashing .308/.418/.600 with five home runs.
The Cubs took the lead back in the second inning on an RBI single by Busch, scoring Dansby Swanson. Chicago held the lead until the fourth inning when the Cardinals tied the game on Saggese's first home run of the season with two outs. It was the fourth career home run for Saggese. Then in the fifth inning, Herrera put St. Louis ahead 5-4 with a solo homer, marking the third home run that Herrera has hit in his last eight games.
José Fermín singled home Velázquez in the eighth with two outs, extending the lead to 6-4. The one run of insurance for the Cardinals would be enough as Chicago added the final run in the ninth inning with Pete Crow-Armstrong scoring on a groundout by Busch, before Riley O'Brien earned his 14th save as St. Louis snapped a four-game losing streak.
Gordon Graceffo improved to 4-1 on the season with a spotless inning in relief. At the plate, Velázquez was 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI's. Fermín was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
St. Louis and Chicago play the middle game of their weekend series tomorrow. Kyle Leahy (5-3, 4.44 ERA, 42 K's) takes the mound for the Cardinals against Ben Brown (1-2, 2.01 ERA, 47 K's) for the Cubs. First pitch is at 6:15pm, coverage begins at 6:05 on KY 102 (102.5 FM).
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