'Thump'! Velázquez goes yard against Imanaga to power Cards past Cubs

ST. LOUIS -- When asked what Nelson Velázquez would bring to the Cardinals’ roster following his promotion to the big leagues on Friday afternoon, manager Oliver Marmol offered a straightforward, one-word answer.

“Thump,” Marmol said with a grin.

It took precisely one pitch into his Cards career for Velázquez to prove his skipper right.

Batting in the cleanup spot in the first inning of Friday night’s series opener against the rival Cubs, Velázquez took the first pitch he saw from Chicago starter Shota Imanaga and launched a game-tying, three-run homer.

One pitch, and the 27-year-old journeyman had already found himself in high demand by the Busch Stadium fans.

Velázquez’s majestic swing led to a euphoric trip around the bases -- and a curtain call in front of Cardinal nation.

The Cards added home runs from Thomas Saggese and Iván Herrera to erase an early deficit, beating the Cubs, 6-5. Ian Happ continued his career-long habit of terrorizing Redbird pitching with a three-run home run against Andre Pallante in the first inning.

Velázquez’s blast served as an equalizer before Chicago added another run in the top of the second to go back ahead, 4-3. Pallante’s struggles getting off the field in two-out situations caused his pitch count to balloon to the point that Marmol turned to the bullpen when the third-time through the Cubs’ order came quickly by the start of the fourth inning.

Pallante’s brief three-inning outing was the shortest by a Cardinal starter so far this season, but the power surge by the St. Louis lineup took him off the hook.

Saggese’s home run came in the fourth inning against an Imanaga splitter. Herrera beat the same pitch from the Cubs’ starter in the following frame, providing the Cardinals a 5-4 lead that the bullpen protected from there.

Marmol turned to six relievers behind Pallante, with the bullpen yielding one run over six innings.