ATLANTA -- Before the Cardinals’ 5-3 win over the Braves at Truist Park, manager Oliver Marmol pointed to one common thread behind the club’s offensive success: one timely hit that gets the lineup rolling.
That had been missing lately as the Cardinals dropped 10 of their previous 16 games, but Nelson Velázquez changed that with a home run Tuesday. A Statcast-projected 444-foot homer to center field, to be exact.
“It was good to get on the board in that way,” Marmol said. “Because he's in there to try to do damage against the lefty, and that was a good [confident] swing.”
Entering the top of the fourth inning, the Cardinals had managed just one hit -- a two-out single by Velázquez in the first. In his next at-bat, he worked a full count before launching an 85.8 mph cutter from Martín Pérez that was down and away for his longest home run of the season. It was also the third-longest homer hit at Truist Park this season.
“We had a plan coming in,” Velázquez said in Spanish. "[We] had it clear that in the 2-2 count, 3-2, [Pérez] likes to throw backdoor pitches. And I wasn't sitting on his pitches, I was sitting more on the fast pitches, whether it was a cutter or sinker. Then he threw the sinker in the zone and I was able to connect.”
Velázquez's homer did exactly what Marmol described, igniting a four-run inning.
Masyn Winn and Lars Nootbaar followed with back-to-back singles before Nathan Church came to the plate with two outs in the inning. He homered on a 2-2, 81.9 mph changeup from Pérez, sending it a Statcast-projected 391 feet to right field to give the Cardinals a 4-1 lead.
“Churchy being able to stay left-on-left there,” Marmol said. “That was equally as big for him and for us. So, definitely a positive.”
In the top of the sixth, Winn drew a leadoff walk before stealing second and advancing to third on a wild pitch from James Karinchak, who replaced Pérez to begin the inning. Winn later tagged and scored from third on Blaze Jordan's sacrifice fly.
Velázquez was one of six righties stacked in the lineup against southpaw Pérez, who sported a 1.93 ERA against the Cardinals coming into the game. His best mark against any single club with a minimum of five starts.
The outfielder admitted it can sometimes be difficult to stay mentally ready when he isn't in the lineup every day, but sticking to the same routine has worked in his favor. The 27-year-old owns a .316/.395/.605 slash line with a 1.000 OPS through 38 plate appearances so far in the Majors this season.
The Cardinals selected Velázquez's contract from Triple-A Memphis on May 29, and he has since seen time in left field, right field and at designated hitter.
“The most important thing has been to constantly keep working,” Velázquez said. “I wasn’t playing every day, but mentally I have stayed strong. Working with the coaches in the cages, trying to keep adjusting my swing, which has allowed me to be more consistent.
“Sometimes it's hard when there are three or four days where you haven't played, and then to go out there and compete. But, at the end of the day, I am not going to forget how to play baseball in those days."
The offensive support was more than enough for Matthew Liberatore, who struck out nine over five innings - only allowing one run. But for Velázquez, what stood out most was the Cardinals' collective approach at the plate.
“They stayed looking for good pitches,” Velázquez said of the Cardinals, who struck out only once against Pérez. “Passing the torch to the guy behind them. And making good decisions. I think that is something that helps us out a lot day to day. It impressed me to see that from one to nine, they do the same work as a team.”