{"id":2926,"date":"2026-05-30T14:04:49","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T13:04:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.drinkfood.info\/?p=2926"},"modified":"2026-05-30T14:04:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T13:04:49","slug":"nelson-velazquez-and-ivan-herrera-crush-massive-homers-to-lift-cardinals-past-cubs-the-power-surge-that-turned-the-rivalry-showdown-upside-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.drinkfood.info\/?p=2926","title":{"rendered":"Nelson Velazquez and Ivan Herrera Crush Massive Homers to Lift Cardinals Past Cubs \u2014 The Power Surge That Turned the Rivalry Showdown Upside Down"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"DeadspinMay 29, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals designated hitter Nelson Velazquez (38) celebrates with right fielder Jordan Walker (18) after hitting a three run home run against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<\/section>\n
Ivan Herrera belted a go-ahead solo homer in the fifth inning, fueling the host St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-5 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n
St. Louis’ Nelson Velazquez celebrated his call-up from Triple-A Memphis on Friday by launching a three-run homer in the first inning.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n
Thomas Saggese crushed a solo shot in the fourth inning and Jose Fermin had an RBI single in the eighth for the Cardinals, who snapped a season high-tying four-game losing streak. They also lost four in a row from April 22-26.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n
St. Louis used seven pitchers to subdue Chicago, with Gordon Graceffo (4-1) retiring the side in order in the fifth during his lone inning of work.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n
Pete Crow-Armstrong led off the ninth with a double and came around to score following a pair of outs. Riley O’Brien induced Alex Bregman to ground out to secure his 14th save of the season.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n
Chicago’s Ian Happ went deep for the third straight game by belting a three-run homer in the first inning.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

 <\/p>\n

Michael Busch had an RBI single and joined Seiya Suzuki with three hits for the Cubs, who have lost 11 of their last 13 games.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n
Shota Imanaga (4-6) surrendered three homers in his second consecutive outing. He lost his fourth straight start after permitting five runs on five hits in 5 1\/3 innings.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n
Saggese forged a 4-4 tie after depositing a 2-2 fastball from Imanaga over the wall in left-center field for his first homer of the season. The Cardinals claimed their first lead in the fifth inning after Herrera sent a 0-1 splitter from Imanaga 409 feet to left-center.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n
Busch and Bregman each had a two-out single to center field before Happ deposited an 0-1 fastball from Andre Pallante over the wall in right-center. Happ’s homer was his team-leading 13th of the season.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n
Velazquez erased Chicago’s early 3-0 lead by sending a first-pitch fastball from Imanaga 411 feet to left-center.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n
Dansby Swanson regained the advantage for the Cubs in the second inning with a single and a stolen base before coming around to score on Busch’s RBI single to left field.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n
 <\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Deadspin | Nelson Velazquez, Ivan Herrera homer to lift Cardinals past Cubs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2927,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nNelson Velazquez and Ivan Herrera Crush Massive Homers to Lift Cardinals Past Cubs \u2014 The Power Surge That Turned the Rivalry Showdown Upside Down - Sports USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.drinkfood.info\/?p=2926\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nelson Velazquez and Ivan Herrera Crush Massive Homers to Lift Cardinals Past Cubs \u2014 The Power Surge That Turned the Rivalry Showdown Upside Down - 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