The game was decided in the first inning, then spent eight innings proving it. St. Louis erased a three-run deficit with one swing, then survived a late Chicago rally to defeat the Cubs 6-5 at Busch Stadium.
Ian Happ staked Chicago to an early lead with a three-run homer to right center, scoring Busch and Bregman. Happ went 2-for-4 with 3 RBI, moving within three hits of 1,000 for his career. But Velázquez answered immediately for St. Louis, launching a three-run shot to left center that scored Herrera and Walker to tie the game at 3-3.
The Cardinals took control with solo homers from Thomas Saggese in the fourth and Ivan Herrera in the fifth. Fermín provided the insurance run in the eighth when Velázquez scored on his single to left. Herrera finished 1-for-3 with a homer and run scored, while Saggese went 1-for-2 with his first home run of the season.
Shota Imanaga struggled for Chicago, allowing 5 runs over 5.1 innings to take the loss and fall to 4-6. Gordon Graceffo earned the win with a scoreless inning of relief, improving to 4-1. Riley O'Brien allowed one run in the ninth but secured his 14th save.
St. Louis snapped a four-game losing streak to improve to 29-25. Chicago fell to 31-26 despite 11 hits, including three from both Michael Busch and Seiya Suzuki.