The St. Louis Cardinals homered for the first time this week, going deep three times in the opener Friday of their three-game series against the Chicago Cubs.

The Cardinals will look to continue to flex their muscles when they vie for a series win over the Cubs on Saturday night in St. Louis.

Nelson Velazquez celebrated his call-up from Triple-A Memphis by belting a three-run homer in the first inning of Friday’s 6-5 St. Louis victory. Hearing the roar of the crowd at Busch Stadium and receiving a curtain call put a smile on the face of Velazquez, who acknowledged being down after failing to make the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster.

“It took me a little bit (to regroup), but I got to reset myself and I started doing everything that I needed to do to be on the field,” Velazquez said. “So I just did everything I could do. I got to talk to my parents and my friends (about his disappointment), and I got some good comments back that helped me improve my game.”

Thomas Saggese and Ivan Herrera each launched a solo shot on Friday for the Cardinals, who snapped a season-high-tying four-game losing streak. The power display was welcome after the team mustered just two runs over its previous three games.

In addition to Velazquez, St. Louis also promoted prospect Jimmy Crooks from Memphis and optioned fellow catcher Yohel Pozo and infielder Cesar Prieto to the Triple-A club.

“Crooks will have a decent amount of catching. He’s definitely here to play,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said.

St. Louis will turn to Kyle Leahy (5-3, 4.44 ERA) to make the start Saturday against fellow right-hander Ben Brown (1-2, 2.01) of Chicago, which has lost 11 of its past 13 games.

Leahy won three of his previous four starts before unraveling in the fifth inning in his last outing. He surrendered two homers and five runs total in a no-decision against the Cincinnati Reds last Saturday. The Cardinals lost 7-6 in 11 innings.

Leahy, 28, has a 3.55 ERA without a decision in nine career appearances (one start) vs. the Cubs.

Brown will make his 17th appearance and fifth start of the season. He allowed one run on four hits in a season-high six innings of a no-decision against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday. The Cubs lost 2-1.

“It was another really positive start by Ben,” manager Craig Counsell said. “He pitched great. I thought his stuff was great. He continues to mix in more pitches. Continues to be really good with off-speed. His breaking ball was really good. He gave us what we needed.”

Brown, 26, struggled mightily in his lone career appearance against St. Louis last season. He permitted eight runs on nine hits — including four homers — in five innings of an 8-2 loss.

Speaking of homers, Ian Happ continued his barrage by going deep for the third straight game on Friday. He belted a three-run shot in the series opener to improve to 7-for-15 with 10 RBIs in his last three games.

Michael Busch had three hits in the series opener, giving him eight over his last six games.

–Field Level Media

Riding his best three-start stretch of the season, Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Jesus Luzardo will be put to the test Saturday in the middle game of a three-game road series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

After he delivered six scoreless innings in a 3-0 win against the San Diego Padres on Monday, Luzardo now faces the Dodgers, who are on a six-game winning streak and have hit a combined 12 home runs over their past three games.

Luzardo (4-4, 4.38 ERA) has allowed five home runs in 11 starts this season and none over the past three games when he fashioned a combined 1.00 ERA in outings against the Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds and Padres.

Lately Luzardo has been able to work around scoring threats, unlike earlier in the season when he had outings that included two starts with six runs allowed, one with five and another with nine.

“I feel like I’ve had a lot of outings this year where it’s felt pretty grindy, but I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said. “You know, the easy outings are always fun, but when you have to really work for it, I think at the end of the day it kind of makes you feel better about it.”

The Phillies received a home run from Kyle Schwarber in the sixth inning Friday, which was also their first hit of the game. Philadelphia finished with just three hits during a 4-2 loss in the series opener that ended their three-game winning streak.

In his Phillies debut Friday, center fielder Steward Berroa drove in a run in three at-bats. Berroa was recalled while Otto Kemp was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and right-hander Nolan Hoffman was added to the bullpen.

The Dodgers received home runs from Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith as their power surge continued. Freeman has four home runs over the past nine games, while Ohtani has three in his past eight.

Los Angeles is 13-2 in games since May 13.

The Dodgers also made a collection of roster moves Friday with infielder/outfielder Ryan Ward recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City and infielder Santiago Espinal re-signed after he was designated for assignment Monday.

The moves came as Enrique Hernandez (oblique) and Teoscar Hernandez (hamstring) went down with injuries this week.

“With a star-studded team, you also have to have guys that know their roles and (Espinal) is a guy that is good on the team, understands his value,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s ready when called upon. I trust him defensively and I like him versus left-handed pitching. Just having him back is pretty seamless.”

The Dodgers will send right-hander Roki Sasaki to the mound as they chase what would be their first seven-game winning streak since April 26-May 3 last season.

Sasaki (3-3, 4.93) is coming off back-to-back wins for the first time this season. He dominated the Los Angeles Angels on May 17 then gave up three runs (two earned) on four hits over five innings Saturday at Milwaukee in an 11-3 win over the Brewers.

Sasaki gave up one run over four innings in a regular-season start against the Phillies last season. He then faced Philadelphia three times in relief during the playoffs, including three scoreless innings in Game 4 of the National League Division Series as Los Angeles advanced.

–Field Level Media

The Colorado Rockies can conclude a rough May with their first series win in more than a month as they continue their three-game series against the San Francisco Giants on Saturday in Denver.

On Friday, they rallied to an 8-6 win in the opener in dramatic fashion. Ezequiel Tovar capped the five-run ninth inning with a two-run homer after Hunter Goodman tied it with a three-run shot.

Colorado has not won consecutive games since May 8 but has a chance to do so on Saturday. The Rockies are 7-19 on the month and snapped a five-game losing streak with the win on Friday.

The Rockies are expected to activate Ryan Feltner (1-1, 6.30 ERA) from the injured list to make his sixth start while San Francisco will send fellow right-hander Adrian Houser (2-4, 5.30) to the mound.

Feltner will make his first start since April 23 against the San Diego Padres. He was placed on the injured list the next day with right ulnar nerve inflammation.

Feltner has faced the Giants five times in his career — all starts — and is 0-3 with a 4.34 ERA. His return will bolster a rotation that has been hit by more injuries in the last two weeks.

Chase Dollander landed on the 15-day IL on May 15 with a right elbow strain, and Jose Quintana was put on the 15-day IL on Monday and moved to the 60-day IL on Thursday with a left elbow strain.

Even with the injuries, Colorado’s front office is not planning on rushing any prospect who needs more time in the minors before facing major league hitters.

“We want to be patient with guys we have at the big league level,” said Paul DePodesta, president of baseball operations. “We’re not going to be reactive to a tough performance or a tough week or something like that.”

San Francisco also has been dealing with injuries but got two back Friday night – starting RHP Logan Webb (knee) and outfielder Jung Hoo Lee (back). However, right-hander Tyler Mahle went on the 15-day IL on Friday, retroactive to Wednesday, with a left hamstring strain.

Manager Tony Vitello was happy with the play of Webb and Lee on Friday. The bullpen? Not as much.

Webb gave up one run on three hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings and departed the game with a 3-1 lead. Relievers gave up seven earned runs in the final two innings.

“The last inning is a bitter pill, unfortunately, one that we’ve experienced before,” Vitello said about his team’s fifth walk-off loss. “It shows you how good Webby is.”

For the Giants, Houser is slated to make his 11th start of the season and is looking to build on his recent outings. He began the year going 0-3 with a 7.12 ERA in his first six starts but is 2-1 with a 2.82 ERA over his past four outings.

He has faced the Rockies seven times — six starts — in his career and is 2-0 with a 4.37 ERA against them. He has fared well at Coors Field where he holds a 2.35 ERA in four career starts.

Houser’s most recent appearance in Denver was July 4, 2025, while pitching for the Chicago White Sox, and it was his best. He allowed two unearned runs while striking out six over eight innings.

–Field Level Media