Nelson Velazquez crushes grand slam for Cubs

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The Chicago Cubs quickly found themselves down 7-0 in Tuesday’s game against the Seattle Mariners, but the team’s bats came alive on a warm and breezy night at the Friendly Confines, capped by a mammoth blast from Nelson Velazquez.

The Cubs, trailing 7-0 after the top of the second inning, scratched out a run in the bottom of the frame, but the third inning is where things really got cooking, punctuated by a Velazquez grand slam that gave the team the lead:

The home run is the seventh of Velazquez’s big-league career, and the first grand slam he has hit in the majors.

After not making the team out of spring training, Velazquez got off to a red-hot start at Triple-A Iowa, with three home runs and seven RBI’s in just 33 at-bats. He also batted .364 in Des Moines, and was recalled to the Cubs’ roster in recent days, replacing pitcher Javier Assad.

Coming into Tuesday’s game, Velazquez had six home runs and 26 RBI’s in 78 career Major League games.

The Cubs trailed 7-0 after the top of the second, with Hayden Wesneski being chased from the game, but their offense roared to life, with Yan Gomes reaching on an infield single to score Cody Bellinger in the second.

In the third inning, Trey Mancini powered a home run to center field to make it 7-3, and Eric Hosmer drove in another run to make it 7-4. Velazquez’s 396-foot grand slam to left made it an 8-7 game, and Dansby Swanson capped the inning with an RBI single.

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