The Wrigley Field crowd rose to its feet as Cubs outfielder Nelson Velázquez stared down Mariners pitcher Chris Flexen in a 3-1 count, with the bases loaded. 

At the crack of the bat, their cheers and whistles swelled into a roar. By the time the ball landed in the left field bleachers, the building was vibrating and the Cubs had claimed an unlikely comeback lead. 

“I do think it’s important to have comeback wins,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said before the Cubs’ 14-9 victory. “Comebacks are a measure of unity and toughness, and you want a team that’s going to keep fighting, climbing even when you’re behind.” 

Hoyer was referring to the Cubs’ walk-off win the night before, when Nico Hoerner had delivered the winning RBI single in the 10th inning. For that, Gomes had crowned Hoerner with a sheriff’s hat for his postgame interview, saying later, “He’s the new sheriff in town.”

Hoyer didn’t know when he discussed comebacks Tuesday afternoon that his team would stage an even bigger comeback that evening.

Cubs rookie Hayden Wesneksi’s start was plagued by control issues, evident in the four walks he threw in 1 ¹⁄₃ innings. The first obvious sign of trouble came with the second batter of the game. Wesneski threw five pitches to Ty France, and only one of them was a called strike. Three of the four balls weren’t close to the zone.

The next pitch Wesneksi put over the plate, a sinker inside, Eugenio Suarez drove over the fence, and the Mariners took an early two-run lead.

The next inning, more walks, a pair of errors and a barrage of contact gave the Mariners a five-run rally. Wesneski was charged with seven runs, only two of which were earned runs. 

A seven-run deficit didn’t deter the Cubs offense, which began to chip away immediately. By the time Velázquez stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the third inning, the Cubs had trimmed the Mariners’ lead to three runs.

Velázquez, who went 3-for-4 on Tuesday, hadn’t broken camp with the Cubs two weeks ago. But he told the Sun-Time that when he got the news he would start the season in Triple-A, he was “confident.”

“I didn’t get mad at anything,” he said. “I said thank you, and I just want to play and do my thing.”

He got off to a hot start in Triple-A. After the Iowa Cubs got back from St. Paul Sunday night, Velázquez got as much sleep as he could before making the five-hour drive to Chicago the next morning. Velázquez played three innings on defense in the Cubs’ win Monday. 

His first start and first major-league at-bats of the season came on Tuesday, none as important as the situation that greeted him in the bottom of the third inning. 

It had already been a big inning for the Cubs. Trey Mancini had hit a two-run homer, his first in as a Cub. Dansby Swanson, Cody Bellinger, Eric Hosmer and Yan Gomes had all singled. Patrick Wisdom had drawn a walk. 

Flexen was careful to keep the ball away from Velázquez. His first pitch was off the plate. His second was a little closer, and Velázquez whiffed on the cutter. Then he watched two more fastballs to work a 3-1 count. The fans in the stands shifted out of their seats, possessed by excitement all at once. 

Velázquez got a pitch he could drive. He met the fastball at the top of the zone and launched a no-doubter to left field for his first career grand slam, and the Cubs took control of the game.