Cardinals' Rangel Ravelo hammers 487-foot homer

Sept. 13 (UPI) -- First baseman Rangel Ravelo ripped a 487-foot home run in a St. Louis Cardinals win over the Colorado Rockies. The solo shot was the longest homer for the franchise since 2015.

Ravelo hit the moonshot in the second inning of the Cardinals' 10-3 win Thursday at Coors Field in Denver. The home run was the second-longest hit this season in Major League Baseball, trailing only Nomar Mazara's 505-foot blast in June for the Texas Rangers.

"I did know [it was the longest] until recently," Ravelo told reporters. "I'm super happy about it. I just want to keep working hard and I'm happy to help the team win."

Ravelo said he knew it was a home run as soon as he made contact.

The Cardinals held a 2-1 lead on the Rockies entering the top of the second frame. Ravelo stepped in to leadoff the inning. He settled in against Rockies starter Tim Melville. The right-handed pitcher got a called strike before tossing consecutive balls to the Cardinals slugger. Melville then fired in a slider for his 2-1 offering.

Ravelo ripped the pitch over the left center field fence for his second home run of the season. The 487-foot shot had an exit velocity of 111 mph, according to Statcast.

The Cardinals plated another run on a Kolten Wong sacrifice fly to take a 4-1 lead they would not surrender. Ravelo went 1 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored. Dexter Fowler, Marcell Ozuna, Harrison Bader and Wong also homered in the win.

The Cardinals host the Milwaukee Brewers at 8:15 p.m. EDT Friday in St. Louis.