Heyward's three-run homer helps Braves beat Cubs, 16-5

Jason Heyward hit like The Hammer in his Atlanta Braves debut. Minutes after catching the ceremonial first pitch from Hank Aaron, Heyward hit a three-run homer in his first major league at-bat to spark the Braves to a 16-5 opening win Monday over Carlos Zambrano and the Chicago Cubs.

Heyward, who had a run-scoring single in the eighth, was 2-for-5 with four RBIs. Yunel Escobar drove in a career-high five runs as Zambrano gave up eight runs in 1 1-3 innings, matching the shortest of 239 career starts.

With fans in the sellout crowd chanting "Let's go, Heyward," the rookie's first-inning homer into the Braves' bullpen behind the right-field wall gave Atlanta a 6-3 lead.

Marlon Byrd, playing his first game with the Cubs, hit a three-run homer in the first inning and Aramis Ramirez added a two-run drive in the third.

Derek Lowe (1-0) gave up five runs, five hits and three walks in six innings before a sellout crowd of 53,081, a record for a day game in Atlanta and was the fourth-largest overall in Atlanta history.