For the third consecutive opening day, the Cardinal first baseman belted a home run. But this time it wasn’t Mark McGwire. McGwire’s back stiffened just before the game, and Craig Paquette filled his shoes nicely. Paquette hit a three-run homer in the first inning, sending the Cardinals on their way to a 7-1 win over the Chicago Cubs. Darryl Kile allowed one run in six innings in his Cardinal debut. The other Cardinal newcomers looked good, too. Fernando Vina had three hits. Jim Edmonds walked twice and scored a run, and closer Dave Veres pitched a perfect ninth. Shawon Dunston and Eric Davis also homered for the Cards. They host the Cubs again tomorrow night.