Pitcher Miles Mikolas homers in first game with St. Louis Cardinals

Major League Baseball fans anxiously awaited this season's arrival of a pitcher coming over from Japan who can also hit homers.

And on Monday, he delivered with his first major league round-tripper. 

No, it wasn't Shohei Ohtani ... but a less-heralded hurler, Miles Mikolas of the St. Louis Cardinals. 

Mikolas, who pitched for the San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers from 2012-14, joined the Cardinals as a free agent this winter after pitching the last three seasons in Japan. 

In his first start with the Cardinals, Mikolas blasted a 1-1 pitch from Milwaukee Brewers starter Kyle Davies 408 feet into the seats in left-center.

Mikolas' two-run shot put the Cardinals up 4-2 in the fifth in a game they went on to win 8-4. 

Unlike Ohtani, Mikolas (1-0) has never been known for his skills at the plate. In Japan, he had 16 hits (two homers) in 145 at-bats (.110) and he was hitless in five previous at-bats in his major league career, after fouling out in his first plate appearance on Monday. 

In his three seasons with the Yomiuri Giants, he posted a 31-13 record and stellar 2.18 ERA. (Over that same span, Ohtani was 28-11 with a 2.15 ERA.)

This offseason, the Cardinals signed Mikolas to a two-year, $15.5 million contract to be their No. 4 starter. 

They probably didn't know they were also getting a dangerous offensive weapon as part of the package.