Chase DeLauter turned a chilly night in Seattle into his own personal coming-out party, launching a 10th-inning, opposite-field, two-run homer at T-Mobile Park that lifted the Cleveland Guardians to a 6-5 win over the Seattle Mariners on Saturday. The shot was his fourth home run in his first three big-league games, a jaw-dropping start that has teammates and fans buzzing about how long this heater can possibly last.
According to The New York Times, DeLauter’s go-ahead blast came on a 97-mph fastball from Andrés Muñoz and drove in Steven Kwan to cap a wild late rally for Cleveland. The outlet also notes that DeLauter is only the second player in major-league history to reach four home runs in his first three career games.
Guardians Embrace Medieval 'Knight' Ceremony
The fireworks did not stop once the final out was recorded. Inside the clubhouse, the Guardians broke out a ritual that has quickly become one of the quirkiest subplots of their early season. As The New York Times recounts, catcher Austin Hedges presented a "silver helmet with a gold crown" while teammate Kyle Manzardo produced a sword, using the props to ceremonially "knight" the player of the game.
Who Is DeLauter?
DeLauter, a 2022 first-round pick, has long been viewed as one of Cleveland’s top prospects even as recurring injuries forced the club to keep a tight leash on his workload, particularly in spring training, per MLB.com. The Guardians also carried him on their postseason roster last fall and have been deliberate about managing his innings as they try to develop his power bat without overtaxing him.
That kind of instant thunder almost never happens. The one modern comparison that keeps coming up is Trevor Story’s white-hot start to his 2016 rookie season, when he went deep again and again right out of the gate. CBS Sports documented Story’s early home-run binge, a reminder of just how unusual DeLauter’s opening stretch already is.
Even with all the small-sample-size warnings in the world, DeLauter’s emergence matters for a Cleveland lineup that has struggled at times to find steady middle-of-the-order pop. His early surge forces opposing pitchers to rethink how they attack the Guardians from the first inning on. Team officials and coaches say they will continue to monitor his workload carefully as spring turns into the regular season, a cautious approach MLB.com previously outlined in its reporting on the club.
.jpg){kind=link}