DeLauter again! Guards rookie can't stop hitting home runs

SEATTLE -- Guardians fans patiently anticipated Chase DeLauter’s arrival in the big leagues. So far, he’s proving to be well worth the wait.

And with seemingly each at-bat, the 24-year-old is finding new ways to etch his name in baseball’s record books.

DeLauter went deep in his first plate appearance on Friday in the Guardians’ 5-1 loss to the Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Coupled with his two-homer game on Opening Day on Thursday, he became just the third player since at least 1900 to hit three home runs in his first two career regular season games, following Trevor Story (2016) and Joe Cunningham (1954).

DeLauter hit second in the Guardians’ lineup once more on Friday, between Steven Kwan and José Ramírez. He got a 1-0 slider from right-hander George Kirby in the first inning and hit it a Statcast-projected 360 feet to right field with a 99.4 mph exit velocity.

There was a bit of deja vu with the blast. DeLauter hit it in a similar spot as his first homer on Friday, and once again over the outstretched glove of Luke Raley.

DeLauter made his MLB regular-season debut on Thursday, nearly six months after his Oct. 2 MLB debut in Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series. It followed a Minor League career in which he experienced multiple injury setbacks that limited him to 138 games following his selection in the first-round of the 2022 MLB Draft.

DeLauter’s potential has long been tantalizing. Now two games into his regular-season career, that remains well on display.