SEATTLE -- None of the circumstances appeared in Chase DeLauter's favor in the 10th inning Saturday night. The Guardians’ prized rookie was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. He was locked in a 2-2 count against Mariners closer Andrés Muñoz on a cold night at T-Mobile Park.
Muñoz delivered a 96.6 mph four-seam fastball up and off the plate -- a pitcher’s pitch. But Seattle's two-time All-Star learned what those in northeast Ohio are enjoying firsthand these days: DeLauter is proving to be a bit inevitable. He belted an opposite-field two-run homer off Muñoz, to help send the Guardians to a 6-5 win over the Mariners.
"That just shows you how good he is,” starter Joey Cantillo said. “What are we calling him, ‘The Martian'? He's a special player.”
At the very least, DeLauter is on an otherworldly tear to start his big league career. He is now just the second player in MLB history with four home runs in his first three career regular-season games, joining Trevor Story (2016).
DeLauter also joined Story in ‘16 and former Mariner Kyle Lewis in ‘19 as the only players to hit at least one home run in each of his first three-plus career regular-season games.
“I was on fastballs all night,” DeLauter said. “Unfortunately, it didn't really go my way for most of it, but I stuck with a plan and got a heater up and just went after it.”
DeLauter’s blast went a Statcast-projected 365 feet and had a 99 mph exit velocity. Muñoz’s pitch was located nearly a foot off the center of the plate (0.95 feet). That DeLauter hit it for a homer, to the opposite field, is a testament to his talent.
Or, as Steven Kwan put it …
"That's stupid,” Kwan said. “That’s really stupid how he’s able to do that. That’s an elite pitcher, an elite fastball. To be able to do it, especially here with the wind blowing in, a really big fence out in left, it's as talented as you can be.”
DeLauter, Cleveland's No. 2 prospect and MLB's No. 45 overall, went 4-for-9 with three homers in the Guardians’ first two games this season, but Saturday was more of a struggle. He struck out in each of his first three plate appearances, each against Mariners starter Bryan Woo. In the seventh, he grounded out to first baseman Josh Naylor.
Even in the 10th, things weren’t going DeLauter’s way. He swung at a first-pitch slider in the dirt for strike one. He took a four-seamer down and inside for strike two, and then unsuccessfully challenged the call using the new Automatic Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System.
Muñoz came back with a 1-2 slider down in that DeLauter took for a ball. But all things considered, it would have been easy for a rookie to fold in that spot.
Not this rookie.
"He's just showing his poise,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “That was pretty special.”
The second spot was one of the problem areas in the Guardians’ lineup this past season. Cleveland used 18 players in that spot, who combined to slash .197/.260/.334. The .594 OPS was lowest among all nine lineup spots.
DeLauter has fit in well there thus far, and against a right-handed-heavy Mariners rotation. Maybe it looks different against lefties, but Vogt noted pregame Saturday that DeLauter will slot second against righties -- between Kwan and José Ramírez.
Ramírez made his own history on Saturday; he joined Tris Speaker (486) and Nap Lajoie (424) as the only players with 400-plus doubles in Cleveland franchise history. He’s been pleased with DeLauter’s results thus far.
"Since I started seeing him swing the bat, I've known he can do this stuff,” Ramírez said through interpreter Agustin Rivero. “Hopefully he stays healthy and can continue helping that way.”
The Guardians have broken out a new dugout celebration this week, too: a knight helmet with a crown, which is bestowed upon a player after they hit a home run upon his return to their dugout. It stemmed from a team-bonding outing at Medieval Times in Arizona during Spring Training.
So far, DeLauter is the only player to have worn it. He’s responsible for all four of the club’s long balls so far in 2026. He underestimated himself a bit pregame Saturday; during a casual conversation in the team’s clubhouse, DeLauter noted someone would join him in donning the helmet that evening.
It hasn't happened yet, as the rookie continues to hold a reservation on it.
"I mean, I'm probably not going to contribute anytime soon,” Kwan quipped. “It might be the Chase and Hosey crown, but he's got a good look on it. So I think maybe we just keep it like that right now. And it rolls off the tongue.”