ARLINGTON -- Travis Bazzana continues to shine in the leadoff spot for the Guardians.
Bazzana delivered his first home run to start a game on Friday, turning on a 95.4 mph sinker from Kumar Rocker. Bazzana’s blast had a 99.1 mph exit velocity and landed in the right-field seats to give Cleveland an early lead in the series opener.
With the homer in the first, Bazzana also improved to 13-for-41 (.317) in 11 games in the leadoff role. He's now hitting .357 with a 1.000 OPS in the first inning so far this season.
Bazzana, the top overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, moved into the leadoff spot on May 23 amid Steven Kwan’s slow start to the season.