Guardians' Chase DeLauter homers in 1st regular-season at-bat

SEATTLE (AP) — Cleveland Guardians rookie outfielder Chase DeLauter entered the first regular-season game of his major league career with plenty of high-stakes experience at the sport’s highest level.

The top prospect debuted in the AL Wild Card Series last fall, but that didn’t stop a handful of family members from traveling west to see DeLauter hit two home runs, including one in the first regular-season at-bat of his major league career on Thursday in a 6-4 win over the Seattle Mariners.

“That’s something I’ll never forget,” DeLauter said of his postseason debut last year. “I won’t forget this one either, don’t get me wrong.”

In the first inning, DeLauter turned on a full-count slider by Seattle starter Logan Gilbert and hit it 358 feet to right field. DeLauter, 24, became the fifth player in Cleveland’s 126-year franchise history to hit a home run in his first career regular-season at-bat. He is the first Guardians player to do so since Jhonkensy Noel on June 26, 2024.

The 6-foot-3, 235-pound outfielder got plenty of wood on his first home run, just as he did in the ninth inning against Mariners reliever Cooper Criswell.

DeLauter hit a cutter from Criswell 422 feet, which gave Cleveland’s Cade Smith an insurance run to lock down his first save of the season.

“The last at-bat, just again, looking at another guy that mixes well,” Smith said. “So, just kind of looking for something out over the plate, and got it and a good swing on it.”

DeLauter finished the night 3 for 5, which tied him with veteran slugger Rhys Hoskins for the team-lead in hits. Hoskins was particularly impressed with how unfazed DeLauter was in just his third major league game.

“Maybe he doesn’t know, maybe ignorance is bliss,” Hoskins said. “But, to have that slow of a heartbeat, in a home opener, obviously their crowd is all charged up because of what this team was able to do last year. So yeah, just super cool.”

To Hoskins’ point, a crowd of 44,938 fans in support of the reigning American League West champions did little to slow down DeLauter. On Wednesday, DeLauter told The Associated Press it felt “awesome” just to make Cleveland’s opening day roster after hitting .452 with three home runs and nine RBIs in spring training.

“I mean, just thrilled to be around the guys,” DeLauter said. “Thrilled to be available. Really excited to just play some meaningful baseball again.”

DeLauter said appearing in two postseason games last year made him feel like he belonged in the majors, and that it allowed him to focus on keeping his body in good shape. Manager Stephen Vogt similarly thinks that DeLauter’s postseason experience allowed him to more easily adjust.

“He’s worked extremely hard, and he’s a very talented player,” Vogt said. “So, fun to see him have a night like tonight.”

As effortless as it may have seemed at times for DeLauter, who Cleveland selected 16th overall in the 2022 amateur draft, he admitted to feeling nervous just like anybody else ahead of his first regular-season game. But rather than let those emotions overwhelm him, DeLauter elected to use them as fuel — just as he always does.

“The way I like to put it is I’m ready for it to start when I walk in the building,” DeLauter said. “I don’t feel like I’m nervous for the game. I’m anxious for it to start, and I think a lot of guys can relate that way, and that’s why we came out firing tonight.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Cleveland Guardians right fielder Chase DeLauter (24) watches the solo home run from Seattle Mariners' Brendan Donovan go over the fence during the first inning of an opening-day baseball game, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Cleveland Guardians' Chase DeLauter celebrates in the dugout after hitting a solo home run against Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Logan Gilbert during the first inning of an opening-day baseball game, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Cleveland Guardians' Chase DeLauter jogs the bases after hitting a solo home run against Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Logan Gilbert during the first inning of an opening-day baseball game, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Cleveland Guardians' Chase DeLauter jogs the bases after hitting a solo home run against Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Logan Gilbert during the first inning of an opening-day baseball game, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel launched a wave of strikes on Iran early Friday ahead of a planned U.N. Security Council meeting to discuss attacks on Iranian civilian infrastructure, while Iran and the United States appeared at a diplomatic impasse, setting the stage for more potential escalation as the first month of the Middle East war neared its end.

Israel’s attack Friday on targets “in the heart of Tehran” came after the country said it would be “intensifying” its strikes on Iranian weapons production facilities, but there was no immediate information on what was hit.

Smoke also rose over Beirut, although Israel did not immediately report hitting the Lebanese capital, while air raid sirens sounded in Israel as the military said it was working to intercept Iranian missiles. Iran kept up its attacks on its Gulf Arab neighbors, with incoming drones and missiles reported in both Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

The U.S. has been pushing Iran to start talks on a 15-point proposal for a ceasefire, but at the same time has ordered thousands more troops to the region, possibly in preparation for a military attempt to wrest the Strait of Hormuz from Iran’s tight grip.

After Wall Street's worst day since the war began, Asian shares mostly fell Friday over growing doubts about the chances of de-escalation. Oil prices rose again, the Brent crude, the international standard, at $107 a barrel in morning trading, up more than 45% since Israel and the U.S. attacked Iran on Feb. 28 to start the war.

Iran's stranglehold on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, has caused growing concerns of a global energy crisis, and appears part of a strategy to get the U.S. to back down by roiling the world economy. A Gulf Arab bloc said Thursday that Iran is now exacting tolls from ships to ensure their safe passage through the waterway.

Trump envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington has delivered a 15-point “action list" to Iran for a possible ceasefire, using Pakistan as an intermediary. The list includes restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program and re-opening the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has rejected the U.S. offer and put forth its own five-point proposal, which includes reparations and recognition of its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.

As the diplomatic efforts went on, a group of U.S. ships drew closer to the region with some 2,500 Marines. Also, at least 1,000 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne — trained to land in hostile territory to secure key territory and airfields — have been ordered to the region.

As American and Israeli attacks on Iran continued, the U.N. Security Council scheduled closed consultation on Iran for Friday in New York, according to two U.N. diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting is not public.

They added that Russia had asked for the meeting on U.S.-Israeli attacks on civilian infrastructure in the country, that the United States, which holds the Security Council presidency, had scheduled it.

Since the war began, more than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran, according to the Health Ministry.

Eighteen people have died in Israel, while at least three Israeli soldiers have also been killed in Lebanon. At least 13 American troops have been killed. Four people in the occupied West Bank and 20 in Gulf Arab states have also died.

Authorities said more than 1,100 people have died in Lebanon. In Iraq, where Iranian-supported militia groups have entered the conflict, 80 members of the security forces have been killed.

Rising reported from Bangkok. Associated Press writers Giovanna Dell'Orto in Miami and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

A woman holds a portrait of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a protest outside Iran's embassy, where dozens of people gathered waving Hezbollah and Iranian flags in solidarity with the Islamic Republic, in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A girl holds a toy gun during a protest outside Iran's embassy, where dozens of people gathered waving Hezbollah and Iranian flags in solidarity with the Islamic Republic, in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A woman holds a picture of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei during a pro-government gathering in a square in western Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Pro-government supporters chant slogans and wave Iranian flags during a rally, in a square in western Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Relatives grieve an Iraqi soldier killed in a strike Wednesday on a military clinic in western Iraq's Anbar province, during a mass procession inside the shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf, Iraq, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil)