In 6th inning on Opening Day, Kyle Manzardo put Cleveland ahead 4-3 with a two-run home run off Royals’ reliever Angel Zerpa.
It was just the second time in franchise history the team had a go-head home run while trailing in the sixth inning or later on Opening Day.
The first was Tris Speaker in 1925.
Kyle Manzardo fell a single shy of the cycle on Opening Day against the Royals.
Falling one hit shy of the cycle is not a rare event, but missing out on the single is almost as uncommon as the cycle itself.
Here are the last five instances of a Cleveland hitter collecting a double, triple, home run but no single:
Kyle Manzardo hit ninth in the order as the DH last night.
It’s the 29th time in franchise history the DH has been in the ninth spot in the order. Oscar Gonzalez also did it last year.
The first was Otis Nixon in 1985. Lonnie Chisenhall did it seven times in his career. Jason Dubois also did it four times, in just 14 games with the club.
Kyle Manzardo went 0-3 with 3 strikeouts in his MLB debut.
He’s the 31st player (excluding pitchers) to strike out in every plate appearance in his MLB debut (min. 3 PA).
The others for Cleveland:
Cermak went 0-4 with four strikeouts in the only game he ever played at the age of 19. He was born in Cleveland and had never played in a major or minor league game before. He played for something called the O’Connor baseball team in Cleveland, and was given a one-day trial with the big league team that did not go well. He later become a minor league umpire and was hit in the throat by a foul ball which caused him to lose his ability to speak.