CLEVELAND (AP) — Trey Mancini hit two home runs, including his first career grand slam, and drove in five runs, leading the Houston Astros over the Cleveland Guardians 9-3 on Friday night.
Astros manager Dusty Baker tested positive for COVID-19 prior to the game. Baker held his usual pregame availability with the media about two hours before the 7:10 p.m. first pitch.
Baker, 73, is in his third season as Houston’s manager. Bench coach Joe Espada filled in for Baker against Cleveland.
Mancini, acquired from Baltimore on Monday to bolster Houston’s already dynamic lineup, hit a solo homer in the second and capped the Astros’ five-run third with a blast that cleared the 19-foot wall in left field and landed in the home run porch.
“It took me a long time,” Mancini said about his grand slam. “I finally got one.”
Mancini, starting at DH on Friday, has homered three times in four games with Houston. The Astros acquired him in a three-team trade that also included Tampa Bay.
Mancini missed the 2020 season while battling Stage 3 colon cancer. He returned to the field last season and was named the AL Player of the Year. Mancini batted .268 with 10 home runs and 41 RBIs with Baltimore this season.
Mancini said he spent the first day with the Astros learning the names of his new teammates and is feeling more settled.
“From the second I got traded here I just wanted to make a positive impact whenever I’m in there,” he said. “Hopefully I can keep it going.”
Yordan Álvarez drove in his 73rd run of the season — good for third in the AL — with a single in the third inning that gave Houston a 2-1 lead. Jose Altuve had three hits and an RBI.
Framber Valdez (10-4) gave up a solo homer to Amed Rosario in the first. The left-hander held…