Mancini hits HR in first start with Houston Astros
BALTIMORE -- Trey Mancini's last at-bat in Baltimore was a home run, and his first at-bat in the starting lineup of the Houston Astros was the same result.
Only the circumstances were, well, very different. Aside from the jersey swap.
In Wednesday's Astros-Red Sox game, Mancini hit a high shot to left field with a man on in the bottom of the 2nd inning that fell 377 feet away, according to MLB Statcast, landing in a section of Minute Maid Park known as the Crawford Boxes.
Under the new outfield dimensions at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, where the left-field wall was pushed back before the start of the season to create a more balanced ballfield, Mancini's hit may well have resulted in a long fly out. In Houston, it was a no-doubter.
Wednesday marked Mancini's first start with Houston after having a pinch-hitting appearance for his new team on Aug. 2.
During his last game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, on July 28, the 30-year-old first baseman got a little assistance. Mancini poked a ball to right field, which Tampa Bay Rays right fielder Josh Lowe appeared to lose track of. The ball instead hit Lowe in the cheek and bounded toward the corner, allowing Mancini to chug around the bases. The play was scored as an inside-the-park home run.
Also of note, Mancini's first hit as an Oriole, back on Sept. 20, 2016, was a round-tripper, and it also came against the Boston Red Sox.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said Trey Mancini hit a home run in his first at-bat with the Houston Astros. It came during the first at-bat of his first start. WJZ regrets the error.
