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Three homers in two games
SEATTLE (AP) -- Cleveland Guardians rookie outfielder Chase DeLauter hit his third career home run in his second career major league game late Friday night.
The top prospect hit two home runs, including one in his first regular-season at-bat on Thursday in a 6-4 win over the Seattle Mariners. After becoming the fifth player in Cleveland's 126-year franchise history to hit a home run in his first career regular-season at-bat, DeLauter picked up where he left off on Friday.
In the first inning, DeLauter launched a 1-0 slider by Seattle starter George Kirby and hit it 360 feet to right field. He is the third player since at least 1900 with three home runs in his first two career regular-season games, joining Trevor Story (2016) and Joe Cunningham (1954).
DeLauter, who Cleveland selected 16th overall in the 2022 amateur draft, made Clevela
nd's opening day roster after hitting .452 with three home runs and nine RBIs in spring training.
Cavaliers score 149 points
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Max Strus scored 29 points, Evan Mobley had 23 and Jarrett Allen came back from injury to add 18, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 149-128 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night in the second matchup between the teams in three days.
Strus made six of his eight 3-pointers in a 22-point first half as the Cavs bolted to a 35-point lead. He made one just ahead of the halftime horn to put Cleveland ahead 81-46 and cap the team's highest scoring half this season.
The Cavs bounced back from a 120-103 loss to the Heat on Wednesday with a strong performance and matched the team record for points in a regulation game.
Allen's return provided a major spark. He missed 10 games with tendinitis in his knee. The 27-year-old's absence especially hurt on defense and deprived him time to build chemistry with star guard James Harden, whose acquisition at the trade deadline has raised title hopes.
Harden finished with 17 points and 14 assists, his most with Cleveland. Donovan Mitchell scored just six on 1 of 10 shooting.
Down by 36, the Heat fought back and got within 101-82 on a 3-pointer by Jamie Jaquez Jr. But Cleveland regrouped and Keon Ellis drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Cavaliers a comfortable 109-87 lead entering the fourth.
Jaquez scored 20 points to pace the Heat. Bam Adebayo added 14 and 16 rebounds.
The loss dropped Miami from a three-way tie for the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference into 10th, behind Orlando and Charlotte, which were idle.
Strus, who was playing in just his sixth game after foot surgery, made an immediate impact by making four 3-pointers in the last 4:37 of the first quarter to help the Cavs open a double-digit lead.
The Cavaliers will play at the Utah Jazz on Monday night.
Mercyhurst cuts men’s hockey
ERIE, Pa. (AP) -- Mercyhurst will drop its Division I men's hockey program at the end of the academic year as part of a university-wide master plan, the 2,600-student private school announced Friday.
The Lakers finished 6-28-3 this season and were last in Atlantic Hockey for the second straight year. They haven't won 10 games in a season since 2022-23, and average attendance of 721 per game ranked 64th out of 67 teams.
"As the university prepares for its Centennial academic year, these decisions are part of an ongoing effort to position Mercyhurst for the next 100 years by aligning academic and athletics offerings with evolving student interests and workforce needs," the school said in a statement.
Mercyhurst will continue to sponsor its Division I women's hockey program and its men's club hockey team.
Men's hockey started as a Division III program in 1988 and moved to Division I in 1999. The Lakers appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2001, 2003 and 2005.