The one thing missing was his power stroke, but late in September, even that appears to be coming together. The young shortstop slugged a solo shot to right in the sixth inning of the Mariners' 3-2 loss to the Astros on Monday night, giving him two home runs in his last three games after he didn't manage a single roundtripper in his first 49 games.
Marte is listed at 6-foot-1 and just 165 pounds, but his solo blast off Astros starter Lance McCullers didn't look like one from a speedy leadoff hitter, traveling a projected 381 feet, according to Statcastâ„¢, on a high-arcing path over the right-field wall. It came just two nights after he hit his first career home run, off Andrew Heaney, to left field at Angel Stadium.
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