DETROIT — Miguel Cabrera hit the first home run of the new Major League Baseball season, a drive through the snow in Detroit’s chilly opener against Cleveland on Thursday.
The temperature at game time was 32 degrees, and the snow at Comerica Park was becoming a bit more intense when Cabrera hit a first-inning shot to right field off Cleveland ace Shane Bieber. It wasn’t easy to see through the ball through the snow, and Cabrera slid into second base, unsure if he’d cleared the wall.
But a replay review confirmed the ball left the park, and Cabrera’s 488th career homer was upheld.
The 37-year-old Cabrera is five homers shy of tying Lou Gehrig and Fred McGriff for 28th on the career list.
The new season began at Yankee Stadium, where Gerrit Cole threw the first pitch of the year, a ball to Toronto’s Marcus Semien.
César Hernández of the Indians got the first hit, a double.
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