Meyers having blast in majors
Rookie hits first two homers, including sixth-inning grand slam, in second big league start
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Two weeks earlier, Jake Meyers was still in the minors. On Saturday, he tugged at his Astros uniform as he stepped into the batter’s box with the bases loaded in just his second major league start.
Angels reliever Junior Guerra delivered an 0-1 fastball. Meyers swung.
For the first week after his Astros call-up, Meyers was given no starts and just three plate appearances, often in the late innings. He went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts in his only complete game. The rookie started Saturday’s game after regular right fielder Kyle Tucker, who hit a grand slam the previous night, unexpectedly was placed into health and safety protocols. Astros manager Dusty Baker made it clear pregame that Meyers was in the lineup as a last resort, saying, “You got to be careful what you wish for.”
Meyers immediately rewrote that narrative by homering in his first at-bat in the third inning. He nearly hit another his second time up but for a well-timed jump.
And now here he was again, swinging for the fences in the sixth inning to give the Astros their second grand slam in as many nights at Angel Stadium as they rallied to earn an 8-2 win and ensure a series victory.
“Incredible moment,” Meyers said. “A lot of fun. I just had a lot of fun playing with the guys today and it was a great game. I’m glad we won.”
Houston went down 2-0 in the first inning and proceeded to rattle off eight unanswered runs. Yordan Alvarez went 3-for-5 with two RBIs to complement Meyers’ heroics.
“He had a great night,” Baker said of Meyers. “He got us on the board with his first solo home run, and then he really got us on a board with that grand slam. He’s a fine young man, and he listens and he learns rather quickly. And the future is bright, and we’ll take anything that he can give us.”
Angels starter Jaime Barria faced 16 batters and could retire only half of them. He lasted just three innings while allowing three earned runs, seven hits and one walk with one strikeout.
The Angels made loads of hard contact against Houston starter Luis Garcia and ran frequently on catcher Jason Castro for three stolen bases, yet ended the night 1for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Garcia gave up hits to the first three batters he faced but limited the damage for the rest of his five-inning outing. He finished with six hits, two earned runs, one home run, three walks and five strikeouts.
On Garcia’s third pitch of the game, a changeup slightly down in the zone, Shohei Ohtani blasted his 39th home run of the season into the right-field stands. David Fletcher singled and stole second base, then scored on Jared Walsh’s RBI single. The Astros turned a 6-4-3 double play and Garcia struck out Jose Iglesias to end the inning in a two-run hole.
In the top of the third inning, Angels outfielder Jo Adell laid out in the left-field corner to rob Castro of a likely extra-base hit and rose from the dirt to pump his fist in elation. His exuberance didn’t last long as Meyers homered on a fly ball to center field, just the third hit of his weeks-old MLB career and the start of an Astros rally.
Jose Altuve followed with a double on a ground ball to left field and advanced to third on Michael Brantley’s single. Carlos Correa’s sacrifice fly enabled Altuve to cross home plate and tie the game. Alvarez lined a double down the right-field line to deliver the go-ahead run.
After Garcia allowed two runners in the bottom of the inning and got out of trouble, Chas McCormick chased Barria off the mound in the fourth inning with a leadoff single to shallow left field. McCormick was picked off by Barria’s replacement, Sam Selman, while attempting to steal second base. Meyers’ twoout fly ball had nearly identical placement to his earlier home run, but this time center fielder Brandon Marsh was able to jump up and grab it.
The Astros plated another run in the fifth inning. Selman was pulled with one out on the board after he hit Brantley with a pitch. Guerra entered and struck out Correa before Alvarez scorched a double into right field and advanced to third base as Brantley slid to beat Adam Eaton’s throw home. Aledmys Díaz struck out swinging to strand Alvarez, but Houston had a 4-2 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Garcia issued a oneout walk to Fletcher, who advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Walsh walked to put runners on the corners with one out. Though Garcia struck out Max Stassi, danger remained. Iglesias bounced a ball into the dirt in front of the plate. Garcia could not catch it, but Altuve bailed him out by smoothly fielding it and sidearming a throw to Yuli Gurriel at first base. The call stood even after an Angels challenge — Iglesias was out, and the Astros were out of trouble.
Guerra began the sixth inning for the Angels by issuing back-to-back walks to Gurriel and McCormick. Castro singled to load the bases for Meyers, who smoked his grand slam 101.8 mph into the stands. Altuve and Correa got on base and into scoring position before reliever Jose Quijada entered and rescued the Angels from further damage. Brantley’s eighth-inning single made him the Astros’ only base runner for the remainder of the game.
The Astros turned to their bullpen to procure the final 12 outs. Brooks Raley, pitching on 10 days’ rest, sat the Angels down in order with two strikeouts. Blake Taylor allowed a leadoff single before procuring two flyouts and a strikeout. Phil Maton gave up a walk and a single in the eighth but no runs scored. A two-out single did not prevent Yimi Garcia from closing out the ninth and cementing Meyers’ grand slam as the night’s final scoring act.
“When I got the call-up, I kind of saw where I was, my role on the team, and I really just wanted to help out in any way, any opportunity I got to help the team win, because that’s what it’s about up here,” Meyers said. “So I’m just kind of embracing that. It’s been fun for me to learn from some of the guys and they’ve been awesome, very supportive and helping me learn things up here.”
And yes, Baker confirmed after the game: Meyers would be starting again on Sunday.