Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman. (Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports)
On Uvalde Strong Day at Minute Maid Park, a young girl asked Astros third baseman Alex Bregman to hit a home run for the city and he came through.
The city of Uvalde, Texas is still mourning the tragic events of May 24 at Robb Elementary and the Houston Astros are doing their part to help where they can.
On Sunday, third baseman Alex Bregman met with fans from the city who were on hand at Minute Maid Park for Uvalde Strong Day. One young girl asked him to hit a home run. And Bregman made it happen without delay.
In the first inning, Bregman came to the plate and with his first swing smashed one 360 feet to left.
You couldn’t have scripted a more meaningful moment for Bregman on an already emotional day at the ballpark.
“I’m glad they were here today. I think it’s really nice what the Astros have done to try and help the healing process,” Bregman said, adding that manager Dusty Baker pointed out how he “hit one for Uvalde” when he made it back to the dugout.
Alex Bregman delivered a meaningful home run on Uvalde Strong Day
The Astros bussed in 500 people from the town for Sunday’s Uvalde Strong Day.
They got to hear from players like Lance McCullers, Jose Altuve and Bregman before enjoying the game against the A’s.
Bregman drove in another run in the seventh with a double to right field. Altuve also had a two-run double in the second inning while Christian Vazquez added an RBI single in the sixth.
Cristian Javier went six innings giving up just one hit, though Oakland generated three late runs against Houston’s bullpen.
Baseball may be just a game, but for a community in mourning, it can provide a welcome escape for an afternoon. Bregman and the Astros made sure it was a day for celebrating as well as remembering.