Saturday, December 06

ATLANTA -- Carlos Correa couldn’t help but pull rookie Zach Cole aside after he struck out in his final at-bat in the seventh inning Friday night and give him a reminder that the game isn’t always going to be as easy as he made it look in his first three at-bats -- a first-pitch home run and two run-scoring singles.

“I said, ‘It was about time you let them have one,’” Correa said. “This is a tough game and when you have days like today where we win big, you’ve got to make the most of it, you’ve got to have fun with it and you’ve got to make sure the vibes are good and they stay good.”

Cole, the Astros’ No. 19 prospect who was called up from Triple-A Sugar Land earlier Friday with hopes he could spark a stagnant offense, did just that by belting a tape-measure home run to right field on the first pitch he saw in the big leagues en route to going 3-for-4 with four RBIs to lead the Astros to an 11-3 win over the Braves at Truist Park.

“The guys were actually asking me where I have been keeping this guy from them,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “I said, ‘You know what? We brought him up at the right time.’ Right now is when we need him. I'm really happy for him. The guys really got excited. It really sparked our club. It really did.”

The win kept the Astros tied for the AL West lead with the Mariners, who defeated the Angels, 2-1, Friday night.

After the game, Cole’s new teammates wheeled the 25-year-old into the shower in a laundry cart and doused him with beer, shaving cream and milk. He didn’t mind one bit.

“It was an awesome experience,” he said. “I’ll remember it forever.”

Cole became the fifth player in club history to homer in his first Major League plate appearance -- the first since Mark Saccomanno on Sept. 8, 2008. And his four RBIs are a record for an Astros player in his debut, breaking John Paciorek’s previous record of three set in 1963.

• Cole joins list of MLB players with home run in first at-bat

“He’s got a swing, man,” Correa said. “He’s got a really good swing. That swing was something that we needed badly and it took a lot of pressure off everybody’s shoulders. To make your debut and make such a great impact, it’s truly special. One of the best debuts I’ve seen in person.”

In the third inning, Cole stepped to the plate and walloped Hurston Waldrep’s first-pitch cutter and sent it a Statcast-projected 423 feet into the right-field seats for a two-run homer. The ball came off the bat with an exit velocity of 114.3 mph.

“I blacked out,” Cole said. “I don’t remember it much. It was cool, kind of a floating feeling. Didn’t really hear much of anything. There was a lot of adrenaline. The guys were very welcoming of me in the dugout when I got back.”

Cole’s parents, Bob and Cassandra, were among a small contingent of family and friends who made the unexpected trip from Missouri to Atlanta for the game. Cole had been called up to Triple-A only a few weeks ago, so no one envisioned he’d be contributing in a big league pennant race.

“We are just so over-the-moon excited and so thrilled and proud,” Cassandra Cole said. “He’s worked so hard to get here and we’re so blessed. So many people have played such a big role in getting him here and we can’t even name them all, but they know who they are. We’re really proud of him.”

Meanwhile, his former teammates in Corpus Christi, home of the Double-A Hooks, watched his homer on TV in the clubhouse and erupted with cheers and dancing when the ball cleared the wall. Cole watched the video postgame and got emotional.

“I love those guys,” he said.

Cole’s big day continued in the fourth, when he singled to center field to score Christian Walker, helping Houston to a 4-0 lead. He added another RBI single in a six-run fifth inning that ran Houston’s lead to 10-0. Cole, who also made a nice catch jumping into the left-field wall in the first, struck out on three pitches in his final at-bat.

“He handles himself with a lot of confidence and I love that,” Correa said. “You need that in this game to be good and stay in this game for a long time. He’s got a lot of people here that are going to help him navigate through the whole thing about being a big leaguer every day and he’s going to be in a great spot with us here.”

The word “confidence” was used a few times by his teammates and his manager in discussing Cole, and the Astros could use more of that swagger -- and that swing -- in the final two weeks of the season.

“He’s handled himself really well,” Espada said. “I'm proud of him. He’ll get another opportunity tomorrow.”

Rosters for the six Arizona Fall League teams were officially announced Wednesday, with the Astros headlined by a pair of Top 10 prospects: catcher Walker Janek (No. 4) and right-hander Anderson Brito (No. 7). The 2025 season begins Oct. 6 and runs through Nov. 15, the day of the circuit’s Championship Game to be played at Salt River Fields.

Also on the roster for the Scottsdale Scorpions is Cole, right-handers James Hicks, Brett Gillis, Hudson Leach and Nate Wohlgemuth and middle infielder Jeron Williams. A 2024 first-rounder, Janek impressed with his defense and slammed 12 homers in High-A Asheville during his first full pro season. Some evaluators believe the action on his mid-90s fastball and low-80s slider make Brito Houston's best pitching prospect.

Check out my latest Astros Beat Report video in which I answered some of your questions, including what the playoff pitching rotation may look like and a look ahead to next week’s crucial homestand against the Rangers and Mariners.

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