The Houston Astros hosted several members of Texas' Uvalde community during a pregame event at Sunday's game vs. the Athletics. Before the first pitch, a young girl who was wearing a shirt that read "Team Altuve" asked the Astros second baseman to hit a home run for her during a meet-and-greet.
While Altuve didn't end up going yard, Astros third baseman Alex Bregman obliged with a two-run home run in the first inning off A's pitcher Cole Irvin. Houston manager Dusty Baker let Bregman know how big of a hit that was for the Uvalde community members in the stands.
"As soon as I got into the dugout, [manager] Dusty [Baker] goes, 'Hey, you hit one for Uvalde!'" Bregman said after the game.
On Sunday, the Astros charted 10 buses of an estimated 500 family and friends of the victims of May's mass shooting in nearby Uvalde for "Uvalde Strong Day." Those 500 people were among around 3,000 people from Uvalde that were gifted free tickets from the Astros for Sunday's game.
"It was really cool, just anything we can do for them," Bregman added. "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 ended up going 2-for-3 with the important home run and three RBIs in a 6-3 Astros win. While the young fan had asked Altuve to hit a home run, the Astros second baseman still contributed, going 1-for-3 with a two-run double in the second inning.
The Astros had fundraising efforts during Sunday's contest and all of the proceeds are going to help the Uvalde community.
