Before he even had his first major league at-bat, Zach Cole robbed Matt Olson of a home run in Atlanta. (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images)
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The Houston Astros outfielder Zach Cole should just retire now. One game, one terrific performance, and call it a career. It may just never get any better than this.
Cole made his major league debut last night in Atlanta against the Braves. With one out in the bottom of the first inning, Matt Olson hit a deep drive to left. Cole – playing his first game in a ballpark with three levels, mind you – tracked the ball to the wall, leaped, and robbed Olson of his 24th home run of the year. Not a bad way to announce your presence.
The second inning was wholly uneventful. But in the top of the third, Cole dug in for his first big league at-bat. He wasted no time. He hit the first pitch he saw 114 MPH and 423 feet to right field for a two-run homer.
In doing so, Cole became only the 32nd player in MLB history to hit the first pitch out for a homer. The most recent was Akil Baddoo in 2021 for the Detroit Tigers. Daniel Nava famously hit a grand slam for the Red Sox on the first pitch he saw in 2010. Interestingly, Adam Wainwright and Tommy Milone, both pitchers, did it in 2006 and 2011, respectively.
Back to Cole. In the fourth inning, he came up again, and again he delivered. This time with a run-scoring single to center.
He did it again one inning later, this time with a run-scoring single to right center. He also took advantage of a Ronald Acuña Jr. misplay and got to second ahead of the throw. With that hit, Cole set a Houston Astros’ franchise record with four RBI in his first game.
Just to prove that he is human, Cole struck out on three pitches against Dane Dunning in the seventh inning. He was left in the on-deck circle when the Astros were retired in the ninth.
For his first game in the big leagues, Cole had three hits, including that home run, scored two runs, and knocked in the aforementioned four. He had three putouts in left field, including the fantastic home run robbery. None of this is to say that the 25-year old, former 10th round draft pick (#313 overall) out of Ball State, will become a perennial All-Star, or that he will ever again have a game like this. But, it sure beats the alternative. It took Jackson Holliday – the former 1/1 pick by the Orioles – until his fourth game to get his first major league hit, and eleven before he got the same three that Cole got Friday night. It took Roman Anthony – the Boston Red Sox phenom – ten games to get his first three hits.
But, before he gets too big for his britches, however, teammate Jose Altuve can let Cole know that he started his career with a seven-game hitting streak, had eleven hits, and slashed .423/.444/.500 over that stretch. Cole could, of course, counter that Altuve didn’t hit his first home run until his 28th game, but I doubt that the rookie would be so impertinent with the future Hall of Famer.
The lineups for tonight’s game between the Braves and the Astros have not yet been posted, but it would be surprising if manager Joe Espada doesn’t have Cole back in there, playing left field and swinging that hot bat. By way of reference, in 97 games between Double-A and Triple-A before being called up to Houston, Cole slashed .279/.377/.539, with 19 home runs and 48 extra base hits.
Keep an eye on him – the kid may be legit.
Zach Cole watches a home run fly out of the park on the first pitch he saw in the big leagues. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
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