Astros Kyle Tucker had a lot of firsts in last night’s interesting win

Kyle Tucker had a good day for the Astros last night.

Part of being a rookie in your fourth game in the big leagues is getting your first, fill in the blanks. This has been the case with the Astros young left-fielder, Kyle Tucker. Things have not been great for Tucker before last night’s game, but you are starting to see little things trending in the positive direction. Tucker got his first hit during his debut on Saturday after striking out three times. Through his first ten at-bats, he was only batting .100, but that changed last night.

Last night, the Astros won 6-5 on a weird play on a ball that went a few feet. While Alex Bregman had the walk-off fielders choice/error, it was Tucker who scored the winning run. In his first at-bat last night, Tucker got his first MLB extra-base hit with a double to left-field. While it was probably going to be a double anyway, you have to admire his hustle on the standup double.

Heating up?

Now that he has checked off a double off his list, he needs to get a triple and homer now. With his speed, you can see him having many triples in his career. We saw a brief glimpse of his power Monday night as he barreled a ball deep in centerfield, but it wasn’t enough to get out. The ball was caught, but it showed his powerful swing.

Tucker would later score after that double last night after a George Springer single. It wasn’t his first run scored, but it would put the Astros up 2-0 after Bregman’s first-inning homer earlier. In the bottom of the fourth, Tucker would get hit by the pitch for the first time. Shortly after that, he stole his first base, something we will see him do a lot in his career. Once again, Springer would drive him in.

Yes, this would be his first multi-run game as well.

In the top of the fifth inning, Tucker made a great play on a deep drive by Marcus Semien, but unfortunately, the ball fell out of the glove. While it wasn’t a good thing, he is starting to look more comfortable in with the odd dimensions in left field. Tucker would be retired in his next two at-bats.

Fast forward to the bottom of the 11th inning. Josh Reddick pinch hit for Max Stassi. Tucker hit a sharp ball between first and second base, making it his first multi-hit game. After Reddick scores the tieing run on a fielders choice by Tony Kemp, Springer hits a deep fly ball to right field. Tucker does not try to advance, much to the chagrin of Springer. If he did tag up, maybe the game inning play would have turned out differently.

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Tucker did score on that wild play in the 11th, his first game-winning score in the big leagues. It was good to see him have a great game, getting his batting average and OPS up to .214 and .598 respectively. We have seen some prospects struggle in recent years, but Tucker is an elite prospect. Be patient with him. Once he gets comfortable, we could have one of the deeper lineups in baseball.