CHICAGO (AP) — Jake Meyers felt it was his best game at the plate. At least he couldn’t remember a better one.
Not in the majors. Not in the minor leagues. Not in three seasons at the University of Nebraska, where he also pitched.
“Not that I can remember, not like this,” Meyers said. “Pretty cool.”
Meyers homered twice on his way to a career-high seven RBIs in an 8-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Saturday. Batting ninth in the lineup, he went 4 for 4 and scored three times while matching a franchise record with 13 total bases.
The 28-year-old Meyers began the day with a .262 batting average, no homers and six RBIs in 30 games this season.
“That was an awesome day by Jake,” manager Joe Espada said. “He got some good pitches to hit and he didn’t miss ’em.
“I think Jake was seeing the ball well. He’s a hard worker. He goes through some stretches where he misses some of his fastballs and the pitches he handles.”
Meyers set career highs with 13 homers and 61 RBIs in 148 games last season, helping Houston win the AL West. He was selected by the Astros in the 13th round of the 2017 amateur draft.
He had his big day in Chicago with Yordan Alvarez sitting out because of right hand inflammation.
Meyers hit his first homer of the season on Davis Martin’s first pitch of the third. He tied it at 3 with a two-run triple with two out in the fourth, capping a 10-pitch at bat.
Meyers’ three-run drive in the sixth off Penn Murfee put the Astros ahead to stay. Murfee, a right-hander, had just come in to face Meyers, who hits from the right side.
“It was awesome,” Meyers said. “It was a lot of fun.”
An RBI double to center in the eighth gave Meyers 13 total bases. He had no idea he was near the team record, most recently accomplished by Alvarez in Philadelphia last August.
“I was just trying to keep the rhythm of the game and trying to score some more runs,” Meyers said.
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