Alex Bregman’s first-inning home run came just hours after a young girl from Uvalde had requested a home run during a pregame meet-and-greet with Bregman, Jose Altuve, Lance McCullers Jr. and Houston owner Jim Crane.
“It was really cool,” Bregman said. “Anything we can do for them.”
Faith Mata, whose younger sister, Tess, was one of 19 schoolchildren who lost their lives along with two teachers in the May 24 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, threw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the game. Mata clutched a picture of Tess close to her chest and smiled from ear to ear while trying to convey just how much she loved Altuve.
The Mata family was among a large contingent of residents from Uvalde, which included friends and family members of survivors, who were invited to the game by the Astros. The team provided buses for 500 members of the Uvalde community to travel to Houston and distributed 2,500 additional tickets to the community.
