Astros rookie Julks on career-first dinger: 'I was just trying to get that nice pitch to hit'

At the dawn of his first season with his hometown Houston Astros, outfielder Corey Julks is showing he has what it takes to perform in what’s colloquially known as “The Show.”

And what better way than to introduce yourself in Major League Baseball (MLB) than a career-first home run (HR)?

Per a report on the incumbent World Series champions’ website, the Friendswood-born Julks smashed a solo dinger in the fourth inning of what turned out to be the Astros’ 7-0 road win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday. 

"It felt great,” Julks said, per the franchise. “I was just trying to get that nice pitch to hit, nice pitch to swing at and execute it, and yeah, it felt amazing.” 

The report said that the former product of Clear Brook High School and the University of Houston (UH) finished the matinee matchup hitting 2-for-5 with a double to go with the aforementioned homer.

CBS Sports reported that as of Thursday, the 27-year-old rookie has a batting average of .294. 

Last year, Julks registered 30 HRs as a member of the Sugar Land Space Cowboys, the Astros’ Triple-A affiliate, according to the network. 

He, along with catcher Cesar Salazar, were late additions to Houston’s Opening Day roster.

Julks looks to make a splash akin to second-year shortstop Jeremy Peña’s last year. 

Peña proved to be a young wunderkind offensively and defensively in his rookie year, earning a Gold Glove Award in addition to American League Championship Series (ALCS) and World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) honors. 

According to PaperCity Magazine, while Julks is at least two years older than Peña, he’s open to learning a lot from the latter. 

“Any advice or tips he can give me, I’m definitely listening,” Julks told the publication. 

By beating the Pirates, the Astros collected their first shutout and first series win of the title defense.