HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- Jeremy Peña trotted around the bases like a man who just had a 1,000 pound weight lifted off his shoulders.
In the second inning of the Astros 10-0 win over the Blue Jays on Monday night, the Astros shortstop drove a first pitch hanging slider from Bowden Francis 393 feet over the Crawford Boxes for his first home run since July 5, 2023, spanning 368 regular season plate appearances.
Peña gave his bat a nice flip upon striking the baseball and lifted both arms in the air as he looked to the sky after crossing home plate, where he was greeted by laughter from hitting coaches Troy Snitker and Alex Cintrón and the silent treatment from some of his teammates.
"It was a poor job," Peña joked about the reception he received from his teammates. "Some of the guys in the front were standing up ,some of the guys in the back of the dugout were sitting down, but I didn't care what they were doing. I was happy and no one was gonna ruin that moment for me."
Astros manager Joe Espada could tell Peña was relieved to finally clear the wall after re-working his swing over the offseason.
"His reaction when he comes in the dugout, that's what it looked like."
Espada was encouraged by Peña's at bats during the Astros season opening series against the Yankees that saw him finish 6-for-15 with just one strikeout. Monday's swing, which was the first of two hits on the night, was a continuation of that success.
"The fact that he pulled the ball in the air, hit a homer on the pull side, it was a sigh of relief, but I've just been excited the way he's just been hitting the ball in the air to all fields. He's in a really good hitting position right now."
Peña only hit 10 home runs last season after hitting 22 in the regular season as a rookie plus four in the playoffs. He eliminated a lot movement from his swing over the winter and started to see results towards the end of spring training.
"We put in a lot of work," Peña said. "Troy Snitker, (Alex) Cintron, Rene Rojas. We got to work, and it's just kind of keeping that the whole season, maintain the routine, and then go from there."
