For Bregman, MLB debut is ‘pretty special’

HOUSTON — There’ll be other nights when it works out a different way for Alex Bregman. That’s the thing virtually everyone around the Houston Astros believes. This kid is going to be special.

So this first night in the Major Leagues, well, it didn’t have the exact ending the Astros had hoped for in a 2-1 loss to the Yankees on Monday night at Minute Maid Park.

Here’s what makes the whole thing so tantalizing. Bregman almost did something spectacular, something that, as Astros manager A.J. Hinch said, “would have taken the roof off this place.”

Maybe this was the tease for all the greatness to come. The Astros have run so many gifted young players through their system the last three seasons and have been unafraid to give them a chance to prove themselves in the big leagues.

On Monday night, they started seven homegrown players, including Bregman, the second overall pick of the 2015 Draft. He arrived after just 128 Minor League games. He hit .306 in 62 games at Double-A this season and .333 in 18 games at Triple-A.

The Astros see him as a potential difference-maker down the stretch as they go for a second straight postseason berth.

“He’s going to contribute in a big way,” Astros shortstop Carlos Correa said.

Correa, 21, is a year younger than Bregman, 22. He has played 193 more Major League games and was the 2015 American League Rookie of the Year and one of the keys to a nice and improbable postseason run.

As for Bregman, back to that moment that almost was. In the bottom of the sixth inning. He came to bat with the bases loaded and the game tied at 1. When Yankees starter Michael Pineda left a slider an inch or two …

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