Not long ago, Brice Matthews stood in the gym at Atascocita High School while roughly 4,000 students cheered his name. The Houston Astros had called him up to the big leagues, and his old school was retiring his No. 3 jersey. His parents, Stephen and Edrice, sat nearby beaming. His sister Blake, who works for the Astros, was there too.
Matthews thanked his coaches, encouraged the students to enjoy every moment, and when someone shouted from the bleachers, he answered with a smile.
It was the kind of scene that plays out for local kids who make good. And Matthews, 24, is as local as it gets—a Houston native, a product of the Astros’ MLB Youth Academy, a two-sport star at Atascocita before heading to Nebraska and becoming the 28th overall pick in the 2023 Draft.
Tuesday night in Baltimore, he looked like he belonged.
In the Astros’ 5-3 loss to the Orioles, Matthews delivered the best game of his young major league career, a three-hit performance that included a thunderous opposite-field home run off Shane Baz, an RBI triple, and an RBI single in the eighth that nearly sparked a comeback. He finished a triple shy of the cycle, raised his batting average more than 50 points, and did it all at Camden Yards in his first trip there.
“This was something I always thought I could do,” Matthews said afterward. “It wasn’t like a surprise for me. I know I have the capability. I feel like I could do that each and every night.”
The numbers coming in told a different story, or at least a more complicated one. Matthews had six hits in 44 at-bats entering Tuesday, a .136 average that reflected the learning curve of a 24-year-old finding his footing in the big leagues. He had been getting regular starts in center and left field with Jake Meyers on the injured list, thrust into an everyday role earlier than perhaps anticipated.
But six of his nine hits on the season have gone for extra bases. The power has always been there. Tuesday night it was on full display, with the homer—an opposite-field shot off a 97 mph Baz fastball—registering a 109.7 mph exit velocity as it screamed out of Camden’s cozy confines.
“I keep saying, when he finds barrel to ball, he’s exciting to watch,” manager Joe Espada said. “He’s a very explosive player. He can change outcomes of the game when he learns to be more consistent making contact.”
Matthews said his approach hasn’t changed, just the results.
“Just trying to put the bat on the ball more,” he said. “Not trying to do too much. I feel like if I hit the ball on the barrel, the ball is going to go. So just trying to simplify and just shorten up and just keep it easy.”
The Astros need him to keep it easy. With Meyers, Jeremy Peña and others sidelined, this roster has leaned heavily on its young players to fill gaps that were never supposed to exist this early in the season. Matthews has answered with his glove, his legs, and now his bat.
He has always believed this moment was coming. The gym at Atascocita already knew it.
“But it’s baseball,” Matthews said. “It’s not going to go your way each and every night. You just have to keep competing.”
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