Coming into any situation as a new person is a very tough position to be put in. You must find the right combination of being accepted and establishing your own identity. It is also not easy for an athlete to replace a fan favorite who has captured the hearts of an entire fan base.

With the departure of shortstop Carlos Correa during the offseason, many questions were being asked about the “new guy” in rookie Jeremy Peña coming into the season. It only took two games into the regular season for him to provide some of those answers.

After going hitless in his major league debut against the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday night, Peña finally settled in at the plate, getting his first hit in the top of the second inning. He finished 3-for-5 on the night, including his first big league home run in a 13-6 blowout of the Angels.

“It has been a dream come true,” Peña said after the game about his first two days on the major league level. “Yesterday (Thursday) was an unreal feeling and that is what you work for your whole life. Just being around these guys. They push you to get better every single day. They gave me a plan of attack for today and we just stuck with it.”

The 24-year-old rookie knew that he would have some big shoes to fill in replacing a player whose persona exudes confidence and greatness like Correa. Still, he expressed that the former Astro has been very beneficial in his journey to the major league.

“I never see it as trying to fill Carlos Correa’s shoes,” said Peña in his postgame interview on Apple+ TV. “He was great to me. He was a mentor. He was a leader. He helped me so much. So, I see it as I am playing shortstop for the Houston Astros and I am Jeremy Peña and I am not Carlos Correa.”

Peña’s bat was just one of many in the Astros lineup that came to life on Friday night. Outfielder Kyle Tucker’s two home runs highlighted the hitting clinic put on by the Astros, who hit six home runs for the game. Houston scored eight runs on eight hits in the top of the seventh inning to increase their lead to 12-2 on their way to their second consecutive win against Los Angeles.

Houston led the league in multiple regular-season offensive statistical categories last season, and they have picked up right where they left off. The Astros have scored 16 runs, 22 hits, and eight home runs in their first two games of the season.

“This is what this team is capable of,” said Astros manager Dusty Baker about his team’s offensive outburst. “When I got here, guys were saying it happens fast. It does happen fast.”