TORONTO -- There was a 452-foot home run to straightaway center field by Yordan Alvarez that brought to mind his game-winning blast in Game 6 of last year’s World Series. Two batters later, Kyle Tucker swatted a home run to left field that stretched the Astros’ lead to seven runs in the fourth inning.

It’s not surprising when a pair of All-Stars do damage like they did in Monday night’s 11-4 win over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, but a glance further down the box score found some unlikelier heroes -- players who weren’t expected to make big contributions early in the season and are flourishing with more playing time.

Left fielder Corey Julks capped a six-run first inning against Jays starter Alek Manoah with his first career grand slam, and catcher Yainer Diaz and center fielder Jake Meyers both went 4-for-5 in the bottom two spots in the order as Houston pounded out a season-high 19 hits, including four homers. Every Astros starter had at least one hit.

“You always want those guys to do well, the young guys, because you're depending upon the big boys in the middle,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “Any time you get that kind of production you get out of those guys -- hitting is contagious, for sure. You want them to get a hit every time or as many hits as they can get because you never know about tomorrow.”

Here’s a closer look at the emergence of Julks, Diaz and Meyers:

Julks
Julks was an unexpected addition to the Opening Day roster, taking the spot left open when Michael Brantley began the season on the injured list. The Astros were intrigued by his Minor League power -- he hit 31 homers at Triple-A last year -- and that power stroke could be for real.

Five of the first six hitters against Manoah reached when Julks came to bat with the bases loaded and hit the first pitch he saw over the left-field fence for a grand slam. Four of his five career homers have come against pitchers who were All-Stars: Shohei Ohtani, Kevin Gausman, Corbin Burnes and Manoah.

“Knowing the bases were loaded and he didn’t have anywhere to put me, I was trying to be aggressive and see a good pitch to hit and make a good swing and see what happens,” Julks said.

Baker tells Julks to stay ready, which means extra swings in the cage, watching video and studying opposing pitchers when he’s not playing. His OPS is up to .681 through his first 160 career plate appearances.

“Trying to still get that rhythm and timing every day and trust whatever I'm working on and take it to the game,” he said.

Diaz
Diaz came to camp battling with Korey Lee for the backup catcher job behind Martín Maldonado, and his bat was the reason he made the roster. His playing time has increased in the last month -- he’s started six of the team’s last 18 games at either first base (one) or catcher (five) -- and he’s slashing .375/.375/.750 with three homers in his past 10 games.

“He’s still young,” Baker said. “We knew he could hit. It's just a matter of him swinging in the strike zone. That's what it is with most aggressive hitters, but you want hitters to be aggressive.”

Diaz said the extra playing time has certainly helped, but a week ago he studied some video of his at-bats at Triple-A last year when he was swinging at bad pitches and made some notes.

“I think I’ve improved,” he said. “I still do things that there’s a lot of room for me to improve even more, but from where I was at, there was big improvement there.”

Meyers
After a 3-for-19 start at the plate, Meyers has put it together and is looking more comfortable by the day. He added a leg kick to his swing in April and has responded by slashing .271/.345/.481 with six homers and 20 RBIs in his last 38 games, including the four hits Monday.

Meyers, an elite defender, started 20 consecutive games in center field from April 15-May 7 while Chas McCormick was on the injured list, and Monday’s start was his 31st in the team’s last 35 games.

“I think guys are, when their numbers are called, they're showing up and doing the best they can and putting up good numbers and helping the team win,” he said. “I think as a team, that’s what we do and that’s what makes us really good.”