St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Aledmys Diaz honored his longtime friend Jose Fernandez last night by hitting a grand slam in the 4th inning off of Robert Stephenson. This was his first game played since the death of Fernandez.

Diaz and Fernandez grew up together in Cuba, as the two of them lived on the same street. The rookie shortstop Diaz told the media after the game that the grand slam was indeed a tribute to Fernandez:

"Today was a special day to be able to hit that grand slam in (Jose Fernandez's) memory," #STLCards All-Star Aledmys Diaz said.

— Jose de Jesus Ortiz (@OrtizKicks) September 28, 2016

That grand slam was the first of Diaz’s young MLB career, and with the way he is playing right now, there should be a lot more in the future.

Diaz is batting .301/.368/.516 with 17 homers and 65 RBIs in 439 plate appearances this season.

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