Angel rookie Moore scores first at home to his hometown Yankees: a dream come true

Christian Moore was a Yankee fan when he grew up in Brooklyn, but only today did he set foot in Yankee Stadium for the first time.

Moore explained that his father, Charles, was a die-hard Met fan and forbade him from going to the Yankees from an early age. But the 22-year-old, who was named the Angel Farm's No. 1 rookie (No. 55 in the league) by MLB, shone on his Bronx debut, hitting his first career third-run home in eight innings and returning the only point of the game as an automatic runner in 11 innings to help the Angels win the series opener 1-0.

Nolan Schanuel hit a goodbye second base hit under the 11th inning to send Moore back. Moore, who was promoted to the major leagues last Saturday, hit 4 hits and 1 hit, ending a slump of 8 hits without hits in his debut.

"It means a lot," Moore said after the game, "and after the Baltimore series last week, I joked with my brother C.J. and said, 'You're going to be able to knock on the ground in New York now,' and I replied, 'Hopefully, after all, there are four games.'" I finally did it today, the pressure on the players was released instantly, and it felt like I really belonged here! "

After the first two hits were out, Moore sliced into the right field with Clarke Schmidt's opening shot in the eighth inning, and Aaron Judge failed to intercept a three-base hit on a flying slap — becoming the second player to hit a first-to-third base hit by the Angels this season (the previous being Matthew Lugo). The hit sent Schmidt, who pitched 7.2 innings, out of the game, but Moore ended up on third base.

"It's a dream come true," Moore said, witnessed by 43 relatives and friends at the scene, "This shock will last for a long time, and I want to enjoy every moment." "

He had a chance to be a hero in the tenth round, but ended the half of the game with a flying ball against Jonathan Loáisiga. Head coach Ron Washington still praised: "He's got his demons off!" In the next match, he faced off against Lo Aisiga, who had a tricky ball path, and still hit the flying ball solidly. The quality of the shots improved a lot tonight and I believe this is just the beginning. "

Moore was more critical in the 11th inning: a pinpoint pass to catch Travis d'Arnaud to kill Paul Goldschmidt at home plate as he dealt with a slow roll. "It's a tough ball," Moore explains, "and the batter's head hits the weird spinning ball, plus the weather." I just want to get the ball into the range that Arnault can touch. "

Before the game, he made a special tour of the stadium and was amazed by the majestic height of the multi-level outfield stands and the Monument Park in the outfield. Childhood idol Robinson Canó was a second-base heavy gunner. "There are so many retired numbers! Moore laughed, "You can hardly even pick No. 1 to No. 10, which shows how glorious this team is." "

Moore, the eighth overall pick in the 2024 draft, was leading the University of Tennessee to the first collegiate World Series title in its history this time last year. He admits that the league has been moving faster than he could have imagined: "It feels so cool to charter a flight from Baltimore to New York!" Cheering on his team-mates in the locker room after the game, Sanur said emotionally: "We were teammates in the Cape Cod League in 2022. I've been cheering for him since he was chosen, but I didn't expect me to enter the angel the next year - this fate is broken! "