In the five games before the Los Angeles Angels’ Tuesday win over the Chicago White Sox, shortstop Zach Neto was in a slump.
He had gone hitless in 18 at-bats, dropping his batting average 30 points. With his mind on the slump before the game, Angels shortstop needed an outlet to release the pressure.
His choice? Opening Pokémon cards with center fielder Mike Trout.
After the Angels’ 4-3 win over the White Sox, Neto revealed that Trout asked him to open a pack of cards with him — and had a specific prediction.
“He texted me this morning about ripping Pokémon cards, and if we found a Charizard card, I was going to hit a home run,” Neto said postgame.
Apparently, it worked — for both teammates.
Trout and Neto homered, with Trout’s shot going 367 feet at the bottom of the first inning and Neto’s going yard to left center in the bottom of the fifth.
Mike Trout opened Pokémon cards with Zach Neto before yesterday’s game to get his mind off his slump
Neto pulled a Charizard card and Trout said the box of cards would bring them home runs …
Then they both hit home runs 🤯 pic.twitter.com/GJob6rPAbz
— MLB (@MLB) May 6, 2026
This isn’t the first time Pokémon has made its way into MLB. Last August, Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski pulled a rare red Charizard card after a win over the New York Mets.
As for Neto, he credited the Charizard card for helping him out of his slump.
“It’s the just the little things to get my head out of baseball a little bit. Sometimes that’s what you need and I was able to come through. … Thanks, Charizard,” Neto said.
Neto is averaging .218 with six homers and 16 RBIs for the Angels this season.
