ANAHEIM -- It was a night of firsts for Angels top prospect Christian Moore.
In his Angel Stadium debut on Friday night, Moore recorded his first big league home run in a 3-2 loss to the Astros in 10 innings. Facing reliever Bryan King in the seventh inning, Moore was met with a 92.7 mph four-seam fastball that he launched a Statcast-projected 411 feet to center field.
“It’s fun playing in the bright lights, being up here. It’s what I dreamed of,” said Moore, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Angels’ No. 1 prospect and No. 54 overall. “I’m so blessed to be here and put this jersey on, and I’m grateful every day.”
The No. 8 overall pick in last year’s MLB Draft out of the University of Tennessee, Moore was called up from Triple-A Salt Lake and made his MLB debut on June 13 in Baltimore. After going 0-for-8 to start his career, the second baseman has steadily ramped up his production, resulting in three hits against the Yankees on the road and his first homer in the series opener against Houston.
The 22-year-old Moore said the key to his success at the plate has been education, as he’s learning how to compete against big league pitching.
“I'm learning new stuff every day,” Moore said. “I’m trying to hone in on dominating over the plate.”
On the field, Moore’s defensive talent was also on full display. After launching his first career home run, Moore completed a diving play that robbed Yainer Diaz of a hit in the eighth inning.
“I’m just trying to do whatever I can to contribute,” Moore said. “I’m young. I got a lot of energy. So I try to use it as much as I can. And if I can go out there and make a catch like that, then I’m going to keep doing it.”
Closing out his first week in the Majors, Moore said he’s focused on mental toughness and continuing to grow each day he takes the field.
“It starts with the work you put in and how you go about your work and the mental side,” said Moore. “You got to have that confidence. You got to have that swagger. That can’t go away ever because that’s who you are. So I just try to keep that every day.”
Moore’s offensive push on Friday was matched by former Angels top prospect Jo Adell, who has been electric at the plate in June. The Halos outfielder, who entered the 2020 season as MLB Pipeline’s No. 6 overall prospect, recorded his ninth home run this month and 16th of the season.
The pitch came from Astros starter Hunter Brown in the bottom of the fourth inning — a 96.8 mph fastball that Adell launched 426 feet to center field. He leads the Majors in homers in June and has homered in three straight games.
“I give him a lot of credit because he had to fight through from the beginning of the season until now, never getting himself down,” said Ray Montgomery, who will be managing the team while Ron Washington focuses on his health. “He came to work every day, and he’s starting to see the fruits of the labor.”
Against his former team, Angels starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi held the Astros to two runs on six hits in seven innings while also recording nine strikeouts. Hunter Strickland took the hill in the 10th, during which Jeremy Peña recorded a hit to advance Mauricio Dubón, the automatic runner.
In the end, it was a wild pitch from Strickland that gave the Astros a 3-2 lead that resulted in the Angels’ first extra-innings loss this season.