How Mike Trout used Pokémon cards to help break Zach Neto out of slump

Zach Neto broke out of an extended cold spell with a go-ahead solo home run in the fifth inning of the Los Angeles Angels ' 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox in Anaheim on Tuesday night. As he walked back to the dugout, Mike Trout gave Neto a hug and said to him, "Hey, I told you that case had homers. " According to MLB.

com's Rhett Bollinger , Trout had sent Neto a text earlier that day inviting the 25-year-old shortstop to help open a large box of Pokémon cards pregame. Neto, looking to get his mind off of his 0-for-23 slump, obliged — and ended up pulling a rare Charizard card. "He said, ‘This case, when we rip it, it's going to have homers in it,’" Neto told reporters .

Those words would end up foreshadowing a big day for both Angels stars as Trout connected on a sweeper at the knees from White Sox starter Erick Fedde and drove it just over the top of the short wall in left field to get the Halos on the board in the bottom of the first inning. Jorge Soler would also homer later in the frame, and Neto singled in the third to snap his hitless streak that dated back to April 28 ... but was promptly picked off at first base.

TO THE TROUT FARM 🐟 pic. twitter. com/ce4UBYPR38 — Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) May 6, 2026 He made up for it two innings later when he got a sweeper up and on the outer part of the plate from Fedde and crushed it 410 feet into the bullpen for his first long ball since April 10.