WASHINGTON (AP) — Keibert Ruiz gave his parents something to cheer about the first time they got to see their son play a game in the majors.
Ruiz delivered in his first at-bat for the Washington Nationals against the Atlanta Braves on Thursday night when he drove an RBI double off the right-field wall in the first inning.
Ruiz immediately waved to his parents in the crowd, who were jumping for joy and yelling after seeing the hit. His mother had filmed the at-bat on her phone.
“That’s a dream come true for me,” Ruiz told MASN in a postgame interview on the field. “There were a lot of emotions. They make a lot of sacrifices for me. To see me play in the big leagues is a blessing.”
The 26-year-old Ruiz made his major league debut in 2020 for the Los Angeles Dodgers and was playing his 450th career game in the majors. But this was the first time his parents were able to make the trip from Venezuela to see him play in person.
Ruiz added an RBI single in the fourth to help the Nationals beat the Braves 8-7 in 10 innings.
“I was feeling really good today,” he said. “The emotion was there and the adrenaline was there. I just want them to be here every night.”
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