ANAHEIM – The boo-birds were at full strength in Angel Stadium on Monday night with rival Astros in the city and have been playing in front of the fans at the Big A for the first time since the news of their 2017 scandal. The Angels also did not make the crowd very happy early on, and could not get much offense against the right hand Luis Garcia through the first three innings.
But Mike Trout gave the English their first run and their first hit of what ended up being a dramatic 7-6 victory, with a big solo shot to Garcia’s left field to lead the fourth innings. It was the first homer of the year for Trout, the winner of the American League MVP Award in 2014, ’16 and ’19. It was also career hammer no. 303 for Trout, who is in his 11th season with the Angels and is an eight-time All-Star.
Trout worked a 2-2 score against Garcia before picking up on an 82 mph change. The homer left the bat at 108.9 km / h and went a projected 417 feet along the left field line via Statcast, waking up the offense.
“We struggled early, but we came back, and Mikey’s home field changed the momentum a bit,” said Angels manager Joe Maddon. “But you can give almost everyone the honor up and down with quality at-bats.”
However, it was late in the game when the Angels did the most damage, just like against the White Sox in all four games of their opening series, as they have now taken care of themselves in all of the eighth or ninth innings in all five games. they played this season with a total of 14 runs over that innings. The Halos ran together for four runs in the eighth inning on Monday as it looked like Trout’s early homer was getting the offense underway.
Trout took 2-for-3 with two walks, one intentionally – and his one from a named victim on a field outside the zone – and helped bring about the offense. But the Angels proved that their entire series could be dangerous with another late return.
“It’s going to take us all, and tonight you saw it,” Trout said. ‘We came back and had a lot of big hits in the late innings. It’s about putting pressure on the defense. ”
This time it was veterans Albert Pujols and José Iglesias who sparked the protest, while Shohei Ohtani got into a pinch but was immediately struck by a pitch of the reliever Joe Smith. Ohtani stared at Smith and showed the hostility between the two clubs on a night in which an inflatable and a real rubbish bin were thrown on the field by the fans.
“I think there was an evacuation process going on,” Maddon said. “I think it’s entertaining. I do not think the Astros were affected by it and it probably pushes them a bit. But fans do what they want to do and the trash cans were quite unique. Before it was beach balls, now it’s trash. ”
Dexter Fowler shook off a slow offensive start with an RBI single to make it a one-off match before David Fletcher linked it to an RBI foundation. The Englishman was then helped by a defensive offense from Yuli Gurriel, who unleashed a wild throw at a ground defender from Jared Walsh to give Los Angeles the lead. Trout was deliberately walked, and Anthony Rendon offered an insurance with a sacrificial fly.
“It matters that we did it regularly,” Maddon said of the return win. “It creates credibility. And we did it at a good pitch, against the better parts of opposing bullpens, because they were in front. So there is a confidence factor. ”
Trout (29) was a big part of the club’s early success, and in 14 of his 23 record appearances he safely reached his base and batted 0.400 / .609 / .667. He worked hard in the off-season to correct his swing mechanics because he felt it was off in 2020 and he pulled down while swinging too often.
But the scary part for opposing teams is that Trout, despite all his success so far, feels he needs to unlock even more this season.
“It’s getting close,” Trout said of his swing. “I felt really good tonight. It is pitch for pitch and in a good position to hit and not try to do too much. It definitely feels better up there. ”