Trout swats 12th HR in third straight 3-hit game

SEATTLE -- Mike Trout has opened May on quite a torrid stretch, even by his own lofty standards.
Trout went 3-for-4 with a three-run home run in the Angels' 8-2 win over the Mariners on Sunday at Safeco Field, finishing the weekend with his third consecutive three-hit game. The 26-year-old star center fielder is now batting .545 (12-for-22) with three doubles, two triples, two home runs, six RBIs and eight walks over six games in May. He is hitting .336 with a 1.178 OPS on the season.
"We made a lot of mistakes against him," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "You can't make mistakes against Mike Trout. He will make you pay. For whatever reason, there were some balls in the middle of the plate and he doesn't miss 'em. It's a credit to him. He was in the middle of everything all series. He's got a little better supporting cast around him this year and we have to certainly do a better job against him going forward this season."
Trout's 12th home run of the season broke the game open in the sixth inning on Sunday. Mariners ace Félix Hernández struck out Chris Young for what would have been the third out of the inning, but the ball got away from catcher Mike Zunino, allowing Young to reach on a wild pitch. René Rivera followed with an RBI double to extend the Angels' lead to 2-0, and Ian Kinsler then worked a walk to knock Hernandez from the game.
Reliever Chasen Bradford was brought in to face Trout, who promptly hammered a slider 389 feet to left field to make it 6-0. Trout's shot had an exit velocity of 108.3 mph and a launch angle of 38 degrees, the Angels' highest on a homer this season, according to Statcast™. He is now tied with the Rangers' Joey Gallo for the second-most homers in the American League.
"Just getting pitches and not missing them," Trout said. "Getting my foot down in time. My timing is good right now. Seeing pitches. Putting good at-bats together."

Trout also picked up an outfield assist in the fifth after firing a 91.7 mph strike to Zack Cozart to nail Ben Gamel, who had tried to advance from first to third on Dee Gordon's single to center field. Gamel was originally called safe, but replay review showed that he came off the bag while Cozart applied the tag, allowing Shohei Ohtani to escape the inning unscathed.
"Obviously, it was a great throw," Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. "Helped me out in a huge situation right there. Not only his throwing or fielding, [but also] with the bat."