With homer, Trout becomes Angels' all-time runs leader

TORONTO -- Mike Trout is inevitable.

The Angels’ star outfielder made history once again on Friday night, setting a new franchise record for runs scored by stepping on home plate for the 1,025th time in a Halos jersey in his team’s 12-0 win over the Blue Jays.

Coming into the series opener at Rogers Centre, the 31-year-old was tied with Garret Anderson for the team record. He took the historic lead in usual Trout fashion, driving himself in with a two-run blast off Yusei Kikuchi in the eighth inning.

“We’ve had a lot of great hitters in this franchise, and obviously Mike’s going to go down as the best,” said Angels interim manager Phil Nevin. “He’s still got a lot of years left and he’s going to add to all his numbers, and he’s going to be at the top of all of them, I’m sure.”

Trout’s record has been 12 seasons in the making. Arguably the most prolific hitter of his generation, he needed just 1,374 games to claim the top spot to himself. Anderson played for the Angels for 15 seasons, appearing in 2,013 games.

The runs record is the second iconic franchise mark Trout has claimed for himself, after surpassing Tim Salmon for the home run lead in 2020. With eight more years on his contract, there’s still plenty of time to add to that and many other tallies.

Meanwhile, his generational dominance continues to inspire many young hitters in that clubhouse.

“It’s motivating, being around a guy who’s been this good for this long and continues to go out and do it, to show that he’s the guy,” said outfielder Jo Adell. “It makes me want to work harder. It’s something that I get to say later on, that I played with the one of best to ever play.”

Adell got his share of the glory on Friday. The 23-year-old was a big part of the Angels’ offensive outburst, launching two home runs for his first multihomer game of the season. It was a nice confidence boost amid a rough month of August.

“I’ve struggled in the past couple of games or so,” said Adell. “And I’m really trying to stay in my zone and look for my pitches. But coming out tonight and being able to produce, help us win, putting that up on the board, it’s good stuff for me.”

Adell had batted .203 with just four RBIs in August before Friday. His second homer of the night came off outfielder Whit Merrifield in the ninth inning, when the Angels had already put 10 unanswered runs on the board. But no one’s taking away the merits of a multihomer, four-hit, three-RBI game from him.

“These are the things he’s capable of,” said Nevin. “He’s an exciting player, as we know, and he’ll have some streaks like that once in a while. When he gets going, he’s pretty good.”

The Angels’ offensive production helped snap a six-game skid and gave starter Reid Detmers all the run support he needed to put up a solid outing in Toronto. The lefty struck out five batters with four hits, three walks and no runs allowed over 5 1/3 innings, slowing the game down at the right times and keeping his composure through minor jams in the first couple of frames.

It was a nice bounce-back performance after a rough showing in Detroit last week.

“I just had a bit better feel [tonight],” said Detmers. “My body felt a little bit better. … We came out swinging the bats, and our offense was good all night. Pitching with a lead is nice, but you still have to go out there and get outs. But yeah, it was huge.”

Detmers had a five-run lead as early as the second inning. Trout and Adell were joined in their private home-run derby by Andrew Velazquez, who added a two-run shot of his own. David Fletcher set the tone from the leadoff spot, tallying three hits and two RBIs, along with a walk and a stolen base. Never one to be left out of the fun, Shohei Ohtani added a triple that drove in two for the Angels.

The pitching staff took care of things on the other side of the ball for the kind of well-rounded win that’s become a rarity for the Angels in the second half of the season.

“It’s good for us,” said Adell. “Tough road trip so far, as far as the wins go, so jumping up on a team that’s this good tonight is probably going to help us push and continue to move forward.”