Trout passes DiMaggio on all-time HR list

ANAHEIM -- Mike Trout continues to ascend the leaderboard.

Joe DiMaggio was the latest legend Trout passed on the all-time home run list with career blast No. 362 in Wednesday's 7-3 win over the Red Sox at Angel Stadium. Trout passed him with a two-run shot off right-hander Nick Pivetta in the fourth inning, giving the Halos' slugger a two-run homer for a second straight game.

Trout called it "special" to pass DiMaggio, but was happier talking about the way the Angels have been playing, as they completed a three-game sweep over Boston and have won six of seven. It marked their first series sweep over the Red Sox since 2015, and they won the season series against them for the first time since '17. The Angels allowed a combined four runs in the series.

“It’s big-time any time you can get a sweep against a team like that,” Trout said. “They’re a good team over there. They beat us three out of four out there, so it was good to get a sweep. Our starters have been working fast, getting quick outs. And the bullpen, too.”

Trout, a three-time AL MVP and 10-time All-Star, spoke about how much of an honor it was to tie DiMaggio after Tuesday’s win over Boston. DiMaggio, who missed three years of his prime to serve in World War II from 1943-45, was also a three-time AL MVP and a 13-time All-Star during his illustrious career with the Yankees.

"It means a lot,” Trout said Tuesday. “Anytime you pass or tie a great or even just be in the same conversation with a great, it's really special, especially another center fielder.”

Trout, 31, is now 85th on the all-time home run list. Next up is Lance Berkman, with 366 career blasts. Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner and Todd Helton are tied for 82nd with 369. The only active players with more career homers than Trout are Miguel Cabrera (507), Nelson Cruz (462) and Giancarlo Stanton (382).

Trout's homer gave the Angels a 7-1 lead and was the third homer of the game for the club, as rookie shortstop Zach Neto hit a three-run blast in the second and Shohei Ohtani went deep in the third. It marked the fourth time this season and the 26th time since they became teammates in 2018 that Trout and Ohtani both homered in the same game.

The Angels are 4-0 in those contests this year, and 18-8 all-time.

“It’s always cool when we both go deep,” Trout said. “Good things happen.”

Trout and Ohtani are also both tied for the team lead with 12 homers this season, while Neto's homer was the third of his career. Trout had been in an uncharacteristic slump but has started to heat up, hitting four homers over his last seven games. Trout said he’s been working to improve his timing at the plate because he had been late on too many pitches.

Angels manager Phil Nevin said he’s seen Trout’s timing get better over the last few days. His homer came on a 2-1 cutter in the bottom part of the zone.

“He's on the fastball,” Nevin said. “He's just missing some of those pitches. They’ve pitched him tough here and there but if you make a mistake, he’s going to get you like he did tonight.”

Trout, though, said he’s still working through some things and struck out in his first two at-bats against lefty James Paxton, although he did hit a hard liner down the right-field line that just went foul. He grounded out to short in the seventh and went 1-for-4 and is hitting .275/.364/.527 with 27 RBIs in 47 games this season.

“It’s here and there,” Trout said. “But it’s something to build off.”

The Angels are also hoping their series sweep over the Red Sox can be something to build off as well, especially with the rotation. Right-hander Jaime Barría threw five scoreless innings on Monday, right-hander Griffin Canning hurled seven shutout frames on Tuesday and lefty Tyler Anderson allowed one run over six innings on Wednesday.

It was an encouraging sign for the Angels, as the rotation has been inconsistent outside of Ohtani and left-hander Patrick Sandoval. Anderson entered with a 5.27 ERA but registered his best start since his first of the season, when he held the A's scoreless over six innings on April 2.

“It’s just fun,” Anderson said. “It feels like we’re getting on a roll. Like, all year, we've been playing pretty well but just never felt like things were really all clicking. But now we’re not giving up runs when we’re scoring them and just having fun playing. I feel like we’re starting to really mesh together.”