Trout hits 2 HRs, goes 5-for-5 as Halos romp

CHICAGO -- Mike Trout did not let anything James Shields threw get past him Saturday at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The Angels' slugger clubbed home runs off the White Sox starter in each of his first two at-bats, his 32nd and 33rd blasts of the season, to give Los Angeles an early lead it would not relinquish in a 12-3 win over Chicago. Trout's five RBIs marked a season high.
"It's a great day for Mike. The two balls he hit were killed, and the wind was pushing them back, which shows you how strong Mike is," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "But great at-bats, it's a great night for Mike, much like Shohei's the other night."
Trout finished 5-for-5, also collecting three singles, in his second career five-hit performance. He also did so on May 26 at Yankee Stadium. Saturday additionally signified Trout's 14th career multihomer game and fourth in 2018. He has never hit more than two in a game. Both home runs came on full-count pitches.

For his career, Trout now has six home runs off Shields in 21 plate appearances and is 9-for-18 overall with two walks. His fifth-inning single against Shields was his first non-extra-base hit off the veteran righty.

"I am [aware]," Trout said of his numbers against Shields. "He's obviously a great pitcher. When we compete against each other, it's fun. But it's just not missing pitches. I can't tell you the reason, but just getting a pitch to hit and just not missing them.
"Obviously he's dropping down a little bit more [now]. He's a good pitcher. He throws four pitches for strikes at any time, and like I said, it's a battle every time I face him."
Kole Calhoun opened the night with a first-pitch flyout, and David Fletcher singled up the middle. Trout then worked the count against Shields, sending a two-seam fastball 419 feet to straightaway center, per Statcast™.

In the third inning, Trout came up with Calhoun and Fletcher on base and nobody out. The slugger again waited patiently, connecting with a 78 mph knuckle-curve. He deposited his second home run into the left-field stands 377 feet away.
"I got a close look at him because I was on deck every time he was up, and I knew he was going to have a big game today," Shohei Ohtani said through a team interpreter. "Something about his swag today, and it made me realize again how great of a player he is."

Ohtani added three insurance runs in the ninth inning with a three-run triple. Since his last appearance on the mound on Sunday, Ohtani is 8-for-16 with four homers and 10 RBIs. Ohtani later scored on a wild pitch, but collided with White Sox reliever Thyago Vieira at the plate and appeared shaken up. He walked off under his own power and is day to day with a right thigh contusion.

Matt Shoemaker made his third start of the season and second since returning from May forearm surgery. Shoemaker gave up three runs in five innings.
"Not quite as crisp as the other day, but did a great job," Scioscia said of Shoemaker. "I thought that the double-play balls obviously helped him, but when he needed to make pitches he did."

"I felt OK. I think that's the best way to put it, OK," Shoemaker said. "I enjoy the cool weather, but being in cool weather from being in hot, hot, hot, hot, hot [in Texas], you just have to find a way to stay loose in between innings. Fatigue-wise, I felt pretty good, it was just a matter of staying loose."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Hansel escapes the woods: The White Sox threatened to tie the game at 6 in the seventh inning after Hansel Robles allowed a walk and single to Tim Anderson and Kevan Smith to open the frame. Following a mound visit, Robles settled down and retired the next three batters in order. The White Sox did not record another hit.

SOUND SMART
Not only was Saturday Trout's second-career five-hit game, but it was also his 16th-career game recording four or more hits.
UP NEXT
The Angels conclude their three-game series on Sunday with the White Sox at 11:10 a.m. PT and send Andrew Heaney (8-9, 4.16 ERA) to the mound at Guaranteed Rate Field. Heaney is coming off a six-inning, four-run outing against the Rangers, and owns a 5.62 ERA since the beginning of August. Reynaldo López (5-9, 4.37) goes for Chicago.