Trout swims upstream of Salmon in record books

ANAHEIM -- Angels superstar Mike Trout reached yet another milestone, as he set the record for most career homers at Angel Stadium, smacking his 161st blast at home to surpass Tim Salmon’s previous record of 160.

Trout crushed a two-run homer down the left-field line in the sixth inning off Rays left-hander Jalen Beeks in an eventual 11-3 win to set the mark at Angel Stadium, which opened in 1966. It took Trout 661 home games to reach the mark, while Salmon played in 847 home games during his storied 14-year career with the Angels. Trout holds the overall club record with 317 career blasts in 1,314 games, while Salmon is second with 299 in 1,672 games.

"It's special,” Trout said. “I didn't know it until I saw it on the scoreboard. But any time you pass Salmon, it's a big deal."

It was the team-leading seventh homer of the year for Trout, who has been off to an incredible start yet again this year. It left the bat at 111.4 mph and went a projected 407 feet down the left-field line to give the Angels a 5-1 lead. Trout, a three-time American League MVP and nine-time All-Star, went 2-for-3 and is batting .319/.441/.659 with seven homers and 16 RBIs in 26 games this year.

Angels manager Joe Maddon has been impressed by Trout and also has a long history with Salmon, as he was one of the scouts who signed him when he was a third-round pick in 1989.

"A Trout and a Salmon, but I know that's been worn out a little bit,” Maddon said. “But I signed Timothy out of Grand Canyon [University] and watched the whole thing unfold. He was such a good player here. And, of course, Michael is the best. It's fitting he passed him."

Fellow superstar Shohei Ohtani followed with a solo blast to left-center to mark the first time the Angels hit back-to-back homers in a game this year. And it was another good sign from Ohtani, as it came off a left-hander and went the other way. It was also the fourth time they’ve hit consecutive homers and the first time since June 8, 2019, against the Mariners.

Trout was also there to greet Ohtani with the white cowboy hat that has become the club’s home run celebration in the dugout this year. Ohtani later hit a grand slam to the opposite field in the seventh inning.

"Trout is going to hit his home runs so it's up to me to see if we can go back to back,” Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. “I'm glad I was able to do that. Everyone was really excited."