Trout's 2nd HR of night stops A's streak at 9
It was exactly the type of offensive showing the Angels had been hoping to see from their superstar core of Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon and Shohei Ohtani. Trout homered twice, including a go-ahead solo blast in the eighth inning, while Ohtani and Rendon also went deep to lift the Angels to a wild 10-9 victory over the A’s on Monday night in the series opener at Angel Stadium.
The comeback victory halted the Angels’ losing streak at three games, while also putting an end to Oakland’s nine-game winning streak. It was keyed by Trout, Rendon and Ohtani, who combined to go 8-for-12 with four homers, a double, three walks, eight runs scored and seven RBIs.
“Coming into the season with the lineup we had on paper, it's here to produce and we haven't been producing lately the past week," said Trout, who went 4-for-5 with three RBIs. "We had a tough stretch in Texas, but we just came home and turned the page. That's something we can build off of. We've got a lot of great hitters on this team. You saw what we did tonight, we can score runs with the best teams."
Trout’s last shot was the biggest one, as it came in a tie game against reliever Yusmeiro Petit in the eighth inning after the Angels had erased a five-run deficit earlier in the game. Trout got a 1-2 curveball that caught too much of the plate and he clubbed it to left for his 20th career multihomer game, which ties the franchise record with Tim Salmon and Vladimir Guerrero. It was Trout’s team-leading seventh blast of the year and his sixth over his last seven games since the birth of his first child on July 30.
"He's more relaxed," Angels manager Joe Maddon said. "He had such a big concern of him and his wife regarding the birth and the virus and everything else surrounding it, so he's coming out the other side of that. He's playing with more mental freedom, and just like Rendon, he can stay hot."
Trout’s first homer was a no-doubter off reliever J.B. Wendelken, and it helped the Angels get back into the game in the fourth inning. Trout jumped all over a 1-0 sinker and sent it a projected 428 feet to left-center with an exit velocity of 108.1 mph, per Statcast. His second homer left the bat at 109.4 mph and traveled a projected 426 feet. He's hitting .367/.406/.967 since becoming a father.
"People ask me about this dad power, and I guess it's a thing," Trout said with a laugh. "But there's no better feeling than being a father."
The Angels trailed by five runs in the fourth inning but came back to tie at 9 in the sixth on a two-run homer from Ohtani. It was another good sign from Ohtani, who won’t pitch this season because of a right elbow/forearm injury but has been heating up at the plate. His homer came off A’s reliever Lou Trivino and got out in a hurry with an exit velocity of 110.4 mph and going a projected 417 feet, per Statcast.
"I started feeling much better yesterday, little by little, and I think it worked into today," Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. "I made some minor tweaks, but nothing too big. This was just an extension of all the work I've been putting in."
Rendon was the first to go deep, smacking a two-run shot as part of a three-run first inning against A’s lefty Sean Manaea. It snapped an 0-for-21 skid for Rendon, who has been drawing his walks but has been trying to find his timing at the plate after missing the start of the season with an oblique injury. But his timing was just right on a 2-2 fastball from Manaea and he drilled it down the left-field corner with an exit velocity of 101.5 mph and a projected distance of 368 feet.
“It definitely has to take a little bit of a load off,” Maddon said. “It's something that can lead to a very good hot streak for him, because he is one of those guys that can get hot and stay hot.”
The homers made up for rough nights from right-handers Julio Teheran and Matt Andriese, who were both hit hard, particularly by Matt Chapman. Teheran gave up five runs over two-plus innings in his first home start with the Angels, but relievers Noé Ramirez, Keynan Middleton, Felix Peña and Ty Buttrey picked up the slack. It helped them overcome Chapman hitting two homers and a triple in a six-RBI performance, but Chapman was left in awe of Trout after the game.
“You think you’ve seen it all, and then he just keeps doing it,” Chapman said. “He can change the game with one swing of the bat. It’s always awesome to play against him. He’s, in my opinion, the best player in the big leagues and maybe the best to do it."