Trout slugs MLB-best ninth home run
Slugger ties Angels' record for most homers through team's first 22 games
ANAHEIM -- Michael Trout homered for the third consecutive game on Sunday, crushing a two-run blast off reliever Cory Gearrin to put the Angels on the board in the eighth inning of their 4-2 loss in their series finale against the Giants at Angel Stadium.
After Ian Kinsler singled to lead off the inning, Trout belted a low 1-1 sinker from Gearrin out to right-center field for an opposite-field shot that to cut the Giants' lead to 4-2. The ball rifled off Trout's bat at 110 mph and traveled an estimated 414 feet, according to Statcast™. It's tied for the Angels' hardest-hit home run to the opposite side of the field since Statcast™ started tracking in 2015. Trout also launched one 110 mph to right-center field on April 28, 2017.
"Just getting pitches I can hit and not missing them," Trout said. "Just working on getting a pitch I can put my barrel to and they're going out of the park."
It was Trout's ninth home run of the season, which leads the Majors. His nine homers through the Angels' first 22 games ties the franchise record also set by Leon Wagner in 1962, Brian Downing in 1987 and Jose Pujols in 2014.
Trout went 6-for-11 with two doubles, three home runs and four RBIs over the three-game series against the Giants, lifting his batting average to .306 with a 1.088 OPS in 22 games this year.