ANAHEIM – The boo birds came out in full force at Angel Stadium on Monday night with rival Astros from the city, playing in front of Big A fans for the first time since the news about their 2017 zodiac theft scandal appeared. they did not offer many crowds to cheer up early, unable to offend much against the right Luis Garcia in the first three innings.
But Mike Trout gave the Angels both their first round and the first shot of what turned out to be a dramatic 7-6 victory, with an impressive solo shot in Garcia’s left field to lead to the fourth inning. . He was the first homer of the year for Trout, the winner of the American League MVP Award in 2014, ’16 and ’19. It was also homer no. 303 career for Trout, who is in his 11th season with the Angels and is an eight-time All-Star.
Trout made it 2-2 against Garcia before unloading 82mph. Homer left the bat at a speed of 108.9 mph and went with a 417-foot project on the left field line, on Statcast, and aroused the crime.
“We fought early, but we kept coming back, and Mikey’s running kind of changed the momentum,” said Angels manager Joe Maddon. “But you could deserve everyone up and down the range with quality sticks.”
However, it was late in the game when the Angels did the most damage, as they did against the White Sox in all four games in their opening series, as they have now scored in the eighth or the new half in all five games. they played this season with 14 combined runs over those innings. Halos rallied for four rounds in the eighth inning on Monday as Trout’s early homer seemed to start the offensive as the game progressed.
The trout went 2-for-3 with two walks, one intentional – and his came out in a shot called on a field outside the area – and helped start the crime. But the angels have shown that their entire line can be dangerous with another late comeback.
“It’s going to take us all, and tonight you saw that,” Trout said. “We came back and we had a lot of big hits in the last half. It’s about putting pressure on the defense. “
This time, it was veterans Albert Pujols and José Iglesias who started the rally, while Shohei Ohtani entered the shot, but was immediately hit by a pitch from reliever Joe Smith. Ohtani looked at Smith, showing the animosity between the two clubs on a night when both an inflatable and a real trash can were thrown on the field by fans.
“I think there was a ventilation process,” Maddon said. “I think it’s fun. I don’t think Astros was affected by it and it probably feeds them a little. But the fans do what they want to do, and the trash cans were kind of unique. Before they were beach balls, now they are trash cans. ”
Dexter Fowler shook a slow offensive start with a single RBI to make it a one-run game before David Fletcher tied it with an RBI groundout. The Angels were then aided by a defensive mistake by Yuli Gurriel, who unleashed a wild throw home on a field from Jared Walsh to give Los Angeles the lead. The trout was intentionally trampled, and Anthony Rendon offered an insurance race with a sacrificial flight.
“It matters that we did it often,” Maddon said of the winning comeback. “It simply came to our notice then. And I did it against good pitching, against the better parts of the opposing bullpens, because they were before. So there is a confidence factor there. ”
The 29-year-old trout was a big part of the club’s early success, reaching safely in 14 of the 23 appearances on the set and beating .400 / .609 / .667. He worked hard in the off-season to fix his swing mechanics because he felt he was out of 2020 and moving away while swinging too often.
But the scary part of the opposing teams is that, despite his success so far, the Trout feels he still has to unlock this season.
“It’s coming,” Trout said of his swing. “I felt very good on the plate tonight. He is step by step and enters a good position to hit and does not try to do too much. It definitely feels better up there. ”