The Los Angeles Angels had their bats rolling in the series finale against the Texas Rangers on Sunday afternoon. This included superstar Mike Trout, who went 3-for-4 on the day including a solo home run in the fourth inning.
It was Trout’s 39th homer of the season and his 44th career home run against the Rangers. Earlier this season, Trout had become the all-time leader in home runs when facing the Seattle Mariners. And with that 409-foot big fly on Sunday, he became the same record-holder vs. the Rangers.
Trout surpassed Reggie Jackson for this record, and did so in a blowout winning effort on the tail-end of a three-game sweep. Trout spoke about becoming the new record-holder and what it means for his career, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com:
“It feels good,” Trout said about becoming the Rangers’ most prolific nemesis. “It means you’re doing something good. They’re in the division, so we play them a lot. I didn’t know it, so that’s good to know.”
Taking a more wholistic look at the Angels, who have now won seven straight games and are finishing the season on a strong note, Trout was pleased to see the contributions coming from young players in wins.
“We’ve been playing good ball lately,” Trout said. “It’s nice to end the last home game with a win. Obviously, [this season] wasn’t good enough and we’re not where we want to be, but the guys have put their heads down and have tried to finish strong. We have a lot of young guys in here making an impact, and it’s good to see that.”
The Angels certainly looked in sync on Sunday, scoring six runs in the first inning without a single home run. With one out, Trout reached on an infield single, then Shohei Ohtani singled and moved Trout to second, followed by Taylor Ward hitting a single to score Trout (1-0) and move Ohtani to third.
Matt Thaiss drew a walk to load the bases, the Logan O’Hoppe drew another walk to score a run (2-0). Livan Soto then doubled, scoring two runs (4-0) and leaving O’Hoppe on third. Finally, David Fletdher singled to score O’Hoppe and Soto (6-0).
But Trout’s home run in the fourth ultimately made headlines, as he now is the all-time home run leader against two of the four AL West opponents. Trout now has a .994 OPS on the season and a 1.045 OPS since returning from injury in mid-August. He is slashing .306/.365/.681 since Aug. 19.
Angels agree to terms with Ohtani for 2023
Heading into his final year of arbitration, Ohtani was always going to sign a contract with the Angels. However, the two sides were able to get the negotiations out of the way early, as Ohtani signed a one-year, $30 million deal that will avoid arbitration and keep him with the Angels until next offseason, when he figures to become a free agent.