Mike Trout homers in back-to-back at-bats in Angels loss to snap ugly skid: ‘Some things finally clicked’

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Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout snapped a skid on Saturday night, homering twice in what proved to be a 3-2 loss against the San Francisco Giants (box score). Trout, who entered 1 for his last 22 with 14 strikeouts, nearly completed the hat trick in the bottom of the ninth against Giants closer Ryan Walker. Alas, it wasn’t to be and the ball was caught on the track.

“I knew I hit it off the end of the bat but I thought it had a chance,” Trout told reporters, including MLB.com. “It’s tough early in the season, the marine layer comes in. I was just happy my swing tonight was a lot better than the last couple days.”

Trout added that he’s been working with the Angels hitting coaches, attempting to get his swing into better shape and himself out of the rut that began on April 12.

“Me and the hitting guys have been grinding. It’s nice some things finally clicked,” he said.

Trout, 33, is now hitting .189/.279/.527 (125 OPS+) following his 28th career multi-home run game. While many of his ball-tracking measures remain strong, there have been a few noticeable shifts in his statistical profile. To wit, he’s striking out more than he did last season (26.7% versus 21.4%). He’s also both pulling fewer balls than normal and pulling fewer balls in the air than he has at any point since 2016. That combination hasn’t kept him from homering eight times.

The Angels are now 10-10 on the season, albeit with a minus-10 run differential. The Angels have now lost five of their last six games, dropping them into a tie with the Houston Astros for third place in the American League West (+2100 to win the division, per FanDuel). Los Angeles will wrap up the weekend set against the Giants on Sunday before welcoming the Pittsburgh Pirates to town.

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