It was almost impossible to watch, especially with the extraterrestrial numbers of superstar Mike Trout to open the season, but he had been scolding a bit during his last three games.
With a stoppage in the first inning against Twins left-hander Lewis Thorpe on Friday, Trout had eliminated in six of his last 10 appearances on the plate, including four times Tuesday’s loss to the Royals. But the tortilla – as it always seems – came out of that mini-fall with a simple two-run key in the sixth inning to give the Angels the lead in a 10-3 victory over the opening twins of the series at Angel Stadium. And after the Twins decided to throw themselves at him in that bat-bat, they chose to intentionally pass him in the seventh after a 2-2 count, which resulted in a big Justin Upton slam with two outs.
“He’s a grinder despite being that superstar baseball player,” Angels manager Joe Maddon said. “He’s cool all the time. He’s focused, he’s ready and he wants to be there right now.”
The Angels gave up three runs in the top of the sixth to lose an early lead, but quickly came back against twin reliever Randy Dobnak. David Fletcher fell into one of his typical singles slowly to the right and then Shohei Ohtani broke the bat with a single in the middle. Fletcher took third place in the singles and Ohtani reached second base, throwing his hands in the air after the play to signify his excitement.
Rocco Baldelli, manager of Trout and Twins, chose not only to run for the three-time MVP of the AL, but also to join the field. Trout made Minnesota pay quickly with a two-run single that he started right in front of shortstop Jorge Polanco and on the left field to give the Angels the lead.
“I felt pretty good at the time,” Maddon said. “They put the three men on that side and he hit them between them in that five-six hole. Listen, a lot of those moments will happen.”
The tortilla was placed in another key spot in the seventh, with runners in the corners and two outside. Lefty Caleb Thielbar quickly advanced with a 0-2 lead, but after Trout led 2-2, the Twins decided to intentionally make him go to load the bases and get to Upton. He fell dramatically against Minnesota as Upton absolutely destroyed a grand slam on the left to leave the game behind after losing two games with spasms in his back.
“You can understand what Rocco did,” Maddon said. “In fact I have done it in the past, intentionally walking a runner with two strokes. But J-Up arrived and felt great before the game. He did not miss it. This ball was clicked correctly “.
Going 1-on-2 with two walks in the game, Trout, 29, achieves an incredible .386 / .526 / .750 with four homers, four doubles and 10 RBI in 13 games. He helped the Angels start an 8-5 season, which resulted in a return game halfway for the Mariners to secure first place in the American West League. And of course it has been something more than Trout, as Jared Walsh started hot and scored 2-on-4 with a homer and three RBIs, while Fletcher, Ohtani and Upton played key roles in the victory of the Friday.
“I’m really looking forward to taking him and the whole group to the playoffs this year,” Maddon said. “So that the boys can have the opportunity to play in this type of game. We’ve been playing a lot of these games. I think it’s great to play against good competition. And Mikey did it again. “