Angels' Mike Trout is an All-Star again, earning a start alongside Shohei Ohtani
Mike Trout started running back toward the wall, tracking the ball hit by Andrew Vaughn in the top of the fourth inning Thursday afternoon. The Angels’ center fielder made his next move seem all too easy.
Trout reached the edge of the outfield and, staring up into the sun on a cloudless, 78-degree day at Angel Stadium, he leaped up, gloved hand extended to the sky. Vaughn’s ball crossed the perimeter created by the wall, but instead of finding the other side, it dropped right into Trout’s glove. And Trout landed back onto the warning track, out secured.
“Just out there trying to help win a ballgame,” Trout said after the Angels’ 9-7 loss to the Chicago White Sox. “Obviously we lost, but a fun catch.”
All in a day for the Angels outfielder who was named to his 11th-consecutive All-Star Game — voted in as a starter to represent the American League team alongside outfielders Randy Arozarena of the Tampa Bay Rays and Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees. The All Star Game is July 11 in Seattle.
“It’s real special,” Trout said. “It’s for the fans. It’s a fun time. See some guys that you don’t play with. Now I got a son, he enjoys it too. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Read more: Angels closer Carlos Estévez making case for All-Star selection
Trout, has not played in the game since 2019 because of injuries.
“Yeah, that’s another thing,” Trout said. “It means a lot. Being healthy, that’s the main goal, staying healthy. Now I get to play. Just go out there and be with the guys. It’s for the fans, it’s a fun couple days and I enjoy every bit of it.”
Trout went three for five with a double in the fourth and singles in the seventh and ninth innings Thursday.
He was left stranded the first two times, but his fellow All-Star starter and teammate Shohei Ohtani brought them both in on a home run in the ninth. The 14 home runs Ohtani has hit in June is a franchise record for a month.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it,” Trout said of Ohtani’s month. “We’re witnessing something we’ll never see again. I’m getting front row seats on deck, watching him. It’s pretty special.”
Ohtani was voted into the All-Star Game at designated hitter for a third straight time, with his odds of being named an All-Star as a starting pitcher looking favorable again.
Does Angels manager Phil Nevin want Ohtani to pitch in the game, given how much more he has pitched this year?
“That's up to him. I mean, just as I said with the WBC, it's a special moment," Nevin said. "If it's something that he wants to do, I'm not gonna tell him no. You only get so many of these.”
Nevin also offered his opinion on the home run derby.
“I think [Ohtani’s] already said no to the derby, I don't know if he has or not,” Nevin said. “That would be one that I feel like takes a lot out of guys. The way the format's run isn't going to be a very popular thing with the league, but it's fun to watch and all that, but just seeing a lot of guys not bounce back from that very well.
“So whether he does or not, I mean full support of him. I know he's gonna be fine and take care of his body. It's just, those are some of the things that make me nervous.”
On Tuesday, Ohtani was asked whether he planned to participate in the derby this year. He said he had not thought that far ahead.
Meanwhile, Trout, who has never participated in the derby, declared once again that he would not be in it this year. Though, he did entertain the idea just a little as something he would consider in a future year if his son, Beckham, ever asked him to.
Thursday wasn’t Trout’s only home run robbery in June.
On June 7, Trout barely looked like he exhausted any energy when he took a home run away from Ian Happ when the Chicago Cubs were in town. He raised his arm, arching his gloved hand over the top of the center-field wall, jumping up only slightly to catch Happ’s ball.
This season, Trout has batted .260 with an .858 on-base-plus-slugging rate. He has 14 doubles, one triple, 42 RBIs and has the second-most home runs (17) on the Angels — Ohtani leads MLB with 29. It’s a bit of a dip in offense, compared to previous seasons, but both he and Nevin think he’s getting close to hitting like he has in the past.
Read more: Shohei Ohtani hits two homers, strikes out 10 and adds to Angels' samurai tradition
“It’s coming. I feel a lot better this last week,” Trout said. “Just being patient, having good at-bats and things will turn around.”
Trout also helped the Angels win in walk-off fashion against the White Sox on Monday, scoring from third base after Aaron Bummer threw a wild pitch with Mike Moustakas at the plate.
“It's not Mike Trout numbers, if you will, but I still think he’s a … game changer in a lot of different ways,” Nevin said.
Angels split series with White Sox
After the White Sox took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, the Angels responded, tying up the score and pulling ahead between the bottom of the first and second innings on home runs by Mickey Moniak, Moustakas and Hunter Renfroe.
But in the top of the third, the White Sox strung together a series of hits, also capitalizing on two free trips to first on a walk and hit by pitch with Patrick Sandoval on the mound. By the time Sandoval got out of the inning, the White Sox had scored six more runs.
It didn’t improve much for the Angels. The White Sox tacked on two more runs in the ninth.
Sandoval, who pitched five innings, gave up seven earned runs on eight hits and two walks. He struck out eight.
“Very frustrating,” Sandoval said. “Team came out swinging, put up four runs quick. Didn’t do my job today.”
After Ohtani's two-run home run, Brandon Drury struck out to end the game. The Angels and White Sox split their four-game series.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
