NEW YORK – Not satisfied after going deep twice in an epic showdown against fellow three-time American League MVP Award winner Aaron Judge on Monday night, Angels superstar Mike Trout opened Tuesday’s game with a one-out solo blast off lefty Ryan Weathers in the first inning.
It marked the third straight at-bat with a homer for Trout and also started a streak of three straight homers for the Angels, as Jo Adell and Jorge Soler each followed with a solo shot to set the tone in a 7-1 win at Yankee Stadium. It was the first time the Angels hit back-to-back-to-back homers since Trout, Brandon Drury and Matt Thaiss accomplished the feat on June 24, 2023, at Colorado.
“It was good,” Trout said. “Last night was just the back and forth, and it obviously didn't come out with what we wanted to with the loss. But we came back and turned the page quick and kept the same rhythm offensively.”
Trout was involved in a back-to-back-to-back home run sequence for the sixth time in his career. That tied Henry Aaron, Adrian Beltre, J.D. Drew and Frank J. Thomas for the most such instances by a player since at least 1900, per the Elias Sports Bureau. It was also the 15th time the club had accomplished the feat.
Trout, an 11-time All-Star, has been heating up at the plate after making a slight mechanical change in his setup. Starting on Friday in Cincinnati, Trout started to step back slightly before starting his swing, much like he did at the end of last year when he finished on a hot streak.
Trout jumped all over a 2-1 fastball from Weathers and crushed it 110.1 mph off the bat. It traveled a projected 432 feet to center field, per Statcast. It was the fifth homer of the year for the 34-year-old.
Trout said he has always slightly stepped back before swinging during batting practice. But he finally implemented it into games late last year before ditching it during Spring Training and bringing it back this week after scuffling a bit at the plate.
“I've been doing that for a while, you guys just haven't really noticed,” Trout said with a smile. “It just keeps me from getting stuck and spinning and being under the ball.”
It was also career homer No. 409 for Trout to tie him with Mark Teixeira for 57th on the all-time list. Coincidentally, when the Angels lost Teixeira via free agency to the Yankees prior to the 2009 season, they received a compensatory Draft pick they used to select Trout in the '09 Draft.
Adell followed with his second homer of the season. It also wasn't a cheapie, as it had an exit velocity of 110.5 mph and went a Statcast-projected 445 feet.
Soler made it three in a row with his fifth homer of the season, smacking it 104 mph off the bat and traveling a Statcast-projected 399 feet to give the Angels an early three-run cushion.
"To go out there and have it all happen in four pitches, it's pretty tough,” Weathers said. “It's obviously not a good idea to misfire a heater down the middle to one of the best hitters that ever played this game."
Trout went 1-for-5, including striking out in a 12-pitch at-bat in the second and lining out sharply to left (103.1 mph) with the bases loaded to end the sixth. He’s now slashing .222/.388/.508 with five homers, three doubles, two stolen bases and 13 RBIs in 17 games this season. His OPS was .693 after Friday's game but is now up to a much more respectable .896.
“Honestly he’s swinging the bat the same that he has been, but now he's getting it to go far,” manager Kurt Suzuki said. “But great at-bats, too. Even the one he struck out on was 12 pitches.”
Trout’s early homer set the stage for a strong overall showing for the Angels. Lefty Reid Detmers struck out nine with no walks over seven-plus strong innings, Yoán Moncada went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs and Oswald Peraza went 3-for-3 with a solo shot and a 12-pitch walk against his former team.
Detmers said the early three-run cushion helped give him breathing room. He has enjoyed watching Trout put on a show the past two nights.
“He's Mike Trout for a reason,” Detmers said. “He's fun to watch. Just watching him and Judge go against each other.”