TEMPE -- Angels superstar center fielder Mike Trout hit his first homer of the spring on Sunday, and just two pitches later, first baseman Albert Pujols joined him with his first shot in Cactus League play, giving the Angels back-to-back homers off A’s right-hander Marco Estrada in the third inning. Los Angeles won the game, 4-1.
After a Kole Calhoun double, Trout ripped a 3-2 pitch from Estrada to left-center field for a two-run shot to give the Angels a 2-0 lead. As of that home run, Trout is hitting 3-for-11 with a double, a homer and two RBIs in five games this spring. It was his 23rd career homer in 156 Spring Training games.
"I feel good, seeing the ball really good, putting good swings on the ball," Trout said. "My first at-bat about three games ago, I was getting jammed on a line. Made an adjustment, felt good since then."
Pujols swung and missed at the first pitch from Estrada, but then he smacked a solo homer to left field to make it a 3-0 lead for the Angels. It was the second hit of the day for Pujols, who finished 3-for-3 and is 5-for-9 on the spring. Pujols has 47 homers in 257 career Spring Training games.
"It feels good to once in a while get a good result with the things you're working on in Spring Training," Pujols said. "I'm right where I want to be. You don't want to peak too soon. You hear guys saying that. There are a lot of swings and at-bats I need before I'm near ready to go."
“The pitch to Trout was actually where I wanted it,” Estrada said. “He’s a good hitter. Then I missed the one to Pujols, which I wasn’t too happy about, but overall I thought it went pretty well.”