CHICAGO -- A couple of walks, a couple of strikeouts, one popup and a trio of routine grounders. Another night went by without much production from Mike Trout and Albert Pujols on Tuesday, resulting in the Angels being shut out for the second time in this young season.
Twenty-four hours after using an exhilarating five-run first inning to storm past the White Sox, the Angels went down meekly against Mat Latos and a couple of relievers in a 5-0 loss that pushed them a couple of games below .500.
The Angels are waiting for their offense to provide consistent production, but that can't happen until their two best hitters, Trout and Pujols, get going. After combining to go 0-for-6 on Tuesday, the two stars are batting a collective .194, mustering only 20 hits in 103 at-bats.
"I know what I'm doing wrong," Trout said, "and I'm sure he knows how he's feeling up there."
Pujols has homered twice and has driven in a team-leading 10 runs, but his slash line is a mere .170/.254/.302. The 36-year-old deflected a question about whether adjusting to life as a frequent designated hitter has affected him and said he feels like his timing is just fine, regardless of the results.
Then he noted the calendar.
"We just started, dude," Pujols said. "It's a long season."
Trout, who usually wastes no time scorching American League pitching, is batting .220/.333/.340, adding a home run and a team-leading nine walks, but also striking out 16 times.
"I know what I'm doing wrong," Trout said. "Last couple of games, I created a bad habit. I'm just jumping forward. My head's moving. When the pitch is coming, it's not letting me recognize the pitch. I just have to stay back, trust my hands. We're working on it."
Trout's issue, which stems from getting his front foot down late and lengthening his stride, is the same one that usually crops up in the rare instances when he's struggling. He can identify it on video and implement an adjustment during batting practice, but then the games start, the adrenaline kicks in and the old habits creep in.
For now, at least.
Trout will eventually get hot, and Pujols will, too.
Until then, this offense can't really get going.
"Just our whole offense, only a couple of guys are swinging the bat well," Pujols said. "Besides that, nobody else. Sometimes that's contagious. Sometimes when the team's swinging the bat well, it grows, you know? When it happens, heads up."