Trout given first day off of '14 with ailing hamstring

ANAHEIM -- Angels center fielder Mike Trout was out of the lineup for the first time this season on Wednesday, a byproduct of some lingering tightness he has been feeling in his left hamstring for a little more than a week.

The move was precautionary, and since the Angels don't play on Thursday, Trout can get two full days off his feet.

"It's not serious," Trout said prior to Wednesday's series finale against the Astros. "I know it's not serious. It's just a little sore."

Trout -- batting .270/.361/.511 with eight home runs and an American League-leading 56 strikeouts -- first experienced the tightness in the first inning in Toronto on May 9, when he pulled up on an eventual Jose Reyes single on the hard turf at Rogers Centre.

The 22-year-old served as the designated hitter two days later, then again on Wednesday, getting pinch-run for in the fifth inning with the Angels sporting a seven-run lead. Trout said he would've stayed in had the score been closer, and he expects to return to the lineup for Friday's series opener against the Royals.

"It feels the same," Trout said. "Actually if I had to tell you anything, it feels better. I guess it's one of those things where I have to be out there playing to know how it's feeling, but it's nothing to worry about. I'm not worried about it."