MIAMI -- The last time Mike Trout played baseball at loanDepot park, the ball didn¡¯t go his way.
That was last March, when he was struck out by then-Angels teammate Shohei Ohtani for the final out of the 2023 World Baseball Classic, handing Team Japan the victory.
But that¡¯s no longer one of the biggest stories from his time playing in Miami. Now, he has his spot in the ballpark¡¯s history not as one of the most memorable strikeouts, but as one of the longest home runs.
Right after hometown kid Nolan Schanuel cracked a solo homer to pull the Angels within one run in the sixth inning of Los Angeles¡¯ 7-4 series-opening win on Monday night, Trout stepped to the plate. He had already gone yard in his previous at-bat, a solo blast in the fourth inning, after striking out his first time up.
This time, though, he didn¡¯t just hit a routine home run to left field.
This time, he truly went yard. Trout¡¯s third homer of the season was a no-doubter, as many of his homers are. It soared through the air, nearly clearing the open windows in left-center field as it traveled a Statcast-projected 473 feet.
¡°That's probably one of the better balls I've hit, just like barreled it, and [have] actually seen it go out instead of [having to] run around the bases,¡± Trout said. ¡°So, it felt pretty good. Just trying to -- like I said, I've been telling you this for a couple weeks now -- just trying to get back to myself, and today I kind of got back to that.¡±
With that homer, Trout surpassed Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for the longest home run of this short season and joined the likes of Giancarlo Stanton and Avisa¨ªl Garc¨ªa with the fifth-longest of the ballpark¡¯s history since Statcast started tracking in 2015. (Stanton hit three homers between 475 and 479 feet, and Garc¨ªa hit a 485-footer in 2019.)
Trout¡¯s jack -- both homers, honestly -- helped clear the slate for Los Angeles and starting pitcher Chase Silseth, who got into trouble with a four-run (three earned) first inning which put the Angels in an early hole. Trout¡¯s 26th career multi-homer game came at the perfect time, when the Angels were looking to avoid losing to a Miami team that entered the series 0-4. It also propelled him into sole possession of 81st place in all-time AL/NL home runs (371), surpassing Gil Hodges (370).
¡°What a night,¡± manager Ron Washington said. ¡°That was very impressive. Very impressive. I don't know where he ¡®lost¡¯ anything, you know? He's healthy, and those two balls he hit -- he put a charge on them. And that one at-bat [in the eighth] when he ended up walking, that was excellent too. He had a tremendous night, and we certainly needed that.¡±
While power gave the Angels a fighting chance, it was finesse (or, the Marlins¡¯ lack thereof) that pushed Los Angeles ahead. Three straight walks to the top of the order in the eighth set the table for Taylor Ward, who hit a routine grounder to Luis Arraez at second base. But Arraez fumbled the ball on the transfer and a run scored. Another run crossed the plate in the ninth after Logan O¡¯Hoppe and Jo Adell -- who each entered as pinch-hitters in the seventh -- tripled and singled, respectively.
¡°The guys never gave up,¡± Washington said. ¡°They were in the dugout, cheering, [along the lines of] ¡®Let's just break into that lead and hold 'em right there.¡¯ Our bullpen did an excellent job of getting us where they got us until we were able to put something together.
¡°We did what the game asked us to do. But again, the things that [were] done out there that gave us a chance to win was done by our bullpen. They came in and they actually pitched very, very well. Each and every one of them.¡±
The Angels¡¯ bullpen has been -- for Washington at least -- the overarching story in both of Los Angeles¡¯ wins thus far, providing impressive resistance against first an Orioles, then a Marlins lineup stacked with talented hitters.
But on Monday night, it was Trout who stole the show. If only he had stolen a base, too. Maybe next game, if we¡¯re lucky. He only has six over his past four seasons, after all.