Mike Trout racks up 5 hits with 17th HR

NEW YORK -- Michael Trout managed to eclipse even his own lofty standards on Saturday night, launching a go-ahead home run as part of a career-high five-hit game to help the Angels roll to an 11-4 rout of the Yankees at Yankee Stadium.
Trout hammered a two-run shot off Yankees right-hander Sonny Gray to give the Angels a 5-4 lead in the fourth inning, collecting his third home run in as many games. His 17 home runs are now tied with the Red Sox's Mookie Betts for the most in the Majors. Trout, who drove in four runs, added three doubles and an infield single to finish with four extra-base hits and 11 total bases, both of which are career bests.
"He had a night that was incredible," manager Mike Scioscia said. "He's certainly capable of doing what we saw out there tonight, and it was big for us. Gave us a big lift, and we needed it. In this park, you've got to keep scoring, and we did."
Trout wasn't the only Angel who enjoyed a productive day at the plate, as the club pounded out 11 hits and drew seven walks to score 10 unanswered runs and erase an early 4-1 deficit. Rookie catcher Jose Briceno went 2-for-4 with a home run in his MLB debut, while Zack Cozart finished 2-for-5 with three runs scored.

With the win, the Angels improved to 29-23 and snapped a four-game losing streak against the Yankees this season. It was also a milestone night for Scioscia, who picked up his 1,599th managerial win to tie mentor Tommy Lasorda for 20th on the all-time list.
"I think it's not really a personal accomplishment," Scioscia said. "It reflects on the whole organization. I've been here for a long time, and I'm just one small part of this. I don't belong in the same sentence with Tommy as far as what he did for the Dodgers' organization. What he did was incredible. I feel good for the Angels because our organization is taking steps in the right direction and I've been fortunate to be a part of it."
Trout was locked in from the beginning, ripping an RBI double off the left-field wall to put the Angels on the board in the first inning. Trout's line drive had an exit velocity off 109 mph and netted him his 600th career RBI.

Brett Gardner and Aaron Judge led off the bottom of the first with back-to-back home runs off rookie Jaime Barria, who was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake before the game to make his sixth start of the season. Austin Romine then homered off the right-field foul pole in the second to extend the Yankees' advantage to 4-1.
Barria settled in after that, navigating through five innings for the Angels and coming away with his fourth win. He allowed four runs on six hits before giving way to the Angels' bullpen, which combined to throw four scoreless innings.
"I went out to compete like I always do, but I can't leave pitches down the middle," Barria said in Spanish. "I paid for it with the home runs. I made the adjustments in the third inning, and thankfully, it worked out."

The Angels nicked Gray for two runs in the third before Trout put them ahead for good with his two-run homer in the fourth. He pounced on a slider in the lower third of the strike zone from Gray, launching it a Statcast™-projected 419 feet to left-center field for a two-run shot that gave the Angels a 5-4 lead.
"I was just getting pitches where I like it, and I wasn't missing them," Trout said. "It's always a battle with Sonny Gray, being with Oakland for a few years and seeing him a lot. It's a battle every time when we face each other. It's a fun competition."

Jose Pujols' two-run single highlighted a four-run sixth that broke the game open, and the Angels added two more runs in the seventh on Briceno's first career home run to cap their big night at the plate.
"I can't believe it," said Briceno, who grew up rooting for the Yankees in Venezuela. "I don't have words to explain how I'm feeling. To me, that was a blessing to be here on this team. I just feel really proud."
UPTON EXITS
Angels left fielder Justin Upton exited the game with a left forearm contusion after being hit by a pitch in the fourth, though X-rays came back negative. Upton said he thinks he might miss one game to let the swelling goes down. Upton also sat out one game after being hit on the left hand last week.

HE SAID IT
"He's an unbelievable player and I think he showed that tonight. He put some good swings on the ball and in the fourth, he hit that homer. That was ultimately the icing on the cake for me." -- Gray, on Trout

UP NEXT
Angels right-hander Garrett Richards (4-3, 3.31 ERA) will celebrate his 30th birthday by facing the Yankees in Sunday's series finale at 10:05 a.m. PT. The Yankees will counter with right-hander Masahiro Tanaka (5-2, 4.95). Richards is 0-4 with an 8.10 ERA in six career appearances (five starts) against the Yankees. Ohtani had initially been expected to pitch, but the Angels decided to push his start back for "workload management." Ohtani, who started at DH in the first two games of this series, will likely get the chance to hit against Tanaka. Ohtani last faced Tanaka in 2013, when he went 0-for-11 with six strikeouts, a walk and a hit-by-pitch as a 19-year-old rookie in Japan.