Mike Trout reaches three times in defeat

Trout went 7-for-15 in a four-game series with the Rangers earlier this month. Since then and entering play Saturday, he was mired in a 3-for-26 (.115) slump with no home runs and no RBI over his last seven games. Trout broke out of it with two hits including an RBI single in the first inning. He’s hitting .239 with an .813 OPS and 46 RBI this year.

Trout has raised his average 10 points with six singles the last two nights. It’s the first time since 2018 that he’s had back-to-back three-hit games and the second time ever that he’s had back-to-back games with three singles; the only other time that happened was as a rookie on June 8-9, 2012.

All three hits for Trout were singles up the middle. The future Hall of Famer has now driven in 44 runs, which says more about the hitters that bat behind Trout than anything else. It’s his first multi-hit game in August, and hopefully for fantasy managers/people who like watching historic baseball players succeed, not the last.

Trout’s home run was his 20th of the season. He hit a solo shot off MacKenzie Gore in the first inning. Trout has two home runs in his last four games. Maybe he’ll continue to pop home runs down the stretch of the season, but with his average at .237 with 42 RBI and eight steals, it’s fair to question Trout’s fantasy profile at this point in his career.

Trout got off to a strong start, but March and April have been his best months by far. Things have only slipped further in August, with his strikeout rate well north of 40 percent in a small sample. Worse, the Angels’ lineup doesn’t surround him with much help, limiting his opportunities for counting stats. He has 19 homers this season but only 41 RBI. He stole five bases through April but has just three since. Trout is talented enough to go on a heater down the stretch, but serious environmental concerns cap his upside.

It was quite the unusual day for Trout, who didn’t have anything close to a hard-hit ball. His exit velocities on a liner, a grounder and two shallow flies were 82, 64, 78 and 73 mph, but that was good enough for his first four-hit game since Apr. 26, 2021, when he went 4-for-5 against the Rangers. He last went 4-for-4 on Aug. 15, 2019 against the White Sox. The performance raised his average from .237 to .247, which is the highest he’s been since mid-May.

The lineup: CF Trout, DH Yordan Alvarez, C Shea Langeliers, 3B Junior Caminero, SS Bobby Witt Jr., RF Cody Bellinger, 1B Ben Rice, LF Riley Greene and 2B Ernie Clement. Langeliers’ placement is odd, given that he’s hitting .186/.261/.362 since May 15, but then he did go 6-for-12 with three homers in his one series against the Blue Jays this year. That’s probably what manager John Schneider remembers.

Trout has gone 1-for-9 with a home run and three RBI in a pair of games since returning from the injured list earlier this week. He sat out Friday’s series opener in Minnesota. The 34-year-old generational talent will make an appearance in next week’s All-Star Game in his hometown of Philadelphia, which is a fun storyline heading into the Midsummer Classic. It’s his first appearance in the game itself since 2019.

Trout started each of the first two games since returning from the injured list on Wednesday, so the Angels will give him a breather on Friday night as they ease him back into a full-time workload. Expect him to start the remaining two games over the weekend. Josh Lowe will slide over and cover center field on Friday night while Wade Meckler starts in left field and will bat eighth against Twins’ right-hander Zebby Matthews.

Trout returns to Los Angeles’ lineup at DH and hitting second against the division-rival Rangers on Wednesday night following a three-week absence recovering from a right hamstring strain. The 34-year-old generational talent has delivered 17 homers and seven steals in 74 games this season. The most exciting development here is that Trout will be ready for next week’s Midsummer Classic in his hometown of Philadelphia. It’s his 12th career All-Star selection and first appearance in the actual contest itself since 2019.