Terry Collins considered intentionally walking Mike Trout with the bases loaded on Saturday

The Mets escaped with a 7-5 victory over the Angels on Saturday. The Angels scored three times in the top of the ninth to cut the deficit from five to two runs. Reigning AL MVP Mike Trout even came to the plate with the bases loaded and a chance to tie the game or give his team the lead with a grand slam. Fortunately for the Mets, Addison Reed was able to limit Trout to a sacrifice fly.

Mets manager Terry Collins told the media after the game he briefly considered intentionally walking Trout with the bases loaded. Via Newsday’s Anthony Rieber:

The first thought is, ‘I’d rather almost walk this guy than give him a pitch to hit.’ Fortunately, Addy made some good pitches on him. That’s the kind of situation where you look back on the time when Buck Showalter walked [Barry] Bonds with the bases loaded rather than pitch to him and I had . . . the same feeling.

Indeed, the Diamondbacks intentionally walked Barry Bonds with the bases loaded in 1998.

On Sunday, Trout showed the Mets why they should fear him. He hit a two-run home run in the second inning and an RBI double in the third, helping the Angels jump out to a 9-0 lead. Entering Sunday’s action, Trout was hitting .343/.456/.730 with 13 home runs, 31 RBI, 29 runs scored, and eight stolen bases. FanGraphs once again lists him as the major league leader in Wins Above Replacement (2.9) just past the first-quarter mark of the season.

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