Mike Trout home run daily: Battering Yusei Kikuchi

Our latest entry in the Mike Trout home run daily is from 2019, when Trout was central to an Angels rout of the Mariners.

On June 8, 2019, the Angels hosted Seattle in the middle game of a three-game series, Trout’s third game facing new Mariners pitcher Yusei Kikuchi. Trout was 2-for-4 with a double and two walks in the first two games, and walked early in this game.

In the fourth inning, Trout hit the second of three straight home runs off Kikuchi, sandwiched in between shots by Tommy La Stella and Shohei Ohtani. The home runs came in a span of four pitches. Trout’s homer landed in the back of the Angels bullpen.

Kikuchi allowed seven runs while recording only 10 outs in this game, part of a trend that lasted all year. The Mariners right-hander had a rough first season after coming over from Japan, with a 5.46 ERA. But if you remove his five putrid starts against the Angels — 27 runs allowed in 20⅔ innings — Kikuchi’s ERA against the rest of the league was a more respectable 4.60.

Trout was 3-for-9 with a home run, a double, and four walks against Kikuchi last year, hitting .333/.538/.778.

Trout was hit by a pitch in his next time up, in the fifth, then scored on a double by Ohtani. Trout added a triple in the seventh to complete his day. This was the 11th time Trout homered and tripled in the same game, something he’s done at least once each year since 2012.

The home run by Trout was his 17th of the season, and came near the end of a hot stretch that would see him reach base in 15 straight games, during which he hit seven home runs, scored 16 times, and drove in 15 runs. This was the 257th home run of Trout’s career.

The Angels won 12-3.

Up next: Trout’s first home run of 2019