Mike Trout home run daily: First time facing Yu Darvish

Today’s journey on the Mike Trout home run daily takes us back to one of his earliest homers. This came on May 11, 2012 against the Rangers in Arlington.

This was just the seventh home run of the season for Trout, and two weeks into his final promotion from the minors. Trout’s shot was hit in the third inning against Yu Darvish, and brought home catcher Bobby Wilson, who walked.

Trout wasn’t TROUT just yet, so his home run barely registered as newsworthy at the time. But one of that day’s stories was how Trout displaced Peter Bourjos in the starting lineup. From Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times:

“It will all work out one way or another,” said Bourjos, who is batting .192 with a .259 on-base percentage. “I think I’m too good of a player for it not to. When you’re not winning games, things have to change. I got off to a slow start, so they went in another direction.”

The Angels seem committed to giving an extended look to Trout, who plays center field and left field. And they have opted to play left fielder Vernon Wells, who began Wednesday’s game with a .240 average, four home runs and eight runs batted in, far more than Bourjos.

Unfortunately for the Angels, Trout’s home run only brought them to within 7-2. The Rangers won this one, 10-3, which made it the first time Trout ever homered in a loss.

Trout in his career has homered in 267 regular season games, two All-Star Games, and one postseason game. His team (usually the Angels, sometimes the American League All-Stars) won 170 times and lost 100, for a .630 win percentage. In all other games, Trout’s teams have a .485 winning percentage.

Hitting home runs are beneficial. Film at 11.