Mike Trout home run daily: The birthday boy

Welcome back to the Mike Trout home run daily, where we relive every single home run of Mike Trout’s career, one game at a time. Today’s random number generator lands us in 2013 against the Rangers.

August 7, 2013 was the final game of of a midweek, three-game series in Anaheim, and what was notable was that the night before Trout homered against the Rangers.

Now, a Trout home run is never really a surprise, nor is one for Trout against the Rangers. But the bulk of his damage against the Rangers, especially to date in his career, came in Arlington. Before this series, Trout was hitting .368/.488/.721 in 18 games in Texas, with six of his seven home runs against the Rangers hit on the road.

But after a home run on Aug. 6, Trout followed the next night with a two-run shot in the first inning against Alexi Ogando.

This was the 20th home run of the season for Trout, and his 169th career home run. He added a single in the fifth inning, but the Angels lost 10-3.

August 7 is also Trout’s birthday, and this home run is not alone. Trout has played seven times on his birthday, and he’s homered four times — 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2017. He didn’t play on his birthday in 2018 or 2019, but look out if MLB has designs on returning for 2020, make sure the Angels play on August 7.