Mike Trout home run daily: A 2-run sacrifice fly

Today’s Mike Trout home run daily takes us back to Mike Trout’s rookie season, with the Angels hosting the Mariners in Anaheim.

This was August 10, 2012, with Felix Hernandez on the mound for Seattle. The Angels trailed 5-0 early in this game but chipped away thanks in large part to Trout, who took Hernandez deep with one out in the third inning. That three-run shot was the 21st home run of the season for Trout, and the 26th of his career.

Trout’s home run was his first of eight career home runs against Hernandez.

Usually we show the home run if there is video available, but the most notable play involving Trout in this game was an out. Down 5-3 with the bases loaded in the seventh, Trout hit a ball that Eric Thames tracked down in the right field corner. After crashing to the wall, Thames overthrew the cutoff man at second base, allowing Erick Aybar, who was running the whole time, to score from second base.

Trout was awarded two RBI on the play, to match his then-high five RBI, a total he surpassed twice during the 2019 season.

Mariners manager Eric Wedge did his best to explain the play after the game, per the Associated Press:

“On that play right there, you know that all three runners are going to tag up, and the guy at third base is definitely going to score,” Seattle manager Eric Wedge said. “The guy at second base is definitely going to get to third base, so what you have to do is control the baseball and make sure the guy at second doesn’t come all the way around. So Eric needed to hit the cutoff man, but what he ended up doing was (throwing over) him.”

That two-run sacrifice fly tied the game, then in the ninth with Trout in the on-deck circle, Maicer Izturis walked with the bases loaded for a walk-off win for the Angels.