Mike Trout home run daily: Breaking out against Texas

Mike Trout has done quite well against the Rangers in his career. His 36 home runs in 150 games against Texas are his second-most against any team, and his 1.086 OPS against them is his second-best against an American League team.

But for some reason, in 2014 Trout had a tough time against the Rangers, especially at home. Except for one game: September 20, 2014.

This Saturday night affair was the middle game of a three-game series, and three days after the Angels clinched their first division title in five years. Trout walked and scored against Colby Lewis in the first inning, then in the third inning took him deep to center field for a two-run shot.

Scroll to 9:25 of this video to watch:

It was the 35th home run of the season for Trout, and his 97th career homer. Against Lewis in his career, Trout hit .351/.422/.811 with four home runs in 45 plate appearances.

Trout wasn’t done in this game. He tripled and scored in the fifth inning, one of eight runs allowed by the Rangers starter.

In 2014 against the Rangers at home, Trout hit only .207/.351/.379 in nine games. It was much worse without this game, as the home run and triple were his only home extra-base hits against the Rangers that year. He scored three of his five runs against the Rangers at home in this game, and drove in two of his three runs on this night.