Mike Trout home run daily: The first 2-homer game

Hello again from the Mike Trout home run daily, where we remember every home run of Mike Trout’s career, one game at a time. We use a random number generator to select each game, and today we landed during the time of Baby Trout.

It was August 30, 2011, and the Angels were in Seattle, and Trout was a little over three weeks removed from his 20th birthday. This was his 21st major league game.

Trout hadn’t yet taken over center field. He struggled in that first year, hitting just .230/.284/.426 in his first 20 games, and was sent back down to the minors at the end of July for a spell before returning. Trout started in left field in this one, and batted seventh.

Anthony Vasquez allowed a solo shot to Trout in the second inning, giving the Halos a 1-0 lead. The score was the same in the fourth inning with Mark Trumbo on first and Torii Hunter on second, when Trout homered again.

Both home runs were hit to left field, and are the first two home runs shown on this video:

This was Trout’s first career two-homer game, giving him five career home runs to date. He also walked with the bases loaded in the fifth, giving him five RBI, a career best that would be matched six times before Trout finally surpassed it in 2019 with both a six-RBI and seven-RBI game.

These two home runs remain Trout’s career high, something he’s done 18 times in his career. This was the first, and it’s no surprise it came against the Mariners. Trout has a .641 slugging percentage and 41 career home runs against the Mariners, his most against any team. And his 24 home runs at Safeco Field are his most in any ballpark outside of Anaheim.