Mike Trout out 6-8 weeks with right calf strain

Los Angeles Angels superstar outfielder Mike Trout will miss six to eight weeks with a right calf strain, the team announced on Tuesday.

Trout suffered the injury running the bases in Monday’s home game against Cleveland, and left the game in the second inning.

“When I put my head down, I thought I got hit by the ball. I thought I got hit by a line drive,” Trout said Tuesday. “Then I got to the bag and said, ‘Man, something’s not right,’ and then, yeah, I felt a pop.”

Trout is currently walking on crutches.

The Angels on Tuesday placed Trout on the injured list, and brought up pitcher Jose Quijada, needing coverage with seven games in six days though Sunday.

It’s a devastating blow to lose the best player in baseball for any stretch of time, as Trout is hitting .333/.466/.624 with eight home runs, leading the American League in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, and OPS+ (200).

“Obviously you never want to hear that about any of your players, especially a player the caliber of Michael. The way I’m looking at this is that other guys are going to get an opportunity to help us ascend to the race properly,” manager Joe Maddon said. “[Trout] will be one of the best August 1 acquisitions in history.”

The timing is especially bad for an Angels team that has lost 10 of its last 15 games. They just got back third baseman Anthony Rendon, who in two separate injured list stints has missed 20 of the Angels’ 40 games this season.

The Angels offense in May is hitting .233/.305/.387 and averaging just 4.06 runs per game, with a 95 wRC+ that ranks 20th in the majors, after an April that saw them score 4.79 runs per game while hitting .262/.316/.428 with a 109 wRC+.