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Mike Trout had a wonderful game on Monday night to beat the A’s. The superstar outfielder hit two home runs, including the game-winner in the eighth inning, capping a comeback in a game the Angels once trailed by five runs.
Trout now has 20 career multi-homer games, tied with Tim Salmon and Vladimir Guerrero for most in Angels history. Trout is also only eight home runs away from passing Salmon for the all-time Angels home run list, another page of the franchise record book that will one day belong almost exclusively to Trout.
Monday was the second two-homer game for Trout in the last week. Since returning from paternity leave after the birth of his son, Trout has six home runs in seven games. Dad strength, indeed.
In addition to the two home runs Monday, Trout also singled and scored in both the first and third innings. His two-run shot in the fourth inning started the Angels’ comeback from down 9-4. It was one of the best games of Trout’s glorious career.
By Win Probability Added, with Baseball-Reference defines as “the change in probability caused by this batter during the game.” Here are Trout’s five at-bats last night:
- 1st inning: single, 2 percent WPA
- 3rd inning: single, 4 percent WPA
- 4th inning: 2-run home run, 9 percent WPA
- 6th inning: strikeout, -4 percent WPA
- 8th inning: tiebreaking home run, 28 percent WPA
Those numbers are rounded. Trout’s WPA for the game was .402, meaning he added 40.2 percent to the Angels’ chances of winning the game, which makes sense given how late his home run was and how it swung the outcome.
That’s the 11th-highest WPA of Trout’s career. His highest-ever WPA was .763, on May 15, 2014 against the Rays, when the Angels were down 5-3 in the ninth inning and Trout hit a walk-off, three-run home run.
Of his 20 two-homer games, Monday night had the second-highest WPA of Trout’s career. By comparison, Trout’s two home runs in last Wednesday’s loss to the Mariners had a .187 WPA.
Mike Trout games with 2 home runs
| Date | Opponent | Box score | Outcome | 1st HR | 2nd HR | WPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Opponent | Box score | Outcome | 1st HR | 2nd HR | WPA |
| 4/17/15 | Astros | 2-4, 2 R, 5 RBI | W | 6th (1-1), 2-run HR | 8th (3-3), 3-run HR | 0.469 |
| 8/10/20 | A's | 4-5, 4 R, 3 RBI | W | 4th (4-9), 2-run HR | 8th (9-9), solo HR | 0.402 |
| 9/17/15 | Twins | 2-3, 3 R, 5 RBI | W | 2nd (2-5), grand slam | 4th (8-6), solo HR | 0.396 |
| 7/10/15 | Mariners | 3-5, 2 R, 4 RBI | W | 3rd (0-1), 3-run HR | 7th (6-1), solo HR | 0.385 |
| 6/17/14 | Indians | 3-5, 2 R, 4 RBI | W | 5th (2-2), 3-run HR | 7th (6-2), solo HR | 0.341 |
| 8/30/11 | Mariners | 2-4, 3 R, 5 RBI | W | 2nd (0-0), solo HR | 4th (1-0), 3-run HR | 0.340 |
| 6/19/19 | Blue Jays | 3-6, 2 R, 7 RBI | W | 2nd (1-0), 2-run HR | 4th (3-3), grand slam | 0.300 |
| 9/8/18 | White Sox | 5-5, 3 R, 5 RBI | W | 1st (0-0), 2-run HR | 3rd (3-1), 3-run HR | 0.298 |
| 6/12/18 | Mariners | 3-5, 2 R, 3 RBI | L | 5th (0-1), solo HR | 7th (1-3), 2-run HR | 0.297 |
| 9/13/14 | Astros | 3-3, 3 R, 2 RBI | W | 1st (0-0), solo HR | 3rd (1-1), solo HR | 0.291 |
| 7/8/15 | Rockies | 2-3, 2 R, 2 RBI | W | 1st (0-0), solo HR | 6th (1-2), solo HR | 0.281 |
| 7/26/15 | Rangers | 4-4, 3 R, 5 RBI | W | 1st (0-0), solo HR | 6th (4-2), grand slam | 0.259 |
| 7/3/19 | Rangers | 2-5, 2 R, 4 RBI | W | 3rd (1-0), 3-run HR | 6th (4-2), solo HR | 0.244 |
| 7/7/19 | Astros | 2-5, 2 R, 4 RBI | L | 6th (7-4), solo HR | 8th (8-8), 2-run HR | 0.224 |
| 8/5/20 | Mariners | 2-4, 2 R, 4 RBI | L | 6th (2-4), 2-run HR | 8th (3-7), 3-run HR | 0.187 |
| 9/29/17 | Mariners | 2-3, 2 R, 2 RBI | W | 1st (0-0), solo HR | 8th (2-5), solo HR | 0.180 |
| 7/25/18 | White Sox | 3-4, 3 R, 4 RBI | W | 1st (0-0), solo HR | 6th (6-2), 3-run HR | 0.175 |
| 6/11/18 | Mariners | 2-3, 2 R, 2 RBI | L | 1st (0-0), solo HR | 8th (2-5), solo HR | 0.175 |
| 8/19/17 | Orioles | 2-5, 2 R, 2 RBI | W | 1st (0-0), solo HR | 3rd (2-1), solo HR | 0.162 |
| 4/5/19 | Rangers | 2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI | W | 6th (1-1), solo HR | 8th (2-1), solo HR | 0.150 |
The only two-homer game with a higher Win Probability Added for Trout came on April 17, 2015 against the Astros, when his two-run homer in the sixth inning broke a tie, as did his three-run shot in the eighth in a 6-3 Angels win. That gave Trout a .469 WPA for the game.
Trout’s game on Monday night was close to that, and one of the best games of his career.