Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels (Getty)
The Los Angeles Angels strike fear into opponents’ hearts with both Mike Trout and Cody Allen on their roster.
If one messes up, say Allen throws a bad pitch, Trout can easily nab the ball. Or if Trout drops a ball or strikes out — as unlikely as that is — Allen is there to hold the game close. But with Trout going 11-for-30 with 5 home runs to start the season and Allen having four saves and being close to perfect, the two haven’t made many mistakes so far.
On Monday, Trout hoped to extend a four-game homer streak to five against the Milwaukee Brewers. However, he went down swinging once and was hitless in two at-bats. That doesn’t mean he was a non-factor. He reached base twice and also robbed reigning NL MVP Christian Yelich of a solo shot to centerfield. Here’s the video of the moment:
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With a 5-2 lead, in the bottom of the ninth, the Angels turned to Allen to lock up a win. Though Jesus Aguilar and Yasmani Grandal both hit the ball hard, they hit it right to the fielders. Through four appearances, each an inning long, Allen has yet to give up either a hit or a run.
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However, some are concerned with a decrease in Allen’s fastball velocity. In his first season with the Angels, his fastball has dropped down to 91-92, lower than the speeds he hit while anchoring the Cleveland Indians bullpen. The closer has become increasingly reliant on his knuckle-curve and been successful but if batters can start to tee up on his four-seam, he won’t be able to set up his off-speed.
Regardless, even without Trout’s offensive assistance, the Angels won 5-2 over Milwaukee for their fourth win in a row. They’ll hope to keep that streak alive in the days to come.
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