DENVER — Mike Trout swung the bat and watched the baseball sail into the night, taking with it much of the frustration that had been building inside of him for more than a month.
The Angels superstar slugged the 400th homer of his career, punctuating a 3-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday night.
It had been nine days since Trout hit No. 399, and six weeks since he hit No. 398. Between those two homers, he endured the longest drought of his career, spanning 28 games.
The milestone came in the eighth inning, on a 3-and-1 sinker from right-hander Jaden Hill. The ball sailed into the seats in straightaway center field. It traveled 485 feet, his longest homer of the season and the third longest of his career.
It was certainly a relief for the rest of the team, too, because the blast provided an insurance run to help the Angels (70-85) snap their eight-game losing streak. It was the Angels’ longest losing streak in three years.
Trout, 34, became the 59th player in major league history to reach the 400-homer milestone. Trout is the third player to hit No. 400 while wearing an Angels’ uniform, joining Dave Winfield (in 1991) and Vladimir Guerrero (2009).
The blast came with just over a week left in what has been a trying season for Trout. Although he’s played more games (124) than in any season since 2019, his numbers have not been up to his standard. He’s hitting .229 with a .772 OPS. He has 22 homers this season.
His milestone on Saturday stole the spotlight from right-hander Kyle Hendricks, who pitched seven innings to get the victory in his 300th career start.
Hendricks now has a 2.74 ERA in seven career starts at Coors Field, which is the most hitter-friendly environment in the majors.
Hendricks struck out five and didn’t walk any, scattering just three singles. He mostly kept the ball on the ground, and the infield defense took care of the rest.
Second baseman Christian Moore made a sensational backhand stop up the middle. Third baseman Yoán Moncada made the only error, and Hendricks responded by easily retiring the next three, who happened to be the top three in the Rockies order.
Hendricks was coming off one of the worst outings of his career, a game in which he allowed nine runs in 3⅓ innings in Seattle. That game came just after his best start of the season, seven scoreless innings against the Minnesota Twins.
Hendricks needed to be good because the Angels didn’t produce much either.
They hit three solo homers, with Taylor Ward (No. 34) and Nolan Schanuel (No. 11) connecting before Trout.
More to come on this story.
