Mike Trout (leading the AL in WAR, batting average, stolen bases, wOBA, wRC+, adoring fanboys, and glowing adjectives) led off the game with a single to left field and Torii Hunter followed with a walk. Albert Pujols boosted his BABIP with a seeing-eye single through the left side of the infield in to knock in Trout; off the bat, it looked like a weak grounder that third basemen Miguel Cabrera would convert into an easy double play. Nope. As I wrote Monday, Detroit’s lack of infield range has hurt them often this year, and Pujols’ single is a direct example. Mark Trumbo exacerbated the problem, launching a 3-run home run to left field,* giving the Angels a 4-0 lead before Turner recorded an out.
* Baseball mythology states that when a batter participates in the Home Run Derby, they fall into slumps when the second half starts. Trumbo now has 4 home runs in 5 post-All Star Break games, so he’s doing his best to debunk the myth.
In the top of the 2nd inning, superstar catcher Bobby Wilson worked a walk off Turner. Trout followed with a 442-foot bomb…to right center. Two batters later, Pujols added a solo blast to make the score 7-0 Angels. Since Ervin Santana wasn’t pitching, this meant the game was safe and the Angels would cruise the rest of the way.
Of all the amazing things Trout has done since late April, the aspect of his game I’ve been most impressed with is his power. When in the minors, many reports I read suggested Trout would eventually develop 25-HR power as he hung around the big leagues. Well, in only 69 games, Trout already has 13**; you may have also heard he’s 20. Trout already looks like a 25-homer player. When you factor in that above average power with his numerous elite tools, you have a player that has no weaknesses. It’s still way too early in Trout’s development to determine if his early power surge is a fluke or not, but it’s still exciting to see Trout already improving upon his only “weakness.”
** He only trails Pujols by 3 homers this year, which is simultaneously awesome and depressing.
In 6th inning, Alberto Callaspo tacked on a 3-run homer, bumping the score to 11-0 Angels. Morales, batting from the right side, continued the troll-job in the 8th with a solo shot to right field, making it 12-0.
Richards was effective considering the offense gave him 12 runs. He walked 4 batters and hit another, and that will come back to bite him eventually. But last night, he worked 7 scoreless innings, allowing only 3 hits, striking out 2, and recording an impressive 14 groundouts. As long as Richards induces groundballs at a high rate, he will get away with low K/9 numbers and erase many of his walks via the double play.
CJ Wilson takes the mound tomorrow night against Doug Fister.
Not sure why you would be “depressed” about Pujols having 16 HRs. That puts him on pace for 28 for the season, a fairly decent total. Did you really expect he’d launch many more than that when you signed him?
Eh, I guess I was hoping for several seasons of 35 before the severe decline set in.
Angels need to give Trout a raise NOW! THis guy is the MVP and the Angels would not be where they are without him. He is making the League minimum which is embarassing. Give him $10M for 3 years he DESERVES it. Pay him a little now (when we dont have to) because the NY/NJ native will be a Yankee before you know it.
An Evan Longoria/Andrew McCutchen type deal should be a priority ofr the Angels. Buy out his arbitration years and maybe more.
*For
Since Ervin Santana wasn’t pitching…funny. I agree it would have been nice to see Pujols hit more HRs. If the Angels could have taken a mulligan on the first two months of the season, they would be in first and cruising.
That said, they need to continue to play this hard all the way through. TX is not going to give up and by all accoutns will add to their already potent pitching staff by trade deadline. Sure hope the Angels try to do the same. We’ll see…
Dubya, you do realize Pujols hit 37 home runs last year even with a stint on the disabled list, right? Why shouldn’t we expect him to come close to that again?
Offense has been raking ever since Trout’s call up, even though nobody outside of TnT is having a above average year nor production from catcher. Pretty fun to watch TnT, no other tandem comes close. Detroit’s weaknesses were on full display, no pitching and no defense.
Money has it the starting pitching will round up back to dominant form and the angels will continue winning at an elite pace. You can also put Pujols’ dreadful April in the rear view, his trajectory since then is more like the 35 homer pace that was expected.
“Dubya, you do realize Pujols hit 37 home runs last year even with a stint on the disabled list, right? Why shouldn’t we expect him to come close to that again?”
He’s not getting any younger. Granted, it’s only one year’s difference, but with each passing year, the expected distribution heads south. He could very well still pop 40 in 2015 when he’s 35, but there will also be decent odds he only hits 15-20 that year.
If you’re looking for reasons beyond that, it’s the fact he’s no longer in the NL Central and is now in the AL West. The quality of teams in the bottom half of the NL Central is lower and their stadiums more friendly to an offensive player. Angels Stadium, Oakland Coliseum, and Safeco are far more pitcher-friendly than Busch, Minute Maid Park, and PNC Park.
sleepy49er is right. The Angels should reward Trout with a guaranteed contract.
“Money has it the starting pitching will round up back to dominant form and the angels will continue winning at an elite pace. You can also put Pujols’ dreadful April in the rear view, his trajectory since then is more like the 35 homer pace that was expected.”
Seriously, dude, are you always blowing total sunshine? I’ve seen some Angels fans that were bad about this, but you take the cake. Look, I know you’re all chipper whooping up 13-0 on a rookie pitcher and all, but you do realize you’re just 2-3 coming out of the break, right?
Luke:
You wouldn’t expect Pujols to repeat past performance, because every measurable offensive statistic would lead any reasonable person to conclude that Pujols has already begun a pretty serious slide in performance….well, any person other than the Angels brass. Why don’t you graph it and see for yourself? I have no problem with a high dollar, short-term deal. Pay him 35 million for 3-4 years…hope he plays at the prior year’s level for a year or two, and sure, he could be a serious threat in a playoff series…..but the deal he got is still simply astonishing – keep in mind, NO ONE else was bidding!
It’s not your money so who cares? Before Trumbo’s emergence and until
Morales regains form, even 25 homeruns a year is a huge boost in the Angels lineup. Angels needed more depth and pop in the lineup, and they went and got it. We’ll see how is numbers stack up at the end of the year, and I can guarantee you that there’s not one team out there that wouldn’t want it added in their lineup. The money thing is irrelevant. He’s worth as much as whomever needs him is willing to pay. He missed time last year and still put up big numbers after that fact. Everyone declines, but Pujol’s decline is exagerated.
Correction: I meant to say Great American Ballpark instead of PNC Park.
“Very quietly, Trumbo is now having a better season than Josh Hamilton.”
Not so quietly, the Rangers are still having a better season than LAA.
I wasn’t aware.
I’d sign Trout to a 10 year deal after this season, no joke. And I’m always nervous about long contracts but locking him up through his entire peak is a gamble worth taking. Just make sure he stays away form Daryl Strawberry…
I guess players whose teams aren’t leading the division can’t have a better season than players on division leading squads. Matt Kemp sucked last year guys