OC Register: Mike Trout belts 40th homer as Angels hang on for victory over White Sox

[AngelsWin.com]

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  Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout, right, is high-fived in the dugout after his solo home run against the Chicago White Sox during the third inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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  Los Angeles Angels’ Justin Upton hits a three-run home run against the Chicago White Sox during the sixth inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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  Los Angeles Angels’ Justin Upton, right, celebrates his three-run home run with Mike Trout, center, and Shohei Ohtani (17) during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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  Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout (27) scores past Chicago White Sox catcher Welington Castillo during the fifth inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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  Los Angeles Angels shortstop Wilfredo Tovar, right, catches an infield fly ball from Chicago White Sox’s Yolmer Sanchez during the third inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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  Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout scores during the fifth inning of the team’s baseball game against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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  Chicago White Sox’s Yolmer Sanchez (5) runs to first, but is thrown out by Los Angeles Angels catcher Max Stassi during the fifth inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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  Los Angeles Angels’ David Fletcher drives in a run with a single against the Chicago White Sox during the fifth inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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  Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Andrew Heaney throws to a Chicago White Sox batter during the fifth inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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  Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout watches his solo home run against the Chicago White Sox during the third inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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  Los Angeles Angels manager Brad Ausmus watches from the dugout during the team’s baseball game against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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  Los Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani hits a double against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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  Los Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani heads to first on the way to a double during the first inning of the team’s baseball game against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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  Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout (27) is met in the dugout after scoring on a groundout by Justin Upton, top right, during the first inning of the team’s baseball game against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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  Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Andrew Heaney throws to a Chicago White Sox batter during the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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  Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout watches his solo home run against the Chicago White Sox during the third inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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ANAHEIM — Mike Trout ended his mini-slump in style.

After going hitless for 11 at-bats, Trout had four hits — including his 40th homer of the season — in the Angels’ 8-7 home victory over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night.

The Angels took a five-run lead into the ninth but the White Sox parlayed a pair of infield hits and a Wellington Castillo homer into four runs, before reliever Hansel Robles ended it with a strikeout with the potential tying run at second.

Trout reached the 40-homer plateau for just the second time in his career. He hit a career-high 41 in 2015.

He also equaled Cody Bellinger for the major league lead, homering hours after Bellinger had his his 40th for the Dodgers. Trout has never led the league in homers, let alone the majors.

Trout hit the homer in the Angels’ 123rd game, making him the fastest in franchise history to reach 40. Troy Glaus had hit his 40th in the Angels’ 136th game in 2000.

Coming into the game, Trout had gone hitless over his previous four games, the type of stretch that isn’t even noticed unless it happens to the best player in the majors. Also, Trout had still walked eight times in that span.

Facing right-hander Reynaldo Lopez, whose fastball sits at 97-99 mph, Trout ended that stretch with an infield single in the first inning. In the third, Lopez threw Trout a changeup low and away, and he yanked it over the fence and into the rocks in left center.

Trout’s homer put the Angels up 2-0, but the White Sox got those runs back on a José Abreu homer in the fourth.

In the fifth, the Angels took the lead for good with a three-run rally. Brian Goodwin led off the inning with a walk and Trout singled. An out later, Justin Upton walked.

David Fletcher then punched his second hit of the night — and seventh in the past three games — into left field, driving in two runs. An out later, Luís Rengifo drove in one with a single, his ninth hit in his last six games.

The Angels put the game away in the sixth, with some help from the White Sox. With two outs, second baseman Yolmer Sanchez fielded a routine ground ball from Ohtani, but he bobbled it before making a throw and could not get an out. Upton then blasted a three-run homer, making it 8-2. It was Upton’s third three-run homer in his last seven starts, and his eighth homer of the season.

The cushion was plenty for Andrew Heaney, who worked seven encouraging innings, allowing just three runs.

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Heaney gave up a second homer to Abreu, in the seventh, but nothing else. He struck out six and did not walk a batter.

It marked the first time all season that Heaney finished seven innings. In his two starts since coming off the injured list, he’s allowed four runs in 10-2/3 innings. Heaney had missed about three weeks with shoulder inflammation.

Heaney retired the first 10 Chicago hitters of the night, before allowing a Tim Anderson single and the Abreu homer. He bounced back from that to retire eight in a row, until Abreu homered again.

Heaney got through the seventh on just 90 pitches, a much more efficient performance than when he needed 80 pitches and couldn’t get out of the fourth last weekend in Boston.

Since losing eight in a row, the Angels have now won four of their last six.

More to come on this story.

He just took a DNA test
Turns out
He got 100%
Of that pitch pic.twitter.com/gqbwwEYxK3

— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) August 16, 2019

Upton funk gon' give it to ya pic.twitter.com/Kd9NfQsBhN

— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) August 16, 2019

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