OC Register: Mike Trout’s 9th-inning homer keys Angels’ victory over Cardinals

[AngelsWin.com]

ST. LOUIS — Mike Trout delivered in a way he hadn’t in a long time.

Trout hit a go-ahead home run in the ninth inning of the Angels’ dramatic 6-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night.

It was the first time Trout had hit a go-ahead homer in the ninth since July 7, 2015. He had hit only two others in his career, both in 2014.

Trout came to the plate with the score tied because pinch-hitter Jake Lamb had led off the ninth with a 434-foot homer against Cardinals closer Giovanny Gallegos.

After Trout pulled a homer just inside the left field pole, the Angels added an insurance run on a Shohei Ohtani double and an Anthony Rendon single.

Closer Carlos Estévez finished it off with his seventh save.

The Angels (17-14) won their third straight game and got to three games over .500 for the first time this season. They also took Ohtani off the hook for a loss after he’d allowed four runs in five innings, despite a career-high equaling 13 strikeouts.

They can only hope that they didn’t suffer a loss with an injury to shortstop Zach Neto.

Neto left the game with a contusion on one of the fingers on his right hand.

Neto, who was hurt trying to bunt for a hit leading off the fifth, remained in the game to finish the at-bat, but then he came out.

Neto was initially listed as day-to-day.

Neto has provided some defensive stability in the middle infield and a quickly improving bat in his first three weeks in the major leagues.

Without him, the Angels would need to do some shuffling. It would probably mean more playing time for Luis Rengifo and more time at shortstop for Gio Urshela.

The injury to Neto came just after the Angels had surrendered a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth.

Nolan Arenado led off with a double down the left-field line, and then Willson Contreras doubled down the right-field line. An out later, Ohtani left a sweeper over the middle of the plate and Dylan Carlson hit it just over the center field fence, for a two-run homer that gave the Cardinals a 4-3 lead.

Although Ohtani gave up as many hits in that inning as he had allowed in any of his six previous starts this season, he still had good enough stuff to equal his career high with 13 strikeouts.

His final strikeout was the 500th of his career.

More to come on this story.

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[REDneck]

But, Trout is not clutch.

[BTH]

In the updated story, you mentioned that Trout was fired up. And Gubi mentioned on the broadcast that Trout was especially fired up after the final out was recorded.

@Jeff Fletcher, Is there video of that? Maybe on the special MLB site that reporters have access to?

[TroutField]

1 hour ago, Trendon said:

In the updated story, you mentioned that Trout was fired up. And Gubi mentioned on the broadcast that Trout was especially fired up after the final out was recorded.

@Jeff Fletcher, Is there video of that? Maybe on the special MLB site that reporters have access to?

I was looking for the same thing on the MLB.com videos. When he hit the homer it looked like any other homer, he didn’t even like fist pump that I saw 

[Jeff Fletcher]

1 hour ago, Trendon said:

In the updated story, you mentioned that Trout was fired up. And Gubi mentioned on the broadcast that Trout was especially fired up after the final out was recorded.

@Jeff Fletcher, Is there video of that? Maybe on the special MLB site that reporters have access to?

I have not seen any videos of the celebration. I was just going off what Nevin said. 

[BTH]

19 minutes ago, TroutField said:

I was looking for the same thing on the MLB.com videos. When he hit the homer it looked like any other homer, he didn’t even like fist pump that I saw 

On the broadcast, Gubicza said Trout was fired up after the final out was recorded.

But he could only see that because he was at the game. The broadcast didn’t show it.

If someone had access to the “all nine” camera feed, you might be able to see it there.

That’s why I asked @Jeff Fletcher if he had access to that feed, since he’s posted clips on Twitter with that feed before.

[arch stanton]

Trout has been an Angel for too long to get fired up before the last out is recorded 

[Tank]

that was a great 9th inning all the way around. 

teams need a few wins like that, especially playoff teams.