Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout homered on Saturday night against the Houston Astros (GameTracker), giving him a home run in six consecutive games. Trout is, as a result, the first player in Angels history to achieve a streak of that length, according to MLB.com. He’s also the first player in the majors to do it since Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto, who last season homered six games in a row.
Trout launched his home run, No. 34 on his season, in the second inning against Astros right-hander José Urquidy. The three-run blast gave the Angels an early 5-1 lead. Take a look at Trout’s home run in all its moving picture glory:
Per Statcast, Trout’s home run left his bat with an exit velocity of 98.9 mph and carried some 361 feet.
Trout entered Saturday ranked second in the American League in home runs, behind (who else?) New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge. (Judge is, of course, in hot pursuit of breaking Roger Maris’ franchise and league single-season home run records.) Trout’s standing is made more impressive by the fact he was appearing in his 99th game on Saturday, having missed more than a month because of back issues.
Trout is now two games away from matching the MLB record for home-run streaks at eight. There’s currently a three-way tie for that record, as Ken Griffey Jr. (1993), Don Mattingly (1987), and Dale Long (1956) all launched a home run in eight consecutive games.
The Angels franchise record, meanwhile, had previously belonged to Bobby Bonds. He homered five games in a row back during the 1979 season.
Trout entered Saturday hitting .277/.366/.619 (173 OPS+) in his first 98 contests this season. Alas, the Angels, at 60-78, are far removed from the playoff picture.
