SEATTLE — Mike Trout ended his career-worst homer drought on a night that still ended with a bad taste in his mouth.
Trout hit his first homer in more than a month, completing the Angels’ comeback from an early four-run deficit, but they still lost, 7-6, in 12 innings to the Seattle Mariners on Thursday night.
Trout had another single in the trip following the homer, but he struck out with two outs and a runner at third in the 10th and he hit into a double play with no outs and two on in the 12th, putting a dent in the Angels’ chances at getting the insurance they wound up needing.
The Angels cashed in their automatic runners in the 11th and 12th innings, but they couldn’t get a second run in either inning. Left-hander Sammy Peralta – the Angels’ eighth pitcher of the night and their last available reliever – couldn’t shut out the Mariners in either of his two innings. He gave up a run in the 11th and two in the 12th.
Peralta gave up a game-tying hit to Eugenio Suarez to start the 12th. Victor Robles then reached on a bunt single. A Harry Ford sacrifice fly drove in the winner, ending the Angels’ first 12-inning game of the season.
“Really frustrating in the sense that the guys put so much into a game like that,” interim manager Ray Montgomery said. “To take it to where we took it, the lengths that we went, with the opportunity to win it multiple times, and then to not get the win hurts.”
Although Trout’s two at-bats were critical in extra innings, he said he was happy with the way he hit the ball in the 12th.
“I hit it hard, just right at them,” Trout said. “I felt like I put a good swing on it. Trying to stay up the middle. Just right at them.”
Trout has been pleased with his process lately. He’s now hit in six straight games, including driving in two runs in Wednesday’s victory over the Minnesota Twins.
Trout had been sitting on 398 career homers since he last went deep on Aug. 6. The 125 homerless plate appearances since marked the longest drought of his career.
“Every time you come in the clubhouse you see it on TV on the ticker at the bottom, the drought,” Trout said. “But my at-bats the last week or so have been feeling better.”
Trout struck in his first two trips to the plate on Thursday, but he did hit a couple of deep fly balls that were just foul. In the fifth, with the Angels trailing 4-3, he finally connected.
It should have been no surprise that Trout ended the drought in Seattle, because his 56 career homers against the Mariners are the most for any active player against any individual team.
His homer also capped a comeback in a game that looked like it might be a blowout loss.
Right-hander José Soriano was not sharp, and also was victimized by a critical defensive mistake behind him.
First baseman Logan Davidson fielded a grounder that should have been an inning-ending double play in the second. Davidson’s throw to second hit the runner, Luke Raley, and bounced into the outfield.
Soriano was unable to pick up his teammate. He allowed the next four hitters to reach on two walks and two doubles, and the Mariners scored four runs.
“When those type of things happen, you hope to look to him to kind of stem the tide a little bit,” Montgomery said. “That didn’t happen, but he did manage to get through it. Give us four innings. And they were obviously hard-fought. He did reach back for a little bit there, even coming out of that second inning. Obviously, not what we were looking for at the start of the game. But this game went a long time. We had multiple chances to win. A couple of leads. Just couldn’t get it done.”
Soriano did manage to tack on two more scoreless innings, though, which was an encouraging sign because in other rough games he had trouble keeping the damage manageable.
Center fielder Bryce Teodosio helped him with a spectacular diving catch in the fourth.
Meanwhile, the Angels got those runs back. Davidson hit his first career homer, in the third. In the fourth, the Angels parlayed hits from Yoán Moncada and Taylor Ward into two runs with some good situational baseball. Chris Taylor drove in one with a fly ball and Luis Rengifo drove in another with a ground ball.
After Trout’s homer tied the score, Angels relievers Chase Silseth, Luis Garcia, Brock Burke, José Fermin and Kenley Jansen each pitched scoreless innings to keep it tied, into extra innings. Robert Stephenson then pitched a scoreless 10th before the Angels got to their last hope, Peralta.
