MIKE TROUT hit a three-run home run that was the key to the Angels’ 5-4 win over the Texas Rangers on Wednesday (Flickr/Keith Allison)

Mike Trout may not be playing for the best team in Major League Baseball, but on Wednesday he reminded everyone why is one of the best players in the sport. He slammed a three-run home run in the fifth inning that was the key to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim’s 5-4 win over the Texas Rangers.

The win not only allowed the Halos to salvage one game out of the series, but it kept the Rangers from clinching the American League West title. At the other end of the standings, the victory allowed the Angels (66-86) to move into a fourth-place tie with the Oakland A’s in the AL West.

Trout’s dinger was his 28th of the season and his 95th RBI. He is batting .318 on the season.

Jered Weaver (12-12) got the win, working six innings and giving up six hits and four runs. He struck out six batters and walked two. The save went to Andrew Bailey, his fourth.

The Angels will have Thursday off for travel, and then start a series with the Houston Astros on Friday. Alex Meyer (1-3) will make the start for the Orange County team.

Thursday’s prep grid lineup

Week Five for high school football has rolled around again. Games involving teams serving the Garden Grove-Huntington Beach-Westminster area include the following:

• Katella (4-0) at Ocean View (2-1)
• Westminster (0-3) at Magnolia (0-4), at Glover Stadium
• Godinez (0-3) at Rancho Alamitos (2-1), at Bolsa Grande.

The most interesting matchup may be the Westminster game. The Lions are winless, but have played a tough schedule and this may be the week they break through.

Oh, yes. Hockey is right around the rounded corner

Yes, it’s in the Eighties outside and sunny, but the quintessential winter sport is about to return to Orange County. The Anaheim Ducks of 2016-17 will debut at Honda Center on Tuesday, Sept. 27 hosting the Arizona Coyotes. The next day they’ll travel up the freeway to Staples Center to take on the Kings.

Last year, the Ducks were the best team in the NHL Western Conference with a 46-25-11 mark worth 103 points, but were knocked out of the Stanley Cup playoffs 4-3 in the first round.

The “new” coach is Randy Carlyle, which was their leader for the Ducks’ 2007 Stanley Cup championship season.