By Pete Zarustica
Which of us would be surprised if underneath his Angels uniform Mike Trout wore a shirt with a big, bright “S”? Not many, especially after Saturday’s more-than-impressive performance Saturday by the Halo centerfielder.
Against the New York Yankees in the Bronx, he went 5-for-5 at the plate with a homer and three doubles as the Orange County team hammered the Yankees 11-4. The home run was his 17th of the year.
“He had a night that was incredible,” manager Mike Scioscia said. “He’s certainly capable of doing what we saw out there tonight, and it was big for us. Gave us a big lift, and we needed it. In this park, you’ve got to keep scoring, and we did.”
Trout wasn’t the only Angel with a hot bat. Zack Cozart had two hits and scored two runs, while backup catcher Jose Briceno homered. Albert Pujols had just one hit, but it was a single that drove in two runs.
Angel starter Jaime Barria (4-1), again up from the minors, got the win despite giving up three home runs.
The Yanks and Angels will meet again on Sunday in the rubber game of the series.