Angels slammed by Twins; Dodger bats silent vs. Bucs

Mike Trout burst out of his slump – somewhat – with a home run and a single, but more of his Los Angeles Angels teammates remained mired in a hitting daze as they lost 11-4 to the Minnesota Twins Friday night in Minneapolis.

Likewise the sometimes-powerful Los Angeles Dodgers batting order also underperformed, losing 3-0 Friday to the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates at Chavez Ravine.

With their loss – their seventh in 10 games – the Halos (12-13) tumbled into last place in the American League West. For the Blue Crew, it was three consecutive defeats and a 16-10 mark, good for third place in the National League West.

Against the Twins, Trout ended up with two RBIs and Logan O’Hoppe added a solo homer in the sixth. Trout is fourth in the American League with eight home runs, but is batting an uncharacteristic .172. The Halo leadoff batter Taylor Ward is hitting .214 and the team average is .217, 28th out of 30 Major League teams.

The Dodgers are doing somewhat better, batting .230, good for 20th place.

Aside from Freddie Freeman (2-for-4), the best performance for the Dodgers was starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who lasted five innings, giving up five hits and only one earned run.

He struck out five batters and walked four.

Each team will face Friday’s opponent again on Saturday