Two heavyweights went toe-for-toe in a sideshow to the Yankees-Angels series this week before Mike Trout came out on top.
Trout out-homered fellow three-time MVP Aaron Judge 5-4 in the four-game set that the teams split, homering in each game (two in one game), including a solo shot in the Angels’ 11-4 win over the Yankees on Thursday afternoon in The Bronx.
“It’s unreal,” said Giancarlo Stanton, who also homered in the loss. “Cool showing from him and Judgey all series. Obviously you don’t want that against us, but you got to acknowledge the greatness. It was a deciding factor today. Not what we want, but obviously a great talent.”
By homering off Yankees reliever Angel Chivilli in the seventh inning Thursday, Trout became the first visiting player to homer on four consecutive days at Yankee Stadium.
The 34-year-old outfielder, whose talent has been hindered by injuries in recent years, went 6-for-16 with five home runs, eight runs, nine RBIs and three walks in the series.
“He’s not chasing and he’s deadly in some certain parts of the zone,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Chivilli really the entire at-bat was executing pretty well against him and then all of a sudden goes back to that changeup and [Trout] hammers it.
“He’s clearly healthy and he’s an all-time great. Hurt us this series.”
Judge had homered in the top of the first inning Thursday — his fifth home run in his last five games — to temporarily even the tally with Trout during this series.
They both went deep twice in Monday’s series opener, while the Angels kept Judge in the ballpark Tuesday.
The Yankees wish Trout had looked like his former self against a different team, but they tipped their cap across the way.
“Obviously he’s been one of the best in the game from the time he came up,” said Max Fried, who walked Trout twice. “He’s very patient and he knows the zone. I was trying to throw the ball over the plate and for whatever reason, was just missing. Frustrated because I wanted to be able to go after him but obviously didn’t.”
