A regular season filled with upheaval, stops and starts and pandemic-induced changes and challenges is winding down with Mike Trout in his usual late-September spot: in the thick of the American League Most Valuable Player race.
The combination of COVID-19, the birth of his son, which took him away from the Angels for four games in late July, the dearth of adrenaline and energy in empty stadiums and an August slump have done little to slow the Angels center fielder.
Trout snapped a tie with a run-scoring single to left field in the eighth inning of Saturday night's 4-3 victory over the Texas Rangers, keeping the Angels within 3{ games of Houston for a playoff spot with seven games left.
Angels starter Andrew Heaney found his bearings after three of his first eight pitches were hit for a home run (Leody Taveras), single (Nick Solak) and two-run homer (Rougned Odor, 434 feet). The left-hander blanked the Rangers on three hits and struck out eight over the next 61/3 innings.
Struggling slugger Shohei Ohtani, making his first start since Sept. 11, hit a solo homer to right in the second, snapping a streak of 61 plate appearances without a homer dating to Aug. 23, and singled and scored on Taylor Ward's double in the fifth. David Fletcher's RBI single in the fifth made it 3-3.
Reliever Mike Mayers threw one-two-three eighth and ninth innings for his first save and has retired 32 of the last 35 batters he's faced.
Trout followed Fletcher's leadoff walk and Texas first baseman Sherten Apostel's error on Jared Walsh's grounder with his game-winning hit. He's now batting .293 with 16 homers, nine doubles and 43 RBIs on the season.
He entered Saturday with a 1.027 on-base-plus-slugging percentage and was tied with Chicago White Sox slugger Jose Abreu for third place with a 2.4 WAR (wins above replacement), according to FanGraphs.
The two players ahead of Trout, who won three AL MVPs and finished second four times in his first eight seasons, are Angels teammate Anthony Rendon (2.6) and Cleveland third baseman Jose Ramirez (2.5).
But Trout's stiffest competition for MVP could come from Abreu (.327, 1.007 OPS, 17 homers, 51 RBIs), White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson (.365, .983 OPS, eight homers, 19 RBIs), Yankees infielder DJ LeMahieu (.367, 1.056 OPS, 10 homers, 24 RBIs) and Twins slugger Nelson Cruz (.314, 1.026 OPS, 16 homers, 32 RBIs).
Abreu and Anderson should be boosted by their effect on a team that is 34-18 and leading the AL Central after finishing third with a 72-89 record in 2019. The Angels are 23-30, but Trout won MVPs on losing teams in 2016 and 2019.
"It seems like every year they're saying it's all about the team's record _ I don't know," Trout said Saturday. "Does a shortened season factor in? Maybe. The two guys in Chicago are having unbelievable seasons. They're fun to watch."
Trout had a rough 13-game stretch from Aug. 14-25, batting .163 (eight for 49) with a .628 OPS, two homers, one double, nine RBIs, 16 strikeouts and seven walks, dropping his season average to .255.
He rebounded over his next 19 games, batting .258 (24 for 67) with a 1.226 OPS, six homers, seven doubles, 17 RBIs, 14 strikeouts and 19 walks to lift his average to .294 entering Saturday.
