July 22--Mike Trout, slowed by a sore left heel, is not in the Angels' lineup for Tuesday night's game against the Minnesota Twins, but the center fielder believes the injury is minor and is confident he will play Wednesday night.
Trout, who has started every one of the team's 92 games, played center field in the first game of Monday's doubleheader sweep of the Boston Red Sox and was the designated hitter in the second game, when he hit his 28th homer of the season.
"I don't know what happened," said Trout, who is batting .307 with a .400 on-base percentage, .614 slugging percentage, 57 runs batted in and 71 runs. "I woke up today, and it was a little sore.
"I don't recall banging it on anything, slipping in the field. When I woke up it didn't feel right. Just walking on it, it was aching. But I got treatment today, and it's already a lot better than it was this morning, so I definitely will try to be in there tomorrow."
When the original lineup was posted, neither Trout nor slugger Albert Pujols, who hit three homers during Monday's doubleheader and leads the major leagues with 29 homers, were in it.
Pujols was scheduled for Tuesday off, but when he discovered Trout was hurt, he told Scioscia he was OK to play and was inserted into the lineup as designated hitter.
"We had been looking for a day off for Albert for a while, but knowing Mike's condition, Albert feels like he can DH and play," Scioscia said. "When you approach Albert about a day off, he balks all the time, and I think that's one of the things that makes him a special player."
Scioscia chalked up Trout's injury to "one of those things that just come up from playing the game of baseball," and he was not concerned about Trout, who turns 24 on Aug. 7, wearing down from his workload.
"There are a lot of guys early in their career who are really strong through 155 to 162 games, and Mike has shown he's one of those guys," Scioscia said. "You're always listening to your body, and as Mike gets a track record and experience, he will understand more and more when he needs a day off.
"I think our training staff and coaching staff is very well connected with how guys are feeling, what guys might benefit from a day off, and this is certainly a day where Mike needs to take a half-step backwards and hopefully it will feel better tomorrow."
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