ANAHEIM, Calif. _ The longest hiatus of Mike Trout's career as an everyday player is over.
Trout is in the Angels' lineup at designated hitter for Thursday night's game against the Detroit Tigers, ending a streak of five straight games in which he was out because of a tight left hamstring.
"I'm just happy to be back," Trout said. "I'm 100 percent."
Trout said that the trainers wanted him to DH, instead of playing center field, because that would be an easier transition. Although manager Mike Scioscia had expressed some concern in recent days that DH might be problematic because his hamstring could tighten in between at-bats, the trainers said they would keep Trout moving, on a treadmill or bike, when he's not needed to hit.
Scioscia also said that Trout would not be limited running the bases.
"We anticipate him 100 percent," Scioscia said.
The Angels lost four of the six games they played without Trout, including last Thursday in Seattle, and they scored more than three runs in just one of the games.
The injury ended up being more serious than first thought. After Trout initially took a day off, he came back and played last Friday, but he tweaked his hamstring chasing a fly ball in the gap. The next night he was scratched just before the first pitch, and he didn't play since.
On Sunday night the Angels had Trout undergo an MRI exam, which came back clean.
"When the MRI came back clean, it made me mentally clear," Trout said. "I was worried a little bit, but you hear good news and it makes you feel confident."
Trout had said on Monday morning that he hoped to play Tuesday, but the Angels played it safe and he missed all three games in Oakland.
Prior to this incident, the most consecutive games that Trout missed during his career as an everyday player was three, back in 2013.
"It was frustrating," he said. "I wanted to be out there. Treatment after a while gets boring. It's good to be back in the lineup. You always want to be out there."
