LOS ANGELES _ Before his club confronted the team from down the freeway Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was asked to explain how Kenta Maeda, his starting pitcher, stacked up against the Angels' lineup. The Angels, to Maeda's advantage, had seven right-handed hitters in their lineup. Maeda entered the night limiting right-handed batters to the lowest batting average in the majors. There was just one problem.
"Obviously," Roberts said, "you got the best player in the game sitting in the middle of that order."
That player is Mike Trout and despite valiant challenges for the title from several talented players in recent years, including the Dodgers' Cody Bellinger this season, he is unequivocally the game's supreme performer. His unmatched skill set checks every box and his longevity at the pinnacle is nearing a decade. His standing is plain to Roberts and to just about everyone else in the industry. And it was plain to see again Tuesday night as Trout delivered brilliance in center field and in the batter's box to help fuel the Angels' 5-4 win.
Trout's game highlights on this night were matched by Kole Calhoun, who also homered and ended the game with a throw to the plate to get Bellinger on a pinch single by Enrique Hernandez.
It was the Angels' third victory in three meetings between the clubs this season and dropped the Dodgers to 40-13 at home. The Angels will go for the season series sweep Wednesday.
Trout began his exhibition in the second inning, rifling a 261-foot, 98-mph throw from center field to home plate to erase what would've been the Dodgers' first run. In the fifth, he whacked a slider 454 feet at 111 mph off Maeda for a solo home run, rendering the pitcher's right-on-right strength moot. It was his 33rd home run this season and 11th in 12 games. His effort was nearly not enough.
The Angels turned to closer Hansel Robles, their seventh pitcher of the night, to secure the win in the ninth inning. After retiring the leadoff hitter, he encountered a mess. Justin Turner worked a one-out walk before Bellinger smashed a line drive down the right-field line for a double to put runners on second and third base. With first base open, the Angels decided to pitch to Max Muncy. He lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to drive in Turner and trim the Angels' lead to one.
Hernandez, pinch-hitting in the pitcher's spot, followed and crushed a line drive to right field that bounced to Calhoun on a hop. Third base coach Dino Ebel, always leaning aggressive, waved Bellinger home and he was thrown out by several feet to end the game.
The Angels bounced Maeda after 4 1/3 innings, which was the length Maeda logged last month at Angel Stadium. Coming off a rain-shortened two-inning start last Wednesday and a one-inning relief outing Friday, Maeda was charged with three runs on four hits. He struck out seven, walked two, and couldn't beat Shohei Ohtani again.
Playing in a National League ballpark forces the Angels (53-49) to proceed without Ohtani, their second-best hitter, in the lineup. The two-way standout is limited to designated hitter duties this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Without the DH, he can only contribute in pinch-hit spots. He capitalized on his Tuesday, coming off the bench to supply a two-out, RBI single in the second inning off Maeda, his fellow countryman. Last month, Ohtani homered off Maeda at Angel Stadium. The matchup between the two Japanese stars has tilted in Ohtani's favor.
Ohtani's line drive not only gave the Angels a 1-0 edge; it forced the laboring Maeda to labor some more. The right-hander emerged from the second frame having thrown 50 pitches. He exited after 95 pitches and two loud bangs. First, Trout smashed his home run. Justin Upton next crushed a 112-mph missile off the left-field wall for a double. Maeda's arduous night culminated there.
Julio Urias relieved Maeda for his first appearance in six days and quickly surrendered a run-scoring double to Calhoun. Albert Pujols later recorded an RBI groundout to give the Angels a 4-1 lead.
Trout's defensive prowess shined in the second inning, which began with Muncy reaching on an error by Albert Pujols at first base. He advanced to second base on a weak groundout off A.J. Pollock's bat, which would've been an infield single if not for Andrelton Simmons's mastery at shortstop.
Corey Seager followed with a single to center field. Dodger third base coach Ebel waved Muncy home, testing Trout's arm. It was a poor decision. Displaying another one of the several elite tools, Trout fired home in time to get Muncy for the inning's second out. The play was reviewed and the ruling was upheld.
Instead, the Dodgers (67-36) tallied their first run in the fourth inning on Seager's sacrifice fly to shallow left field. Bellinger, showing off one of the skills that has catapulted him right behind Trout for best all-around player in baseball, tagged up from third base and scored with ease. It was the only run the Dodgers tallied off Felix Pena, who pitched 3 2/3 innings after Taylor Cole logged a scoreless first inning as the opener.
The Dodgers added two runs in the sixth inning on RBI infield singles from Russell Martin and Joc Pederson to slice the Angels' lead to one. But the Angels quickly doubled the margin in the seventh when Calhoun smacked Yimi Garcia's second pitch several rows deep into the right-field pavilion.
