NEW YORK _ Mike Trout is a once-in-a-generation game-changer.
That's exactly what the South Jersey product did on Saturday night at Yankee Stadium: He changed the game with one swing of the bat in the Yankees' 11-4 loss to the Los Angeles Angels.
Perhaps more accurately, it was five swings of the bat. Trout made history with a career-high five hits for 11 total bases. He became just the third player to have four extra-base hits in the new Yankee Stadium, going 5-for-5 with a single, three doubles, a two-run homer and four RBIs.
He came a triple shy of what would have been an epic cycle. The home run, his third in as many games, ties him for the league lead with Boston's Mookie Betts with 17.
The key hit came in the fourth inning. With the Yankees (32-16) up 4-3, Trout hit a two-run shot off Yankees' starter Sonny Gray (3-4) to put the Halos up 5-4. But Tommy Kahnle imploded in the sixth, allowing four runs to put the Yankees in a 9-4 hole.
Kahnle received no favors from the defense, with an error by Gleybar Torres proving costly.
But by the time Jose Briceno launched a two-run home run off Chasen Shreve in the seventh inning, the error didn't matter. By then the Angels (29-23) led 11-4 and the game was out of reach.
The Angels' offensive explosion came after the Yankees teed off on Angels rookie right-hander Jaime Barria to go up 4-1. After Trout doubled home a run in the first inning to give the visitors a 1-0 lead, Brett Gardner and Aaron Judge went back-to-back with homers off Barria. In the second inning, Miguel Andujar and Austin Romine went back-to-back, with Romine launching a shot off the right field foul pole.
Barria (4-1) had only given up one home run in 251/3 innings coming into his sixth career start. Barria allowed only the four runs on six hits with a walk and six strikeouts while his offense did the heavy lifting.
Gray was coming off of his best outing of the season, an eight-inning, one-hit effort in Kansas City six days ago. He had a 4-1 lead to work with early on but thanks, in part, to Trout, he squandered it. Trout was the stuff of Gray's nightmares. The right-hander was all over the place pitching to the two-time AL MVP, giving up two doubles and a home run to Trout before he exited the game down 5-4.
Gray allowed five earned runs on seven hits, walked three and struck out seven in just 32/3 innings. It marked the third time this season Gray has failed to reach the four-inning mark.
