ANAHEIM — Maybe Mike Trout has actually unlocked something with his swing in the final weeks of the season.
Trout hit a pair of home runs, including a tie-breaking blast in the eighth inning, to lead the Angels to a 4-3 victory over the Houston Astros on Friday night.
Trout has hit three homers in the last two games, and four homers in the last five games, starting with career homer No. 400 on Saturday. On Tuesday, Trout explained what’s gone wrong with his swing for most of the season, and how he believes he’s found a “solution,” and not just a “band-aid.”
“Definitely more confidence,” Trout said. “Something I can take into the offseason and work on. It’s good to see results. I said this before, through the year. Just felt good in the cage, and then when I went to the game, just didn’t get results. Now I’m getting results.”
The production came just in time to help the Angels (72-88) put a serious dent in the Astros’ chances of going to the playoffs.
Angels interim manager Ray Montgomery said it was fitting that in such a big moment, the Angels would get a clutch performance from Trout and a solid start from veteran Kyle Hendricks.
“I think anybody who’s a competitor and wants to play at this level, that’s what you play for. That’s the situation you want to be in,” Montgomery said. “And it doesn’t surprise me that the best player in the game stepped up, and he was the guy. And the guy who was on the mound pitching gave everything he had to get us to that point.”
The Astros are now one game behind the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians, with two games to play. The Astros lose all tiebreakers, so they need to finish a game ahead of one of those teams. The Astros have gone to the playoffs eight years in a row, including two World Series titles, so it would certainly be meaningful to the Angels to help put them away.
Chris Taylor, who was on the Dodgers when the Astros beat them for a controversial title in 2017, tied Friday’s game with a pinch-hit RBI single in the seventh.
Taylor’s hit took Hendricks off the hook for a loss in his final start of the season. Hendricks gave up three runs (two earned) in five innings, striking out eight with no walks.
Montgomery gave him the choice of whether he had enough left in the tank to finish the fifth inning. Hendricks said he did, and then got the final out of the inning on his 108th pitch, the most he had thrown in a game since 2022.
He then returned to the dugout and got an ovation from his teammates.
“Awesome, awesome,” Hendricks said. “Couldn’t draw up any better. Just blessed to be a part of this group. Honestly, they’ve accepted me with open arms since day one. I became good friends with so many guys in here. You know, it’s always weird at the end of the year. The emotions and everything. But really fun, really fun group. We didn’t accomplish what we wanted to set out and accomplish. But at the end of the day, man, the fight in these guys, it’s gonna be fun to watch.”
Hendricks, 35, said he will get with his family now that the season is over and decide if he wants to continue his career.
Hendricks made 31 starts for the Angels, posting a 4.76 ERA in 164⅔ innings. He got through five innings in 24 of his starts, and he allowed three runs or fewer in 20 starts.
When the Angels signed Hendricks to a $2.5 million deal last fall, one of the qualities they mentioned was the influence he would have on other pitchers.
Montgomery said he delivered on that promise.
“He’s the consummate professional,” Montgomery said. “He’s the teammate that everybody will remember for years and years and years, and not because of what he did on the field. I don’t think any of that will matter. Just who he is as a person and who he is as a professional. He’s made a lasting impact on everybody in that room, including me.”