KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Angels star Mike Trout was scratched from the starting lineup for Tuesday night’s game against the Kansas City Royals because of a skin infection.
The three-time American League MVP is considered day-to-day.
“It was one of those weird things that crept up on him today,” interim manager Ray Montgomery told reporters after the game. “We’ll reevaluate it [Wednesday] and see what’s going on.”
Trout was originally penciled in as the designated hitter but was removed from the lineup less than an hour before the first pitch. Jo Adell was switched from right field to DH, and Chris Taylor was inserted in right field.
Trout, 34, is batting .231 with 20 home runs and 54 RBIs this season, but he has been slumping for several weeks. He had three combined hits over the past two games after going 1 for 24 in his previous seven games. He’s been two homers shy of 400 for his career since early August, and his 1,008 RBIs rank third in franchise history behind Tim Salmon (1,016) and Garrett Anderson (1,292).