Mike Trout’s home run streak ends at 7 games

Angels star Mike Trout’s streak of consecutive games hitting a home run ended at seven, one shy of the major league record, as Los Angeles lost to the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday. 

Trout went 0 for 3 with three routine flyballs and a walk. The three-time AL MVP was chasing the mark of eight straight games with a home run, set by the Pirates’ Dale Long in 1956 and matched by the Yankees’ Don Mattingly in 1987 and the Mariners’ Ken Griffey Jr. in 1993.

Trout faced rookie Cody Morris in his first two at-bats. He flew out to center in the first and drew a four-pitch walk in the third with a runner on second.

Trout batted against Kirk McCarty, another rookie, in the fifth and flew out to center on a 3-2 pitch after the first three pitches were balls. Trout flew out to right against James Karinchak on a 2-1 pitch in the eighth.

After the game, Trout admitted that the record was on his mind in his final at-bat.

“The first three at-bats I wasn’t (thinking about it), but my last one I was,” Trout told reporters. “I’m not gonna lie. That’s the nature of the thing, I guess. When I think home run, not good. As you saw. Chasing pitches. I was just amped up too much. Guess I got to start a new streak.”

Trout even recognized that thinking about the record was unavoidable entering Tuesday’s game.

“I’ve been thinking about it, for sure,” Trout said. “Everyone has been texting me. You guys are asking me all these questions. It’s kind of hard not to.”

In his final at-bat on Tuesday, Trout fouled off a pitch that was on the outside edge of the strike zone before chasing a pitch that was high for the flyout. 

“That’s baseball,” Trout said. “There were a few pitches I could have hit. Just timing was a little off. Just got a little too big.”

Trout was the first AL player with a seven-game home run streak since the Blue Jays’ Kendrys Morales in 2018. The Reds’ Joey Votto homered in seven straight last season from July 24-30.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.