Mike Trout leaves game early with back injury
By Hayden Kane
The same injury that kept Los Angeles Angels’ center fielder Mike Trout out of two games this past weekend has forced him out of the lineup once again.
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Trout exited the team’s game on Tuesday against the Houston Astros in the second inning with ‘mild back discomfort.’ According to Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com:
"Trout struck out against right-hander Collin McHugh in the first, capping a seven-pitch at-bat and then played defense in the bottom half but nothing was hit to him. In the bottom of the second, the 22-year-old was replaced by Collin Cowgill."
After discomfort this past weekend, Trout received treatment on Monday so that he would hopefully not miss any additional time. But with this issue cropping up again, the Angels will have to monitor the situation more closely and wonder if a stint on the disabled list will be necessary.
According to Gonzalez, Trout said that he “couldn’t feel the injury at all” before the game. That is a far cry from the fact that he had to leave the game early.
Trout is off to a slow start by his gaudy standards in 2014. By that we mean that a slow start is a .294/.380/.549 slash line. The statistic that has concerned people, and perhaps rightfully so, is the fact that he has struck out 63 times already. That mark leads the American League.
In terms of those numbers, Trout will be fine. The Angels have nothing to worry about in that regard. What they do need to worry about, however, is a lingering back injury if that is what this “mild discomfort” turns into.