OAKLAND — Mike Trout, playing in his first regular-season game under his record $426.5 million contract, had an injury scare on the most routine of plays in the Los Angeles Angels‘ season opener against the Oakland Athletics.
Taking second base on a fielding error by A’s center fielder Ramon Laureano on his eighth-inning single, Trout limped off the bag following his slide and was examined by team trainers. He stayed in the game.
Trout had earlier torn the skin on his right shin while sliding into the same base in the fourth inning — “I got a good raspberry,” he said with a laugh — so he covered the wound with a pad.
Four innings later, the pad affected him.
“Had a little bit of compression on my calf [from the pad], and my calf cramped up a little bit,” Trout said. “That’s what scared me. “But it’s all good now. I’m fine. Other than that, I got a strawberry. That’s it.”
Trout was 1-for-3 with a walk and was stranded on third and second in the Angels’ 4-0 loss to the A’s in a game that lasted just 2 hours, 18 minutes before an announced crowd of 22,691 at the Oakland Coliseum.
A’s right-hander Mike Fiers (1-1) allowed one hit with three walks, one hit batter and two strikeouts in six shutout innings. Marcus Semien and Khris Davis had solo home runs for Oakland, with Davis’ shot landing in the second deck of left field.
Angels right-hander Trevor Cahill (0-1) gave up four runs in six innings on six hits, four walks and three strikeouts.
The 27-year-old Trout, a two-time American League most valuable player and four-time runner-up for MVP, signed his 12-year extension that averages more than $35.5 million per year on March 20.