Mike Trout responded to Ron Washington's callout immediately vs Orioles

Mike Trout drew the ire of both his manager and the Los Angeles Angels fanbase on Monday night. With the bases loaded and the Angels trailing the Baltimore Orioles 4-2, Trout came up with a chance to tie or win the game.

Unfortunately, the Angels' superstar outfielder laid an egg and went down on strikes. Not only that, but Trout never even swung the bat. He watched all three strikes land in the zone and kept the bat on his shoulder the entire time.

After the game, Angels manager Ron Washington pushed back against his slugger's decision not to swing. Washington said, "Bases loaded, and the opportunity to at least tie? You’ve just got to swing the bat." Trout must've heard his manager's criticism and took it to heart, because the former MVP came out swinging on Tuesday night.

Mike Trout responded to Ron Washington's callout immediately vs Orioles

Washington inserted Trout in to the leadoff spot with Anthony Rendon on the IL after he suffered a hamstring injury. While the bases weren't loaded this time, Trout came out hacking. After ball one was wide and outside, the next three pitches were right in Trout's wheelhouse. He didn't miss.

Trout launched his league-leading ninth home run of the 2024 season to center field and put the Angels up 1-0. The Halos would go on to scratch across six more runs before Baltimore even got on the board. Los Angeles ended the day with a 7-4 win and put an end to their five-game losing streak.

Washington appears set to have Trout leading off moving forward, and if the 11-time All-Star keeps swinging the bat like that, why would you even think about changing things up?

The Halos are in foreign territory without Shohei Ohtani, but LA has stayed afloat in what's becoming a very competitive AL West Division. The Angels are below .500 and trail both the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers, but they're better than most fans assumed after losing the reigning AL MVP during the offseason.

If Trout keeps up his MVP-pace, the Halos may not fall out of contention this season. Whether it was Washington's critique or Trout knowing what his job is, the results speak for themselves. Swing the bat, Mike!

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