Ron Washington calls out Mike Trout after brutal ending to Angels-Orioles game

The stage was set for one of the biggest names in the sport to take some of the air out of the sails of a young, up-and-coming Baltimore Orioles squad who'd won six of their past seven games. The Los Angeles Angels came into the game riding a four-game losing streak, and they left Angel Stadium with five straight losses.

With the bases loaded and a shaky closer on the mound, Mike Trout stepped into the batters' box with a chance to swing the fortunes of the Angels in a positive direction. Unfortunately, the Angels' superstar went down on a backwards K at the hands of Craig Kimbrel. Trout saw four pitches and never took the bat off his shoulder.

While the final pitch of the at-bat could be considered a "borderline" strike, Trout needs to swing at the pitch. Even Trout's manager, Ron Washington agrees. The Angels' skipper said, "Bases loaded, and the opportunity to at least tie? You’ve just got to swing the bat." It's not often that Trout draws the ire of the fans or his manager.

Brutal ending to Angels-Orioles features borderline strike three call on Mike Trout

A generational talent, the longtime Angels outfielder has come out of the gates swinging. So far,Trout is hitting .244/.328/.581 with a 154 wRC+. Trout leads the league in home runs (8) this season, but only has 11 RBI.

But this isn't the first time that Trout has failed to come through in the clutch this season. During the Angels' visit to Fenway Park earlier this month, the Halos rallied from a two-run deficit in the ninth inning against the Boston Red Sox. The Halos put runners on second and third trailing 5-4 with Trout at the dish. On that occasion, it was another has-been closer (Kenley Jansen) who struck out Trout with a barrage of cutters. But at least Trout swung the bat.

The Angels' hot start has been squashed by a five-game losing streak. The Halos need Trout and the rest of LA's bats to rally and get the Angels back on the smiling side of the scoreboard. Los Angeles will send Griffin Canning to the bump against the Orioles, and hopefully the team can avoid Washington's postgame shots for the rest of the week.

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