Mike Trout kicked off the 2014 season with a Troutian blast, delivering a two-run homer off a Felix Hernandez slider in his first at-bat of the night.
Trout entered the night already having faced Hernandez more than any other pitcher in his big-league career. He was a lifetime .395/.405/.632 hitter with one homer in 38 at-bats against him.
Trout did fly out in his second at-bat tonight, probably in an attempt to lull Hernandez into a false sense of security.
The Athletic’s James Fegan reports that White Sox first baseman José Abreu has been hospitalized due to an infection in his thigh. It is apparently unrelated for the emergency surgery Abreu underwent last month for testicular torsion. The White Sox expect Abreu to miss the entirety of the three-game series against the Indians, which begins tonight, but are calling him day-to-day.
Abreu, 31, missed three weeks between August 20 and September 10 due to testicular torsion. After going 3-for-4 in his first game back from the disabled list, Abreu went hitless over his next five games spanning 23 trips to the plate. That dropped his triple-slash line down to .265/.325/.473 with 22 home runs and 78 RBI in 553 plate appearances.
Abreu had hit at least 25 home runs and knocked in at least 100 runs in each of his first four seasons in the majors, but he will almost certainly not reach triple-digits in RBI this season. His hospital visits impacted that, unfortunately. Abreu will enter his third and final year of arbitration eligibility after the season.
