NEW YORK — Aaron Judge homered. Giancarlo Stanton homered. Cody Bellinger scored a run. The Yankees offense finally showed some life in the four-game series against the Los Angeles Angels.
None of it was enough. Not when Mike Trout was in the building.
Trout finished the four-game set at Yankee Stadium with five home runs in four games. He homered in every game. He out-homered Judge 5-4. He drove in nine runs. He scored eight times. He batted .375. The Yankees split 2-2. They will not miss him.
A swing change unlocked something dangerous
Trout is 34 years old. He is in his 16th MLB season. And right now, he is changing his swing.
The adjustment is subtle. Before each swing, Trout takes a small step back in the batter’s box. He had always done it during batting practice. He never used it in a real game until the final month of last season.
Former Angels hitting coach Jay Washington suggested it. Trout tried it. It worked right away. He hit six home runs in his final seven games of 2025. He ended that season with a .232 average, 26 homers and 60 RBIs in 130 games. His best output since 2019.
Then he stopped. During spring training 2026, he felt he didn’t need it. He hit .190 through his first 12 games. So last weekend in Cincinnati, he brought the step back.
Trout explained exactly why the adjustment helps him.
“It just keeps from getting stuck and spinning and being under the ball,” Trout said. “For sure, it gets me to a good spot to be able to go forward instead of when I don’t do it. It’s just I get stuck back there and then I just spin off my back leg and that’s when I get under and start chasing.”
He smiled when reporters acted surprised by the change.
“I’ve been doing that for a while, you guys just haven’t really noticed,” Trout said.
How the series unfolded game by game
Monday: Trout and Judge each hit two home runs in the 11-10 series opener. The Yankees won. It felt like a turning point for New York. It was not.
Tuesday: Trout crushed a 445-foot solo shot off Yankees left-hander Ryan Weathers to open the first inning. Jo Adell followed. Jorge Soler followed that. Three straight Angels homers. Cody Bellinger went hitless for the Yankees. The Yankees managed just one run all night. Angels won 7-1.
Wednesday: Trout homered off Yankees starter Luis Gil in the fifth. The Yankees clawed back. Jose Caballero hit a Yankees walk-off to win it.
Thursday: Judge hit his eighth Yankees homer in the first. Stanton added a two-run shot in the fourth. Ben Rice homered in the sixth. Bellinger contributed a hit and scored a run. The Yankees had three home runs on the day. They lost 11-4.
Trout’s fifth homer of the series came off reliever Angel Chivilli in the seventh. It went 446 feet. The game was done.
History made at Yankee Stadium
By homering in all four games, Trout became the first visiting player in baseball history to go deep on four consecutive days at Yankee Stadium, per MLB researcher Sarah Langs.
He extended his Yankees Stadium streak to five straight games with a homer, dating back to last season. He and Judge are the only two players to accomplish that since the current park opened in 2009.
Trout also became just the fourth player ever to hit five home runs in a single series against the Yankees. The others: Jimmie Foxx in 1933, Darrell Evans in 1985 and George Bell in 1990. The Yankees had not seen anything like it in 36 years.
Final series numbers: .375 average, five homers, nine RBIs, eight runs, three walks. Season OPS now 1.003. Seven home runs, tied for second in the majors.
Yankees players cap-tip across the diamond
Judge and Stanton homered in the same game for the 61st time, including postseason play. The Yankees are 53-8 in games where both go deep. That record means nothing when Trout goes yard five times.
The Yankees DH was asked what Trout’s week looked like from the other side of the dugout.
“It’s unreal,” Stanton said. “Cool showing from him and Judgie all series. Obviously, you don’t want that against us, but you’ve got to acknowledge the greatness. It was a deciding factor today. Not what we want, but obviously a great talent.”
Max Fried walked Trout twice in Thursday’s start. He was honest about how hard the Angels star was to approach.
“Obviously he’s been one of the best in the game from the time he came up,” Fried said. “He’s very patient and he knows the zone. I was trying to throw the ball over the plate and for whatever reason, was just missing. Frustrated because I wanted to be able to go after him but obviously didn’t.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone saw it the same way. He broke down the Chivilli at-bat that ended in a 446-foot homer.
“He’s not chasing and he’s deadly in some certain parts of the zone,” Boone said. “Chivilli really the entire at-bat was executing pretty well against him and then all of a sudden goes back to that changeup and he hammers it. He’s clearly healthy and he’s an all-time great. Hurt us this series.”
Judge had high praise for Trout after Monday’s game, when both men hit two home runs apiece. The Yankees captain did not hold back on Thursday.
“Every time he comes to The Bronx, he puts on a show,” Judge said with a laugh. “I hate to see it.”
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