Upton homers, Trout has 4 hits, Angels beat Blue Jays 10-5
TORONTO (AP) — Angels outfielder Justin Upton came out swinging in his first game back from injury.
Upton homered on the first pitch he saw in his return from the injured list, Mike Trout had a solo homer among his four hits and Los Angeles used a seven-run second inning to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-5 Monday night.
"Upton obviously had an immediate impact," manager Brad Ausmus said.
Shohei Ohtani and Kole Calhoun also connected in the second for the Angels, who have won all four meetings with Toronto this season.
Toronto rookie Cavan Biggio hit two home runs, a solo shot in the first and a two-run drive in the eighth, the second multihomer game of his brief career. Randal Grichuk hit a two-run homer in the seventh, but the Blue Jays lost for the eighth time in 11 games.
Trout finished a triple shy of the cycle. He flied out in the first, doubled in the second, singled in the fourth, homered in the sixth, and singled again in the eighth.
Upton went on the injured list in late March because of turf toe on his left foot. He missed 71 games before returning, then started the seven-run rally with a first-pitch blast off right-hander Edwin Jackson (1-5). Later in the 11-batter frame, he chased Jackson with a single.
"It's huge to get him back," Trout said.
Upton is the first Angels player to homer in his first at-bat of a season since Trout did it against Seattle's Felix Hernandez in 2015. The last Angels player to homer on his first pitch of a season was Jeff Mathis, who did it against Minnesota's Scott Baker in 2010.
"I didn't expect a homer my first at-bat," Upton said. "I was pretty confident that I had prepared myself. I happened to get a good result."
Calhoun went back-to-back with Upton in the second, his 15th. It was the third time this season the Angels have hit consecutive home runs.
Two outs later, Trout hit a two-run double and Ohtani followed with a three-run homer, his ninth.
With sluggers Trout and Upton now flanking him in the lineup, Ohtani has high hopes for the Angels offense.
"As long as the guy hitting in between them does a good job, we should be able to win a lot of ball games," Ohtani joked through a translator.
Jackson, who snapped a five-game winless streak by beating Baltimore in his previous outing, allowed seven runs and six hits, including three home runs, in 2/3 of an inning. He has a 12.43 ERA in seven games with Toronto.
"The execution has been terrible," Jackson said. "I know I'm better than that. That's not who I am."
Trout's homer, his 20th, was an estimated 456-foot drive into the center field party deck.
"Every time I see him, he always does stuff like that," Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said of Trout.
It's the fourth time Trout has hit 20 or more home runs before the All-Star break. He and former slugger Tim Salmon jointly hold the team record with eight seasons of 20 or more home runs.
Luis Garcia opened for the Angels and gave up Biggio's homer in the first.
Felix Pena (5-1) followed and allowed four runs and six hits in six-plus innings.
The Angels have won 16 of their past 22 in Toronto.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Angels: OF Cesar Puello was designated for assignment to make room for Upton.
Blue Jays: Toronto activated RHP David Phelps (elbow surgery) off the 60-day injured list and optioned RHP Justin Shafer to Triple-A Buffalo. To make room for Phelps on the 40-man roster, the Blue Jays transferred RHP Elvis Luciano (elbow) to the 60-day injured list. Phelps made his first appearance since August 2017, when he pitched a scoreless seventh. ... OF Teoscar Hernandez sprained his left wrist crashing into the outfield scoreboard while chasing Justin Bour's double in the third. Hernandez was replaced in the seventh. X-rays were negative.
NORTHERN PRIDE
In their first home game since the Raptors won the NBA championship last Thursday, the Blue Jays honored their sporting neighbors with a 'We The North' banner in center field, and the same slogan in chalk behind the batter's box. The Raptors logo was painted on the back of the pitcher's mound.
FOUR SPOT
Trout's four-hit game was the 17th of his career and first this season.
UNHAPPY HOME
Toronto has lost a season-worst five straight at home.
UP NEXT
Angels: LHP Tyler Skaggs (5-6, 5.00) is 3-2 with a 3.93 ERA in six career starts against Toronto.
Blue Jays: RHP Marcus Stroman (4-8, 3.18) is 4-5 with a 3.52 ERA in 11 career games against the Angels.
