Advertisement

Angels hit trio of memorable first-inning home runs

The Los Angeles Angels started Saturday’s 10-3 win against the Seattle Mariners with a bang. Then another bang. Then a third bang for good measure.

For those scoring at home, it was a three-homer inning highlighted by back-to-back-to-back bombs from Kole Calhoun, Mike Trout and Albert Pujols.

[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Baseball contest now]

Just the fact that the Angels hit three straight home runs is pretty cool. That is unless you’re Taijuan Walker, the Seattle pitcher who served them up. However, it’s worth noting that each homer had a wrinkle to it that made them all more memorable respectively and collectively.

First things first. Calhoun started the barrage with a two-run homer, but it was not a typical at-bat. It was a battle that took 13 pitches to resolve. In fact, leading up to the home run swing, Calhoun fouled off eight straight pitches before unloading on the one he really liked.

The Alex Cora reference goes back to his 18-pitch at-bat against Cubs’ hurler Matt Clement in 2004. Cora won that battle with a home run, making it the longest at-bat to end with a homer.

Calhoun’s home run set the tone for the Angels. Given Mike Trout’s dominance against Walker though it was probably bound to happen regardless.

With that home run, Trout is now 9-for-11 with three home runs, a triple and six RBIs in his career against Walker. He later added a triple and single against Seattle’s bullpen.

Mike Trout and Albert Pujols celebrate a big night in Seattle. (AP)
Mike Trout and Albert Pujols celebrate a big night in Seattle. (AP)

That brings us to Pujols. With every swing, the 36-year-old slugger seems to reach a new milestone. That trend continued here, as Pujols broke a tie with Hall of Famer Frank Robinson and moved into sole possession of ninth place on the all-time home run list with No. 587.

Pujols didn’t stop there though. One inning later, he hit No. 588. That marked his fourth multi-home run game this year and the 55th multi-homer game of his career, which is tied for eighth all-time with Ken Griffey Jr. and Jimmie Foxx.

With all that knowledge dropped, we dare say that was the most interesting back-to-back-to-back home run sequence in MLB in a long-long-long time.

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:

– – – – – – –

Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!