ANAHEIM -- A walkoff victory against your divisional rival is nice. Knowing your three-time MVP who has dealt with injuries the last five years is okay, and even better.
Mike Trout exited Sunday's game after being hit in the left hand by a pitch in the eighth inning.
Following the Angels' 8-7 victory in the 11th inning, manager Kurt Suzuki said the X-rays on Trout's hand came out negative.
Mike Trout exits early following a pitch hitting his left hand
Injuries have riddled Trout over the last five years, and on Sunday, it appeared he suffered another.
Trout, 34, was up at the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning today in a 0-1 count, against Mariners pitcher Casey Legumina.
Legumina threw a 94 MPH fastball up and in the zone, colliding with Trout's left hand. The same hand that suffered a broken hamate bone, ending his 2023 season after being thrown up and in against the San Diego Padres.
When the ball hit his hand, the sound of the impact echoed across Angel Stadium. Immediately, silence came, then the boo's followed.
Trout immediately stepped off the plate in pain, walking alongside the Angels' medical staff down the first base line.
He attempted to stay in the game but couldn't get the glove off his hand. That's when he knew his day was over.
"It didn't feel good when it happened," Trout said. "When I looked down, it was already swelled up. I couldn't get my glove off, so (Kurt Suzuki) was like, 'Go get it looked at."
Attempting to stay in the game, Trout ended up walking back to the dugout and was replaced by Oswald Peraza.
It wasn't the first time in this series that the Mariners have thrown up and in at Trout. On Friday night, Mariners pitcher Bryan Woo threw up and in twice at Trout. The first time missed him; the second time, landed right on his shoulder.
"We know where they're trying to get me out, fastballs up and in," Trout said. "It's just frustrating; if you can't control it up there, you shouldn't do it.”
Trout said on Friday that following the game, Woo did apologize to him and said it wasn't intentional.
"You don't want anybody to get hit to get hurt," Suzuki said when asked if the play was an accident or intentional during postgame. "I was a catcher, I understood we try to get guys out, and things slip away. It's part of the game."
George Klassen's MLB Debut
Jon Bryan - The Sporting Tribune
The Los Angeles Angels George Klassen #58 pitching during an MLB game against the Seattle Mariners, April 5th, 2026 in Anaheim California.
George Klassen's MLB debut today caught many by surprise as Ryan Johnson was scheduled to start for the Angels, but was scratched due to illness.
With Johnson unable to go, Klassen received the call and was penciled in by Suzuki to take the mound on Easter Sunday.
It marked the second time Klassen has pitched in Angel Stadium. The first was in an exhibition game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, on March 22nd.
"I think that helped absolutely helped a ton just get a taste of it like I said earlier," Klassen said. "Just get into it and just give it my best there."
In that game, Klassen showed flashes of why he is the Angels' No.4 overall prospect and third top pitching prospect.
Klassen struck out four against the Dodgers but also walked four and had command issues.
On Sunday afternoon, it was much the same for Klassen.
Klassen walked five today and struck out four.
Still, it was an encouraging outing for what the Angels hope will be a guy they will rely on in the future.
"It was a blast, I had a lot of fun," Klassen said. "I mean, obviously, some stuff happened, but overall, it was a great experience."
Facing his first batter in an MLB game, Klassen delivered a first-pitch fastball to Luke Raley. Raley was ready to take on the rookie and swung the bat right away, and opened the game with a leadoff double.
Klassen suddenly found himself with a runner in scoring position at second and was going to have to face the heart of the Mariners lineup.
The Mariners went down in order after the leadoff double, and Klassn left the inning unscathed and even picked up his first career strikeout by getting Julio Rodríguez to chase after a slider up high outside the zone.
When Klassen came out in the second inning, it was almost reminiscent of when he faced the Dodgers in March, by retiring the first six batters he faced.
But in the second inning, Klassen found himself in a jam.
He threw over 40 pitches, loaded the bases twice, walked four batters, and was hard hit twice. Klassen managed to escape the inning by only giving up two runs after he loaded the bases the first time.
"Their's always the want for more," Klassen said. "I mean I just had to go out there, give it my best, had a lot of help from players and coaches from spring to get out there and have a chance to learn from them and just keep on being the best version of myself."
Leo Rivas came up to the plate for Seattle and was aggressive right away, swinging at an 87 MPH change-up that landed in front of Trout in center.
In the next at-bat, Klassen picked up his third strikeout by getting Raley to chase an inside fastball. Klassen threw his fastball 32% of the time, while his change-up was used almost just as heavily at 25%. His fastball was one of his best pitches today, generating 40% whiffs.
"We all know he's got great stuff, right? We all talked before the game, it's about consistency and executing pitches at this level cause guys aren't gonna chase as much," Suzuki said. "His stuff is good enough that when he throws it in the zone, he's going to get swing and miss stuff, and that's what great pitchers have."
When Klassen came back out for the third time, the Mariners surprised everyone in Angel Stadium by having Josh Naylor lay out a leadoff bunt, which resulted in a single. Klassen gave up another walk to Randy Arozarena in the next at-bat, to put runners on first and second with no outs.
In another high-pressure situation, Klassen faced two more batters before his day ended. J.P. Crawford went down swinging after Klassen threw a slider outside the strike zone. Sitting in a 2-2 count against Cole Young, Young appeared to have gotten the better of Klassen, sending a ball 101 MPH towards center field, only to be snowconed into Mike Trout's glove in front of the wall.
Ryan Zeferjahn Exited Early
After Klassen's day came to an end, the Angels called Ryan Zeferjahn to pitch out of the bullpen in relief.
Zeferjahn kept the Mariners quiet for the Angels, going two innings and striking out five batters. But after taking a comeback ball off the leg, he didn't appear right on the mound.
Zeferjahn first hit Arozarena with a pitch and then fell 3-1 in the count against J.P. Crawford with two outs left in the fifth. He was visited on the mound by Suzuki and the Angels' medical staff.
Zeferjahn was pulled following the visit and was replaced by Brent Suter.
Suter, who came off the bench in the Angels bullpen, was not warmed up. He immediately walked J.P. Crawford, putting runners on first and second.
Cole Young came up to the plate for Seattle and immediately disrupted what looked to be another clean inning for Zeferjahn by blasting a 3-run homer over the right field wall, to give the Mariners a 5-3 lead. Zeferjahn was charged for two of the runs, while Suter was charged for Young.
Suzuki said during postgame, the team took Zeferjahn out of the game as a precaution, but indicated he will be okay moving forward.