No matter how you measure it, Mike Trout’s home run went a long way

OAKLAND -- Angels Manager Mike Scioscia reacted incredulously Monday night when told that the original estimate on Mike Trout’s eighth-inning home run, which bounced off the window of a luxury box high above the center-field wall in the Oakland Coliseum, was 421 feet.

“Four-twenty?” Scioscia said after the Angels’ 12-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics. “That ball bounced back 420 feet.”

C.J. Wilson, who allowed one run and four hits in seven innings to improve to 17-6 on the season and help the Angels win for the 18th time in 24 games since Aug. 23, had a similar reaction.

“Four-twenty-one?” the pitcher said. “What is that, yards? Meters?”

Later Monday night, ESPN’s Home Run Tracker pegged Trout’s shot at 452 feet, the fourth-longest homer of the season for Trout, who is hitting .331 with 24 homers, 89 runs batted in and an American League-leading 106 runs and 100 walks.

That seemed about right.

“That’s one of the longest I’ve seen this year,” A’s Manager Bob Melvin said. “He hit that one a long way.”

Balls don’t usually travel that far during night games in Oakland, but several factors aligned to produce another prodigious blast for Trout, whose two-run shot came off A’s left-hander Pedro Figueroa.

“I really didn’t feel it off the bat,” said Trout, who snapped an 0-for-12 skid with an RBI double in the fifth inning. “It’s one of those ones where I’m looking for one pitch, got it, put a good swing on it, squared it up and hit it over the fence.”

Mark Trumbo also hit a two-run homer in the eighth, his team-leading 34th of the season, and Kole Calhoun continued his hot hitting with three singles and three RBIs, giving the rookie outfielder 23 RBIs in 22 games.

In snapping the AL West-leading A’s five-game win streak, the Angels pounded out 15 hits and broke the game open with a five-run fifth. The Angels, 15 games behind Oakland, have been eliminated from the division race and are 8 1/2 games behind in the wild-card race with 12 games left.

Their best stretch of the season won’t propel the Angels (73-77) to the playoffs, but playing for pride has been a powerful motivator, and the Angels are finding meaning in beating playoff contenders.

“Every win is big for us now,” Trout said. “We’re still fighting. Mathematically, we’re still in it. We’re not backing down. A lot of the teams we’re playing these last two weeks are still in it. We’re going to keep fighting and playing hard every night.”

The Angels have two more games in Oakland, and they close the season next week with three games against the A’s in Anaheim and four games at Texas, which is fighting for a wild-card berth.

“We’re just trying to throw a wrench in the works and keep everybody their toes,” Wilson said. “It’s good television, I guess, when the season comes down to the last weekend.”

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