Mike Trout reaches 1,000 RBIs with 443-foot blast as Angels beat Mariners 4-1

The four-run fifth that flipped the game

One swing, 443 feet, and a clean milestone. Mike Trout joined the 1,000-RBI club on Sunday afternoon with a two-run rocket to center, and the Angels rode that blast to a 4-1 win over the Mariners at Angel Stadium. The result split a four-game series that felt like a measuring stick for both teams heading into a tight stretch of the summer.

Through four innings, no one could crack the scoreboard. Kyle Hendricks worked with his familiar pace and command, keeping Seattle off balance with soft contact. Logan Gilbert matched him pitch for pitch, leaning on his mid-90s fastball and a sharp slider to stack strikeouts and limit traffic. The game had the feel of one timely swing deciding it—and the Angels’ lineup delivered that and more in the fifth.

It started small. Travis d’Arnaud reached, and Kevin Newman rolled a grounder to the right side that brought d’Arnaud home for the first run. Moments later, Luis Rengifo broke hard from third and scored on a wild pitch from Gilbert, a tiny mistake that loomed large in a low-scoring game. Then came the swing everyone will remember: Trout unloaded on a pitch that stayed up and sent it soaring to straightaway center, clearing the wall with room to spare. The two-run homer lifted him not just to 1,000 RBIs, but 1,001 in the same instant, and pushed the Angels ahead 4-0.

Trout’s drive was his 19th of the 2025 season and the 397th of his career, nudging him closer to the 400-homer threshold that few reach and even fewer reach in one uniform. He also became only the third player to collect his first 1,000 RBIs entirely as an Angel, joining Garret Anderson and Tim Salmon. For a franchise that’s cycled through waves of stars and near-misses, having another name in that short list matters.

Seattle answered in the seventh, and of course it was Cal Raleigh—now leading the majors with 41 home runs—who got them on the board. The switch-hitting catcher turned on a pitch and sent a solo shot out to right, his second homer in as many nights and his fourth this year against Los Angeles. That cut the lead to three, but the Mariners wouldn’t get closer.

Hendricks earned his first win since June 17 by staying in the zone and trusting the defense. He gave up only one run on two hits in six-plus innings, walked one, and struck out three. It wasn’t flashy. It didn’t need to be. He got early-count contact, lived at the edges, and let the Angels’ gloves handle it.

One of those gloves belonged to Jo Adell, and his timing could not have been better. In the sixth, J.P. Crawford lifted a ball high to left-center that kept carrying toward the wall. Adell tracked it, leaped, and reached above the top to pull it back—a robbery that preserved the four-run cushion and reset the inning. The catch didn’t show up in the box score the way Raleigh’s homer did, but it mattered just as much.

On the other side, Gilbert took the loss, falling to 3-4 despite seven strikeouts over five innings. He allowed four runs on three hits, and the margin came down to execution during a rush of traffic in the fifth—one mislocated pitch to Trout, and one wild pitch he couldn’t take back. For most of the afternoon, he looked like the guy who can handle a top-of-the-rotation load. The hiccup was the difference.

Kenley Jansen handled the ninth for his 18th save, closing the door without drama. The Angels’ bullpen bridged the late innings with quick outs and avoided the free passes that have burned them at times this season. Seattle simply didn’t get many looks after Raleigh’s shot.

The split leaves the Angels at 51-55 and the Mariners at 56-50. For Los Angeles, it’s a sigh of relief after a choppy week that kept them hovering under .500. For Seattle, it’s a missed chance to stack wins before a softer part of the schedule. The division picture remains tight, and the head-to-heads will keep carrying extra weight.

• Key swing: Trout’s 443-foot, two-run homer to center in the fifth.
• Key defensive play: Jo Adell’s over-the-wall robbery of J.P. Crawford in the sixth.
• Pitching lines: Hendricks — 6+ IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K (win). Gilbert — 5 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 7 K (loss).
• Power watch: Cal Raleigh’s MLB-leading 41st home run.

For Seattle’s lineup, the story was quiet contact and limited chances. Hendricks allowed just three baserunners during his outing—the two hits plus a walk—and the Angels didn’t give away extra outs. Raleigh’s homer showed why he’s pacing the league, but the Mariners couldn’t string together anything behind him. When the ball stayed in the park, Hendricks kept it on the ground.

The Angels didn’t crush the ball all afternoon either, but they cashed the few chances that came. Newman’s RBI grounder was simple situational hitting. Rengifo’s aggressive read on the wild pitch added a bonus run. Trout’s swing made the box score pop. That’s the formula for a team that’s been looking for consistency: keep it clean, wait for a mistake, and let your best player make the biggest play.

Why 1,000 RBIs matters for Trout and the Angels

RBI totals don’t live in a vacuum—they depend on who’s on base, lineup spots, and a little luck. But the 1,000 mark still tells a real story: time, production, and staying power. Trout’s path to this number hasn’t been linear. He’s dealt with injuries in recent seasons and long stretches where he was asked to carry an offense thinned by departures and injuries around him. Reaching 1,000 in one uniform, and doing it at age 33, lands a clear message: the prime talent is still there, and the impact still tilts games.

Being the third Angel to open his career with 1,000 RBIs all in Anaheim ties Trout to the franchise’s long arc in a way that highlights what he’s done beyond the highlight reels. Anderson did it by staying on the field and stacking doubles. Salmon did it with noise and October moments. Trout’s version blends both—premium power, elite on-base skill, and a knack for crushing mistakes. Sunday’s swing fit the type: a center-cut pitch, a balanced stride, and a ball that didn’t need the wind to leave.

There’s also a looming bit of franchise history here. With 1,001 RBIs and counting, Trout is moving closer to Tim Salmon’s 1,016 as he climbs the Angels’ all-time list. The 400-homer milestone is also in sight. These round numbers don’t win games by themselves, but they give weight to the seasons and help frame what fans are watching in real time—a great player adding chapters that used to seem years away.

Zooming back to the present, the Angels needed this win for reasons beyond nostalgia. Hendricks snapping a winless stretch that dated to June 17 matters for a rotation that has been searching for a steady hand. He didn’t overpower anyone, but he set the tone. When the changeup teased the zone and the sinker stayed down, Seattle beat the ball into the grass. The Angels will take that version every time.

Seattle will leave Anaheim knowing there wasn’t much separating these teams over four games. Gilbert looked like himself for four innings, and the fifth unraveling felt more like a cluster than a collapse. Raleigh remains the Mariners’ loudest bat, and when he gets one, it usually stays gone. Their task is the same as always: get traffic ahead of him, turn the solo shots into multi-run damage, and stretch the lineup so a single bad inning isn’t fatal.

The series split also showed two complementary ways to win games in late July. The Angels stole a run with hustle on a wild pitch and added a dagger swing. The Mariners relied on star power to get on the board but couldn’t build around it. Defense swung a key moment—Adell’s catch shifted the mood, and the crowd knew it—and that can be the difference in tight, low-scoring games.

As for Trout, milestones can be heavy, especially when they hover. He didn’t chase this one. He took pitches he couldn’t drive, stayed through the middle, and when Gilbert left a fastball where he could lift it, Trout didn’t miss. That’s been the common thread in a career full of adjustments: see the ball, make the right swing, live with the result. The numbers take care of themselves when the swing decisions are right.

There’s a practical edge to this too: the Angels need Trout’s power to steady an offense that can go quiet. If the surrounding bats keep moving runners into scoring position, he’ll get more chances like the one he saw Sunday. If not, he’ll take his walks and wait. That’s been the tension for years—let him hit with traffic and watch the RBI count climb, or pitch around him and hope the next guy blinks.

Next up, both clubs get quick pivots. Seattle heads to Oakland for three, with right-hander Luis Castillo (7-6, 3.30 ERA) set for Monday’s opener. The matchup favors the Mariners on paper—Castillo’s fastball-command days play in a big park—but the A’s can turn games messy with speed and opportunism. Seattle could use innings from Castillo after a bullpen-heavy week.

Back in Anaheim, the Angels host the Texas Rangers. Jack Kochanowicz (3-9, 6.03 ERA) is slated to take the ball, and his path looks a lot like Hendricks’ on Sunday: stay ahead, keep the ball on the ground, and avoid the free passes. If he does that, the Angels’ defense and a few big swings can carry them. They won with that exact script against Seattle.

For a Sunday in July, this one checked a lot of boxes—star power, a stadium-wide gasp on a home-run robbery, a bullpen nail-down, and a clean piece of history. The split didn’t change the standings much, but it gave both teams a clear picture of what works when they lean into their strengths. And it put another round number next to a name that’s defined an era in Anaheim.