ANAHEIM — Coming home this season not only meant that Kyle Hendricks would play for what is essentially the hometown Angels, it meant he would finally pitch from the Angel Stadium mound after 12 seasons in the major leagues.
The Mission Viejo native performed well Saturday from the slab he had his eye on for so much of his youth, although the San Francisco Giants were able to hold on for a 3-2 victory to even the series at a game each.
Mike Trout did his part to bring the Angels back with a pair of solo home runs but he could not prevent the team’s fifth loss in six games. Trout extended his franchise record to 28 multi-homer games while delivering his second game with a pair this season.
Hendricks was himself a victim of the long ball, giving up a two-run home run to Matt Chapman in the first inning. San Francisco made it 3-0 in the third on a single from Willy Adames.
Hendricks (0-2) gave up the three runs on four hits over five innings with two walks and one strikeout. It was an improvement on his start at Houston on Sunday when he gave up five runs on four hits with three walks in four innings of a loss to the Astros.
With his first Angel Stadium start now out of the way, Hendricks remains in search of his first win in his new uniform. Hendricks has just one win over his last 13 starts going back to the beginning of August last season when he was a member of the Chicago Cubs.
Trout’s power surge started in the fourth inning when he hit a home run over the bullpens in left field. He added his second of the game and eighth of the season just over the short wall down the left-field line.
Trout also delivered a multi-homer game on April 10 at Tampa Bay.
While Trout has a .189 batting average and a .806 OPS through 20 games, his power swing is as effective as ever. Trout’s eight home runs are approaching the MLB-leading 10 he had through April 29 (29 games) last season before his season was cut short by a knee injury.
Trout had a chance for a third home run to lead off the ninth inning, which would have tied the game, but he flew out to the base of the wall in left-center field against right-hander Ryan Walker.
Jorge Soler followed with a single and got to second base with two outs before Nolan Schanuel flew out to center field to end the game as Walker finished off his fifth save.
Left-hander Reid Detmers, who just missed out on a starting spot during spring training, backed up Hendricks with 2 2/3 scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 2.70.