Yesterday, the Washington Harpers took on the Los Angeles Trouts of Anaheim in the best East Coast/West Coast showdown since Tupac and Biggie.
Yep, the Angels hosted the Nationals, which means baseball fans everywhere got to see the two best players in the game do their thing on the same field at the same time. And, naturally, neither of them disappointed.
In the first inning, Harper took a two-out, 1-0 fastball way out to left-center field and right over Trout’s head. But, not to be outdone, Trout took a two-out, 3-1 fastball to almost exactly the same spot.
Take a look:
.@Bharper3407 vs. @MikeTrout.
Better than advertised. pic.twitter.com/Evnke1Ha3z
— MLB (@MLB) July 19, 2017
That homer was Harper’s 24th of the season, matching his season total from all of last year, and came as part of a 4-4 night including two singles, a triple, and that dinger. According to Statcast, the ball traveled 405 feet, after leaving Harper’s bat at 103.2 MPH.
Harper is now hitting .337/.442/.632 on the season, with a 172 wRC+.
Mike Trout’s long ball in the first was his 17th of the season (though he has about 160 less plate appearances than harper), and his only hit of the night. Although he didn’t pile on the hits like Harper did, Trout’s homer was an absolute blast. According to statcast, the ball traveled 448 feet (his longest home run since September 2015) and left the bat at 108.4 MPH.
Trout is now hitting .335/.453/.721 on the season, with a 204 wRC+.
Here’s one final look at those swings:
Bryce Harper vs. Mike Trout – both with homers in the 1st inning pic.twitter.com/qk9FCnoQnm
— Brandon Curry (@bdotcurry) July 19, 2017
The Nationals won by a final score of 4-3.