Mike Trout faced off against his LA Angels in Team USA's WBC warmup – and nearly got hit

TEMPE, Ariz. — So, what was the Los Angeles Angels’ strategy Thursday afternoon facing their All-Star center fielder Mike Trout in their exhibition game against Team USA?

“Away!,’’ Angels manager Phil Nevin said. “And a lot!’’

Nevin typically stays out of the pitchers’ meetings but this day, conveyed a message.

“I’m not in that meeting,’’ Nevin said, “but I may have mentioned, 'We’re not throwing anything in to him. At all.'"

Well, Angels starter Tyler Anderson must have not gotten the memo.

In just his second pitch to Trout, Anderson came up and inside, spinning Trout around.

USA manager Mark DeRosa stared across the diamond at Nevin and yelled:

“You’re going to let your pitcher pitch in on him?’’ DeRosa said. “I thought everything would be two-seamers down and away.’’

Anderson, laughed later, and told reporters, “I threw him that pitch up and in, and thought, I probably shouldn’t do that. It’s better to feed it over and let do what he wants to do.’’

The next pitch was a fastball, and Trout hit it to the warning track, just missing a home run with Angels fans groaning and cheering at the same time.

“He just missed hitting that ball 500 feet,’’ DeRosa said.

Angels left-handed pitcher Aaron Loup, who entered the game in the third inning, was hoping he would be able to pitch against Trout at least once, and got his wish in the fourth.

“I want to face him,’’ Loup told USA TODAY Sports before the game, “get him out, and be able to mess with him the rest of the season. But at the same time, I don’t know man, I don’t what to be the reason you accidentally hit him or something.

“I don’t want to take the chance of hitting him and being the guy that ruins our season at the same time.’’

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Can you imagine if Trout had actually been hit by that Anderson pitch?

“We’re all like, 'Whoa!,'" said team USA third baseman Nolan Arenado, who hit a third-inning grand slam in a 6-0 victory over the Angels. “I don’t think they would have been happy if he had got hit, either. It would have been both teams not happy about it.’’

When Nevin was watching Team USA’s exhibition game against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday night, he grimaced and held his breath watching Trout get hit in the arm by Giants starter DeSclafani.

“He told me he nearly fell out of his chair,’’ said DeRosa, who nearly had a panic attack himself.

Well, Loup didn’t throw a pitch anywhere in the same zip code of an inside pitch, but challenged him with fastballs, and wound up walking him on six pitches.

Really, besides the awkwardness of facing the Angels for the first time in his professional career, it was a rather uneventful game for Trout, who flied out to left field, center field and walked in his three plate appearances.

No matter, he still was wildly cheered by the crowd of 7,881, with one group of fans holding a huge Trout banner in the outfield.

“I knew they’d cheer him,’’ Loup said. “They love him here.’’

Well, almost everyone cheered him.

“I’m booing him,’’ Mark Gubicza, the Angels’ color analyst, said before the game. “I’m going to be a true Philly fan, and just boo him now. We may root for the same together in the offseason [Philadelphia Eagles, 76ers and Flyers], but he’s wearing a different color today.

“So, I’m ready.

“Trout, you are the worst!’’

Aw, nothing like Philly homies sticking together.

The Angels certainly are rooting for the best for Trout, while dreaming of a Shohei Ohtani-Trout matchup in the World Baseball Classic finals in Miami, but, still wanted to win this game.

“I was super pumped,’’ Angels outfielder Brett Phillips said, “to play against our starting center fielder, who in my opinion, is the best player to play this game in the 20th century.’’

Certainly, this is Trout’s team.

No one has more accolades than Trout: 10-time All-Star, nine-time Silver Slugger winner, three-time American League MVP.

DeRosa couldn’t help but stand back and listen Thursday morning listening to Trout and Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. talk about hitting in the batting cage.

“I was in seventh heaven,’’ DeRosa said, “listening to Griffey and Trout chop it up. There’s a difference with superstars. They’re always looking for that incremental edge to get better. It’s impressive.’’

The pleasure, Trout says, is all his.

“There’s nobody better than to pick the brains of than Ken Griffey Jr.,’’ Trout says, “so it’s pretty special to have him on the staff. He’s definitely the one I’m going to pick his brain, and see what he has to say.’’

Meanwhile, the other Team USA players say the same of Trout, with Mookie Betts and Trea Turner often seen talking to him the first few days, along with Paul Goldschmidt and Arenado.

Hey – Trout, 31, is the team captain, why not?

“For sure,’’ he said, “but there’s guys in there that have been there longer than me. But we got a group of guys. Everybody knows the deal.’’

Yep, and they all know they’re playing with a future first-ballot Hall of Famer.

“He’s the best player in the world,’’ says Arenado. “He’s a great teammate, talking about the game. He’s always willing to talk about hitting. He works hard, man. He works his butt off.

“Now I understand why he’s the greatest.’’

They’re also well aware that while Trout has won more individual awards than anyone, he has never played in a pressure game with much at stake since 2014. The Angels haven’t reached the postseason since 2014, and they have never won a playoff game in his career. So pardon Trout for not trying to conceal his enthusiasm.

“I told myself, even before they asked me, that I would play in this if they asked,’’ Trout says. “It’s a fun group of guys, a fun clubhouse, and I’m going to enjoy every minute of it. The whole group is excited. The chemistry is unbelievable. It’s loose in there. We’re having a great time.

“But as soon as that first pitch goes [Saturday, 9 p.m. ET, FS1 against Great Britain], we’re going.’’

Trout will have a chance to face even more of his Angels’ teammates this weekend when they play against Mexico on Sunday night at Chase Field. He didn’t get up at 3 in the morning to watch Shohei Ohtani pitch four shutout innings against China in their 8-1 victory (“Actually, I didn’t even know they were playing,’’ he said) but he will see face Angels teammate Patrick Sandoval, who’s scheduled to start for Mexico.

“What he did last year (6-9, 2.91 ERA) was impressive,’’ Trout said, “to just go out there and dominate like he did. He obviously is part of our team. Now, he’s the enemy.

“So, it’ll be pretty cool.

“Hey, I’m ready.’’

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