DENVER (AP) — A difficult season for Mike Trout and his Los Angeles Angels team came with a historical benchmark Saturday.
The three-time American League most valuable player and 11-time all-star hit his 400th career home run in the eighth inning of a 3-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies.
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Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Mike Trout celebrates as he rounds the bases after hitting a home run in the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/RJ Sangosti)
Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Mike Trout, left, is hugged by teammate Jo Adell after returning to the dugout following his home run in the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/RJ Sangosti)
Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Mike Trout walks to first bases after his bat made contact with the glove of Colorado Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman, who was called for interference in the first inning on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/RJ Sangosti)
Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Mike Trout waits for a pitch in the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/RJ Sangosti)
Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Mike Trout watches his hit clear the wall for a home run in the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/RJ Sangosti)
The 485-foot solo shot to left center field off a 98-mph sinker from Rockies reliever Jaden Hill extended the Angels’ lead to 3-0 as the club snapped an eight-game losing streak.
“It’s one of the things coming into the season that was on the list,” said Trout, who entered the season with 378 career homers. “I’m just happy it’s over. I’m enjoying it, obviously. It sucks the family wasn’t out here, but they watched it on TV. My boys back home, my two sons, and my wife got to see it on TV. My buddies back home and my family back home in Jersey, they can stop texting me to hit the 400th. It means a lot to me.”
The homer was the 10th longest in famously hitter-friendly Coors Field history since the advent of Statcast in 2015.
After the game, Trout received the ball from the fan who caught it. Trout gave the fan, his wife and his two young children three autographed bats and two autographed balls and, at the fan’s request, briefly played catch with him out on the field.
“Once they get older and realize, that’ll be an awesome memory for the dad to tell the kids, to experience that,” Trout said. “I know how I felt when I went to a ballgame with my dad.”
He became the 59th player in MLB history with at least 400 home runs and the third player to reach the mark while in an Angels uniform, joining Dave Winfield and Vladimir Guerrero. He’s the 20th player to hit each of his first 400 home runs with one franchise.
Additionally, he’s the fifth player ever to hit at least 400 home runs and steal at least 200 bases by his age-33 season, with Willie Mays, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez also in that group. Among active players, only Giancarlo Stanton has hit more career home runs than Trout.
He reached 1,000 career RBIs in July with home run No. 397.
Trout, a career .294 hitter, is batting just .229 this season, though his 22 homers and 59 RBIs are his most in three years after he endured injury shortened seasons in 2023 and 2024.
Entering Saturday’s matchup, Trout had just one home run in his previous 36 games.
“I enjoy playing this game,” Trout said. “Obviously, there’s going to be ups and downs. That’s part of it. It’s always going to be a grind. That’s what I love about it. You get humbled a little bit when you feel like you go out there and you have so much success and then you go through rough stretches. That’s what I’ve been going through. It’s good to finally get this milestone.”
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Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Mike Trout celebrates as he rounds the bases after hitting a home run in the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/RJ Sangosti)
Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Mike Trout, left, is hugged by teammate Jo Adell after returning to the dugout following his home run in the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/RJ Sangosti)
Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Mike Trout walks to first bases after his bat made contact with the glove of Colorado Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman, who was called for interference in the first inning on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/RJ Sangosti)
Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Mike Trout waits for a pitch in the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/RJ Sangosti)
Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Mike Trout watches his hit clear the wall for a home run in the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/RJ Sangosti)
A federal appeals panel on Thursday reversed a lower court decision that released former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil from an immigration jail, bringing the government one step closer to detaining and ultimately deporting the Palestinian activist.
The three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals didn’t decide the key issue in Khalil’s case: whether the Trump administration’s effort to throw Khalil out of the U.S. over his campus activism and criticism of Israel is unconstitutional.
But in its 2-1 decision, the panel ruled a federal judge in New Jersey didn’t have jurisdiction to decide the matter at this time. Federal law requires the case to fully move through the immigration courts first, before Khalil can challenge the decision, they wrote.
“That scheme ensures that petitioners get just one bite at the apple — not zero or two,” the panel wrote. “But it also means that some petitioners, like Khalil, will have to wait to seek relief for allegedly unlawful government conduct.”
The law bars Khalil “from attacking his detention and removal in a habeas petition,” the panel added.
It was not clear whether the government would seek to detain Khalil, a legal permanent resident, again while his legal challenges continue.
Thursday’s decision marked a major win for the Trump administration’s sweeping campaign to detain and deport noncitizens who joined protests against Israel.
In a statement distributed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Khalil said the appeals ruling was “deeply disappointing, but it does not break our resolve.”
He added: “The door may have been opened for potential re-detainment down the line, but it has not closed our commitment to Palestine and to justice and accountability. I will continue to fight, through every legal avenue and with every ounce of determination, until my rights, and the rights of others like me, are fully protected.”
Baher Azmy, one of Khalil's lawyers, said the ruling was “contrary to rulings of other federal courts.” He noted the panel’s finding concerned a “hypertechnical jurisdictional matter,” rather than the legality of the Trump administration’s policy.
“Our legal options are by no means concluded, and we will fight with every available avenue,” he added, saying Khalil would remain free pending the full resolution of all appeals, which could take months or longer.
The ACLU said the Trump administration cannot lawfully re-detain Khalil until the order takes formal effect, which won't happen while he can still immediately appeal.
Khalil's lawyers can request the active judges on the 3rd Circuit hear an appeal, or they can go to the U.S. Supreme Court.
An outspoken leader of the pro-Palestinian movement at Columbia, Khalil was arrested on March 8, 2025. He then spent three months detained in a Louisiana immigration jail, missing the birth of his firstborn.
Federal officials have accused Khalil of leading activities “aligned to Hamas,” though they have not presented evidence to support the claim and have not accused him of criminal conduct. They have also accused Khalil, 30, of failing to disclose information on his green card application.
The government has justified the arrest under a seldom-used statute that allows for the expulsion of noncitizens whose beliefs are deemed to pose a threat to U.S. foreign policy interests.
In June, a federal judge in New Jersey ruled that justification would likely be declared unconstitutional and ordered Khalil released.
President Donald Trump's administration appealed that ruling, arguing the deportation decision should fall to an immigration judge, rather than a federal court.
Khalil has dismissed the allegations as “baseless and ridiculous,” framing his arrest and detention as a “direct consequence of exercising my right to free speech as I advocated for a free Palestine and an end to the genocide in Gaza.”
Judge Arianna Freeman dissented Thursday, writing that her colleagues were holding Khalil to the wrong legal standard. Khalil, she wrote, is raising “now-or-never claims” that can be handled at the district court level. He does not have a final order of removal, which would permit a challenge in an appellate court, she wrote.
Both judges who ruled against Khalil, Thomas Hardiman and Stephanos Bibas, were Republican appointees. President George W. Bush appointed Hardiman to the 3rd Circuit, while Trump appointed Bibas. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, appointed Freeman.
The majority opinion noted Freeman worried the ruling would leave Khalil with no remedy for unconstitutional immigration detention, even if he later can appeal.
“But our legal system routinely forces petitioners — even those with meritorious claims — to wait to raise their arguments, the judges wrote. “To be sure, the immigration judge’s order of removal is not yet final; the Board has not affirmed her ruling and has held the parties’ briefing deadlines in abeyance pending this opinion. But if the Board ultimately affirms, Khalil can get meaningful review.”
The decision comes as an appeals board in the immigration court system weighs a previous order that found Khalil could be deported. His attorneys have argued that the federal order should take precedence.
That judge has suggested Khalil could be deported to Algeria, where he maintains citizenship through a distant relative, or Syria, where he was born in a refugee camp to a Palestinian family.
His attorneys have said he faces mortal danger if forced to return to either country.
Associated Press Writer Larry Neumeister contributed to this story.
FILE - Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil holds a news conference outside Federal Court on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025 in Philadelphia (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
