Mike Trout's home run binge in New York this week was another April flash of the outfielder's slugging ability.
It's the remaining months that have been the problem of late.
Now 34, Trout is six seasons removed from his most recent MVP in 2019. His last truly excellent year was in 2022, when he hit 40 home runs. Last season was only the second time since 2019 that he played more than 82 games, but he batted just .232 with an OPS below .800.
The batting average is about this same this season, but with seven home runs in 22 games, Trout looks like an offensive force again — albeit without the contribution on the basepaths he made earlier in his career. He went deep five times as the Los Angeles Angels split a four-game series with the Yankees.
The problem is this has happened before. Last year he hit nine homers in April before going on the injured list in early May with a knee injury. In 2024, he hit nine home runs in April but tore his meniscus before the end of the month and didn't play again. In 2023, his April OPS was over 1.000. He ended up playing barely half the season.
Trout arrived at spring training this year hoping to return to center field after playing most of last season in right or at designated hitter. He said playing center would actually be easier on his body.
So far, he's started 20 of his 22 games in center under new manager Kurt Suzuki. Trout's theory is being put to the test. If he's still healthy and hitting well at this time next month, then the Angels can start to wonder if Trout is about to enjoy a late-career renaissance.
Trout is one of four players to win three MVPs before turning 30. Who are the others?
(Hint: One of them has been a teammate of Trout's.)
All five teams in the NL Central have winning records. The Chicago Cubs have the third-best run differential in baseball, and Pittsburgh is fifth. Meanwhile, Cincinnati and St. Louis have been winning the close ones. The Reds are 6-0 in one-run games. The Cardinals are 5-0 — and also 5-0 in extra innings.
Both the Cubs and Cardinals are on five-game winning streaks.
Meanwhile, every team in the AL West is at or below .500.
Byron Buxton went 4 for 5 with two home runs and four runs scored to help the Minnesota Twins to a 6-0 win over Boston on Tuesday night.
Buxton is not off to a great start at the plate this year. Half his RBIs for the season came Tuesday. The Twins, however, are at .500 after losing 92 games a year ago.
Down by four in the bottom of the ninth Wednesday night, the San Diego Padres scored five times to beat Seattle 7-6.
It was still 6-3 with two outs, but Luis Campusano and Ramón Laureano hit RBI singles, then Jackson Merrill drove in two runs with a double to win it. It was the first time since 2019 the Padres won after entering the ninth trailing by at least four. Seattle's win probability peaked at 98.7% in the ninth, according to Baseball Savant.
That was San Diego's seventh straight win. The streak eventually reached eight, and the Padres are now a half-game behind the first-place Dodgers in the NL West.
Stan Musial, Barry Bonds and Albert Pujols.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Los Angeles Angels' Mike Trout runs the bases after hitting a two-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees Wednesday, April 15, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Los Angeles Angels' Mike Trout (27) hits a home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Thursday, April 16, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
The U.S. Navy's forcible seizure of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship threw doubt on an announcement from President Donald Trump that U.S. negotiators will head to Pakistan on Monday for another round of talks with Iran.
Trump's announcement Sunday had raised hopes of extending a fragile ceasefire set to expire by Wednesday.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei on Monday said Tehran did not have plans yet to attend any talks with the United States.
Trump said the U.S. seized the cargo ship that tried to circumvent a naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, the first such interception since the blockade of Iranian ports began last week.
Iran’s joint military command said Tehran will respond soon and called the U.S. seizure an act of piracy.
The escalating standoff threatened to deepen the energy crisis roiling the global economy and push the two countries toward renewed fighting that has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, nearly 2,300 in Lebanon, 23 civilians and 15 soldiers in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen U.S. service members have also been killed.
Here is the latest:
Oil prices climbed more than 5% while world shares were mixed Monday as a standoff between Iran and the U.S. prevented tankers from using the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. benchmark crude gained 5.3% to $87.88 a barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, was up 5.3% at $95.62 a barrel.
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Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said during a visit to Germany it is unacceptable that hunger, illiteracy and a lack of access to electricity remain unresolved for billions of people while trillions are spent on wars.
“We are experiencing a critical moment in global geopolitics, marked by great paradoxes: While astronauts fly to the moon, women and children are being killed indiscriminately in the bombings in the Middle East,” he said Sunday night at the Hannover trade fair, German news agency dpa reported.
Lula called for modern technologies to be used not for wars, but “for a more sustainable and secure world.”
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed concern Monday over the U.S. seizure of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship on Sunday.
“We hope all relevant parties will adopt a responsible attitude, abide by the ceasefire agreement, avoid escalating tensions or intensifying contradictions,” spokesperson Guo Jiakun said.
“The Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway, and ensure its unimpeded passage serves the common interests of countries in the region and the international community,” Guo said.
China has called for the resumption of the normal operation of the waterway.
Iran’s military offered an explanation Monday for why it didn’t fight back against U.S. Marines who raided an Iranian vessel in the Gulf of Oman.
The Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, which oversees operations of Iran’s regular military and its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, said it held back attacking the Marines because the ship’s crew had family members aboard the Touska.
“Due to the presence of some family members of the ship’s crew, they faced constraints in order to protect their lives and ensure their safety, as they were in danger at every moment,” it said.
However, Iran also has seen much of its navy and airborne assets destroyed in the war.
Khatam al-Anbiya vowed it will take “necessary action against the terrorist U.S. military” in the future, without elaborating.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei on Monday said Tehran did not have plans yet to attend any talks with the United States.
He did not rule out Iran attending talks.
Authorities in Islamabad had been making preparations for another round potentially happened there this week.
“So far, while I am here, we have no plans for the next round of negotiations and no decision has been made in this regard,” Baghaei said during a news conference.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad on Monday.
The meeting focused on strengthening Pakistan-U.S. relations and preparations for a second round of talks scheduled to take place in Islamabad this week, Naqvi’s office said.
The statement did not specify when the talks are expected to begin.
Naqvi briefed Baker on security arrangements, saying special measures had been taken to ensure the safety of visiting delegations.
“We have made comprehensive security arrangements for our distinguished guests,” Naqvi said in the statement.
Baker offered an appreciated for Pakistan’s role in easing regional tensions and efforts to facilitate dialogue.
Pakistani authorities on Monday prepared to host a second round of talks between Iran and the United States, despite questions about whether the negotiations will take place.
Pakistan has intensified diplomatic contacts since Sunday with Washington and Tehran to ensure the talks proceed as soon as Tuesday, officials said on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke by phone late Sunday with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Sharif’s office said in a statement that did not mention the planned talks.
Authorities began closing key roads and stepping up security in the capital Islamabad over the weekend, particularly around a luxury hotel where the delegations are expected to meet.
Authorities deployed troops at checkpoints, closed tourist sites and instructed major hotels to limit bookings to ensure availability.
Iran on Monday offered a new death toll for the war with Israel and the United States, with its forensic chief saying at least 3,375 people had been killed in the conflict.
The figure came from Abbas Masjedi, the head of Iran’s Legal Medicine Organization.
Masjedi, quoted by the judiciary’s Mizan news agency and other outlets Monday, said only four of the dead remain unidentified.
His comments did not break down casualties among civilians and security forces, instead just saying 2,875 were male and 496 were female.
Masjedi said 383 of the dead were children 18 years old and under.
Masjedi’s figures raised questions about whether or not they included security force members, particularly given the levels of intense bombings targeting military bases and arsenals in the country.
Iran said Monday it hanged two men it accused of setting fire to buildings on behalf of the Israeli intelligence service Mossad.
An Iranian exiled opposition group earlier claimed the men as members and alleged their charges stemmed from events that happened after they already had been detained.
The Mizan news agency of Iran’s judiciary identified the men hanged as Mohammad Masoum Shahi and Hamed Validi.
The Mujahedeen-e-Khalq opposition group identified Shahi as Nima Shahi.
The MEK said the men had been “subjected to interrogation and torture” and convicted over an incident that happened before their detention.
This brings to eight the total number of MEK members executed since the start of the war.
Activists and rights groups say Iran routinely holds closed-door trials in which defendants are unable to challenge the accusations they face.
Hezbollah said it detonated explosives Sunday afternoon in an attack against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.
The group said in a statement Monday that bombs planted by Hezbollah fighters exploded and destroyed four tanks in a convoy of eight tanks that was passing the village of Deir Siryan.
It was the first claim of an attack by Hezbollah since a 10-day ceasefire went into effect at midnight Thursday.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment.
Tehran says restrictions on Iranian oil come with a price
Iran’s first vice president, Mohammad Reza Aref, says global fuel prices could stabilize only if economic and military pressures on Iranian oil exports end.
“One cannot restrict Iran’s oil exports while expecting free security for others,” Aref wrote on X. “The choice is clear: either a free oil market for all, or the risk of significant costs for everyone.”
Women share a moment as they look at a smartphone at the main gate of the Tehran University as a banner shows portraits of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, right, and the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, April 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A soldier stands guard on a bridge ahead of second round of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/M.A. Sheikh)
A U.S. Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft prepares to land at Nur Khan airbase, ahead of second round of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ehsan Shahzad)
Residents of northern Israel living near the Lebanese border protest the security situation, outside the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem Sunday, April 19, 2026. Hebrew on a sign bearing an image of President Trump reads "Hezbollah thanks Trump." (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
An army soldier stands guard on a roadside to ensure security ahead of the second round of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
An army soldier, left, walks as police officer drives motorcycle on an empty road ahead of second round of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
Excavators remove rubble from buildings destroyed in Israeli airstrikes on Thursday as rescuers search for victims in the city of Tyre, southern Lebanon, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Displaced people cross a destroyed bridge as they return to their villages, following a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, in Tayr Felsay village, southern Lebanon, Sunday, April 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
