Mike Trout returning to form as Angels visit Alex Bregman, Cubs

A rejuvenated Mike Trout leads the visiting Los Angeles Angels into a three-game set against the host Chicago Cubs on Monday.

The 34-year-old center fielder's career has featured three American League MVP awards but also several injury-plagued seasons. Thus far, Trout is off to a hot start with a .462 batting average, two home runs and three RBIs in four games.

On Opening Day at Houston on Thursday, Trout homered and stole a base in a 3-0 win. Trout then launched a solo shot and was 3-for-4 as the Angels topped the Astros 6-2 on Friday.

"I'm having good at-bats and am getting into a position where I can succeed," Trout said after his Opening Day homer. "Trusting the work I do in the cage paid off."

Opponents have taken notice, too. Trout has racked up seven walks in the early going.

Los Angeles lost both weekend games, 11-9 and 9-7, to split a four-game set in Houston.

"You can argue it was a good series with the back and forth," Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said on Sunday. "That's a good pitching team, and our hitters battled them and made them throw and knocked their starters out early, just like they did to us. We would have liked to have our starters to go deeper, but there are times where you just got to grind it out and find a way, but, unfortunately, we came up on the losing side twice."

Rookie right-hander Ryan Johnson (1-1, 7.36 ERA in 2025) is expected to get his first career start for the Angels. The 23-year-old saw action in 14 games out of the bullpen last season and allowed 24 hits and five walks with 16 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings.

After being traded from the Miami Marlins to the Cubs in January, Edward Cabrera (8-7, 3.53 ERA in 2025) gets the call to make his first start for Chicago.

The Cubs kicked off their season-opening, six-game homestand by dropping two of three games to the Washington Nationals. Chicago was on the wrong side of a 6-3 decision on Sunday. But Alex Bregman flashed the power that earned the three-time All-Star third baseman a five-year, $175 million contract as the club's prized free-agent acquisition in the offseason.

His two solo home runs and Ian Happ's second homer in as many games were the only offense the Cubs could muster. It wasn't enough to overcome the Nationals' power hitters, who went deep with runners on base on Sunday. Chicago manager Craig Counsell said Bregman's strength lies in his patience as a hitter.

Because he will wait for an offering to his liking, Bregman excels at lifting the ball with his swing.

"He's a very good hitter and is very selective at the plate in looking for his pitch," Counsell said. "When he gets it, he puts a good swing on it. When he gets pitches to do damage with, he puts the ball in the air the right way, and that's the right thing to do in this park ... He's been very locked in since Day One."

Ultimately though, Counsell is looking for more than the four hits the Cubs' offense produced on Sunday. He also wants extra traffic on the bases so that when hitters run into a pitch and do damage, the result leads to more than a solo home run.

"We couldn't put men on base in front of our home runs," Counsell said. "But it's good to see Alex (Bregman) get a couple of good swings and put a couple (of homers) on the board and get things going."

--Field Level Media