Angels' Mike Trout matches Ken Griffey Jr. home run mark

Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Los Angeles Angels slugger Mike Trout became the first American League center fielder to hit 45 or more home runs in a season since Ken Griffey Jr., with a 455-foot bomb against the Oakland Athletics on Thursday.

Trout hit his 45th homer of 2019 during the Angels' 10-6 loss in Oakland. Griffey hit an American League-best 48 homers during his 1999 campaign, the last of his first go-round with the Seattle Mariners. Trout went 2-for-3 with three runs scored, two RBIs and a walk in the loss. He is now hitting .293 with 45 homers and 104 RBIs on the season.

Los Angeles led 2-1 entering the top of the third inning, when Angels third baseman David Fletcher led off the frame with a bunt single. Trout walked to the plate as the second batter of the third inning and the star outfielder smacked starter Brett Anderson's only offering of the exchange over the center field fence for a two-run homer.

Trout's blast had an exit velocity of 111 mph and left the field in 5.4 seconds, according to Statcast. The two-run shot also tied New York Mets rookie Pete Alonso for the Major League Baseball homer lead.

Justin Upton plated Trout on an RBI single for a 5-1 lead in the fifth frame and Kevan Smith pushed the Angels' lead to 6-1 with a solo homer in the seventh inning. The Athletics rallied with a seven-run barrage in the bottom of the seventh frame to steal the lead. Jurickson Profar added two more runs for the Athletics with a single in the eighth inning.

Athletics shortstop Marcus Semien went 4-for-4 with three runs scored in the win. Upton went 2-for-4 with three RBIs for the Angels.

The Angels face the Chicago White Sox at 8:10 p.m. EDT Friday at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago. The Athletics host the Detroit Tigers at 10:07 p.m. EDT Friday in Oakland.