KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Mike Trout appreciated all the support he received Wednesday after the Los Angels Angels’ head trainer revealed the three-time AL MVP had a “rare” spinal condition that could affect him for the rest of his career.

Even if Trout thought the whole thing was blown out of proportion.

“I think he meant that I have to stay on top of the routine I do on a daily basis to keep it from coming back,” Trout said after watching his Angels beat the Kansas City Royals 4-0 to clinch their first series win in nearly a month.

“I’m appreciative of all the prayer requests,” he added, “but my career is not over.”

The 10-time All-Star left a game against Houston on July 12 with what was first called back spasms, then went on the injured list a week later with what was called rib cage inflammation.

On Wednesday, Angels trainer Mike Forstad revealed it to be a rare spinal condition, saying it’s something Trout “has to manage not just through the rest of the season.”

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“I got back and my phone was blowing up: `My career is over,”‘ Trout said, smiling at the absurdity of the overreactions he’d been seeing online. “It’s just rare for a baseball player. I just have to stay on top of it.”

METS: Jacob deGrom pitched four innings for Triple-A Syracuse, finishing strong after a shaky start in what’s expected to be his last minor league rehab outing before rejoining New York’s rotation.

“The plan right now if everything progresses well is to pitch for us next time,” Mets Manager Buck Showalter said. “But that could change by what we hear tomorrow or the next day.”

The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner would likely return to the Mets early next week in Washington. If he pitches Monday or Tuesday, he would be lined up on full rest to make a start in a potentially pivotal five-game series Aug. 4-7 at home against defending World Series champion Atlanta – although the NL East leaders have not committed to that timeline.

ORIOLES: Jackson Holliday slipped on a Baltimore Orioles jersey, jammed the team’s cap over his long, sandy blond hair and grinned broadly as the cameramen clicked away.

And boy, did he have reason to smile. The 18-year-old high schooler and No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 amateur draft signed a contract with an $8.19 million signing bonus.

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Holliday, a slick fielding shortstop with a potent swing from the left side, is a son of former All-Star Matt Holliday. He had visited Camden Yards only once previously – many years ago, he shagged fly balls during batting practice while accompanied his father, then an outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Holliday batted .685 with 29 doubles, six triples, 17 home runs and 79 RBI as a senior for Stillwater High in Oklahoma. He also stole 30 bases and scored 74 runs.

RANGERS: The Texas Rangers signed fourth-round pick Brock Porter, giving a $3.7 million bonus to the high school pitcher who was their second selection in last week’s draft.

Porter’s signing came a day after third overall pick Kumar Rocker got a $5.2 million bonus in his deal.

SALARIES: Recent arbitration decisions and settlements have lifted Major League Baseball’s average salary by 6% from the start of the 2021 season to $4,415,275, according to a study by The Associated Press.

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

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PHILLIES 7, BRAVES 2: Alec Bohm hit a go-ahead single in a five-run fifth inning and added an RBI double in the sixth, helping Philadelphia beat  visiting Atlanta.

Kyle Gibson (6-4) allowed two runs and four hits in six innings.

BREWERS 10, TWINS 4: Rowdy Tellez hit a pair of three-run homers, Corbin Burnes won his fifth straight decision and Milwaukee beat visiting Minnesota.

Tellez homered off a wild Chris Archer (2-5) for a 3-0 lead in the first and against Jharel Cotton for an 8-3 advantage in a five-run fourth. Tellez has 20 homers, one shy of his career high in 2019 with Toronto, and nine multihomer games, including four this season.

MARINERS 4, RANGERS 2: Julio Rodriguez connected again, hitting a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh inning as Seattle finished off a three-game sweep against visiting Texas.

ATHLETICS 4, ASTROS 2: Cole Irvin allowed four hits over seven innings and Oakland beat visiting Houston for its first winning sweep in 32 series this season.

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Oakland, an AL-worst 38-63, won three in a row from AL West-leading Houston (64-35) and has won 6 of 8 against the Astros.

Houston was swept in a series for the first time since last Sept. 24-26, also at Oakland. Yordan Alvarez hit his 29th homer.

ANGELS 4, ROYALS o: Janson Junk pitched five-plus innings of four-hit ball, earning his first major league win, as Los Angeles beat host Kansas City.

Shohei Ohtani reached base three times and drove in a run, pacing a scuffling Angels offense that managed to capitalize on the Royals’ shoddy fielding and get their first series win since June 27-29 against the White Sox.

DODGERS 7, NATIONALS 1: Hanser Alberto had a two-run double during a six-run first inning, and Los Angeles emphatically avoided an improbable series sweep by beating visiting Washington.

Gavin Lux had three hits and drove in two runs, and Mookie Betts reached base four times for the NL-leading Dodgers. Los Angeles had won 19 of 21 before curiously losing its first two this week against the major league-worst Nationals.

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TIGERS 4, PADRES 3: Victor Reyes hit a two-out, two-run double in the ninth inning to rally Detroit over visiting San Diego.

The Padres led 3-2 going into the ninth and brought on closer Taylor Rogers (1-5), who gave up a one-run lead in the ninth on Tuesday night in a game San Diego eventually won in the 10th.

DIAMONDBACKS 5, GIANTS 3: Josh Rojas homered and Arizona scored two runs on Jose Herrera’s squeeze bunt in the seventh inning to extend visiting San Francisco’s losing streak to seven games.

ROCKIES 6, WHITE SOX 5: Elias Díaz hit a two-run single off Kendall Graveman in the ninth inning, and host Colorado overcame the loss of starting pitcher Antonio Senzatela to beat Chicago.

Senzatela, making his second start since returning from a shoulder injury, led 3-2 in the seventh when Leury García hit a comebacker off the pitcher’s left foot that rolled away for a single. The 27-year-old right-hander threw some warm-up pitches before walking off the mound.

Lucas Gilbreath allowed Tim Anderson’s RBI single and A.J. Pollock’s two-run single as the White Sox went ahead 5-3.

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José Iglesias, who drove in a pair of runs, had an RBI single in the bottom half off José Ruiz.

Kendall Graveman (3-2) blew a save for the fifth time in 10 chances, walking Brendan Rodgers, Iglesias and Ryan McMahon on 16 pitches, then giving up Díaz’s hit on a first-pitch sinker. Iglesias slid home as right fielder Andrew Vaughn’s throw skipped to the backstop.

REDS 5, MARLINS 3: Luis Castillo pitched seven effective innings in likely his final start with Cincinnati, leading the Reds to a victory over visiting Miami.

Castillo is one of the top players on the market ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline. The Reds are last in the NL Central, and the talented right-hander could help push a contender over the top.

CARDINALS 6, BLUE JAYS 1: Albert Pujols hit a three-run homer and finished with three hits, passing Rogers Hornsby on St. Louis’ career list, and the Cardinals stopped host Toronto’s seven-game win streak.

Adam Wainwright pitched seven sparkling innings to help St. Louis earn a split of the two-game set.

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METS 3, YANKEES 2: Starling Marte singled home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning, and the Mets beat the visiting Yankees for a two-game sweep of their Subway Series.

Max Scherzer was marvelous on his 38th birthday, striking out Aaron Judge three times to help the Mets take a 2-0 lead into the eighth. Gleyber Torres tied it with a two-run homer off inexperienced reliever David Peterson, normally a starter.

Pete Alonso homered early off Domingo German, and Francisco Lindor had an RBI single for the Mets.

RAYS 6, ORIOLES 4: Randy Arozarena hit a two-run double off All-Star reliever Jorge Lopez in the 10th inning, and visiting Tampa Bay recovered from another late lapse to beat Baltimore, ending a four-game losing streak.

Baltimore’s Jorge Mateo sent the game into extra innings with a one-out solo shot in the ninth off Colin Poche (3-1). One night earlier, Poche entered in the eighth inning with a one-run lead and yielded a two-run homer.


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