The Los Angeles Angels claimed the third-largest win in Major League Baseball history after routing the Colorado Rockies 25-1 on Saturday night.
With many baseball fans’ eyes on the match-up between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals in the London Series, the Angels went about dusting off the frustrations of a mixed season with an incredible display at Coors Field.
Phil Nevin’s side were in charge from the very start and hit 13 runs in the third innings to open up a 15-0 lead. Mike Trout, Matt Thaiss and Brandon Drury struck home runs from consecutive pitches as the Angels showed a total dominance they’ve rarely been able to achieve this year.
Further damage was done in the fourth innings, as another eight runs were added to the scoreline and the LA team ensured the rest of the match-up was nothing more than a formality.
“We were aggressive. We attacked pitches in the zone,” said Angels manager Phil Nevin. “Hitting gets contagious at times. Big boys get into something like that [in the third innings], it fires up the clubhouse.”
A day for the history books
The win is the joint third-highest-scoring victory in Major League Baseball since modern records began in 1900.
The league’s biggest-ever win belongs to the Texas Rangers, who smashed an incredible thirty runs past the Baltimore Orioles during a 30-3 victory in 2007. Things didn’t look so bad for the Orioles in the early stages; in fact, by the end of the third inning, they were 3-0 up and looking on course for a successful day.
However, a five-run fifth inning without response gave the Rangers the advantage, with a further nine following in the sixth. A total collapse came in the final two innings as the Rangers hit sixteen runs between nine and ten to round their commanding win out.
Before that, ball fans have to go all the way back to 1950 for a similarly huge victory. Boston were the winning team that time out, hitting 29 runs to beat the St. Louis Browns 29-4.
On top of these records, the incredible third and fourth innings totals represent the third-highest number of runs scored by a team in the first four innings of a game. The Angels now follow the Chicago Cubs (who hit 25 runs against the Philadelphia Phillies across that time in 1922) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (who notched up 24 runs against the Boston Beaneaters in 1894).
Angels set their own records
The Angels didn’t just set league records though; they also notched up a few franchise records as well.
The 25 runs scored represent the highest number of runs the Angels have ever scored. The previous record was set in August 1979, when the team (then known as the California Angels) beat the Toronto Blue Jays 24-2.
The 13 runs scored during the third inning is the team’s joint-highest for a single inning: they hit the same amount during the seventh inning of their 16-8 win over the White Sox in 1997 and the 16-1 victory over the Texas Rangers in 1978.
The result was certainly a boost for a team that’s struggled for consistency this season and is at risk of losing their star player Shohei Ohtani.
Written and distributed by Chat T Sports.
