The Los Angeles Angels set a franchise record for runs Saturday night in a 25-1 demolition of the Colorado Rockies.
Coors Field has always been hitter-friendly and the Angels’ batters had a field day in Denver, pummeling Rockies pitchers for a team-record 28 hits in 52 at-bats. Every single starter had a least one hit and the team added six walks while striking out only three times.
The wheels completely came off for Colorado in the third inning as the Angels scored a franchise record-tying 13 runs. Leading 2-0, the Angels began the frame with back-to-back-to-back home runs off Rockies starter Chase Anderson from Mike Trout, Brandon Drury and Matt Thaiss — on three consecutive pitches. Incredibly, per ESPN Stats & Info, Anderson was also the last pitcher to yield home runs on three consecutive pitches when he did it in a 2020 game against the Yankees.
Anderson was pulled with two outs in the third trailing 7-0. He yielded to Matt Carasiti, who could not stop the tidal wave. By the time Carasiti finally got out of the inning it was 15-0.
Noah Davis came in for the fourth and he fared no better. He gave up an additional eight runs in the frame as the Angels took a 23-0 lead after just four innings. Trout hit the bench for the night as he was pinch hit for in the top of the fifth. He went 3-for-3 with a walk, and the Angels elected to sit a couple of other starters, as well.
“We were aggressive,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said. “We attacked pitches in the zone. Hitting gets contagious at times. Big boys get into something like that (in the third), it fires up the clubhouse.”
The Angels scored just two more times, in the sixth and eighth innings, but it was still a history-making night for the team as it joined the short list of squads to score at least 25 runs in a game. The Angels’ 25 runs surpassed the 24 they scored in a 1979 game against the Toronto Blue Jays and their 28 hits were two more than they had in a 1980 game against the Boston Red Sox and that 1979 game against Toronto. They also set a team record for largest margin of victory; their 24-run win is tied for the third-largest since 1900.
Hunter Renfroe and Mickey Moniak both finished the game 5-for-5. No. 9 hitter David Fletcher led the team with five RBI.
“Just one after the other, the quality of at-bats we had today – incredible,” Moniak said. “To be able to do that in that (third) inning and the whole game was what led to a historic day.”
Perhaps ironically, superstar Shohei Ohtani had the toughest night of any Angels starter; he went 1-for-7 with two strikeouts.
Colorado rookie Brenton Doyle spoiled the shutout with a home run to lead off the eighth inning.
Angels, Rockies complete trade during series
Shortly after Saturday night’s blowout went final, the Angels and Rockies announced that they had completed a trade, with L.A. acquiring Mike Moustakas for pitching prospect Connor Van Scoyoc.
Moustakas, who did not play for Colorado Friday or Saturday against the Angels, is batting .270 this season and has a .360 on-base percentage. The three-time All-Star and 2015 World Series champion has four home runs in 47 games.
Contributing: Associated Press
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