The Los Angeles Angels enjoyed a historic night on the road Saturday at Coors Field, setting new franchise records for both runs and hits in a game as they dismantled the Colorado Rockies 25-1, scoring 25 runs on 28 hits.
“We were aggressive. We attacked pitches in the zone and hitting gets contagious sometimes,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said afterwards. “To be honest, we found some holes and then the big blows added on some runs.”
The chaos began in the third inning with the Angels already leading 2-0 as 10-time All Star Mike Trout hit a solo homer, his 17th of the season.
That was followed by home runs from Brandon Drury and Matt Thais as the Angels became the first team in almost three years to hit consecutive homers on three pitches, according to the MLB.
And then the floodgates opened as David Fletcher added a homer in the fourth innings, by the end of which the Angels had scored 23 runs, the most in any MLB game for more than a century.
The Angels scored 13 runs in the third, tying a franchise record which had previously been set in 1997 and 1978.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of something like that,” Moniak said afterwards, according to MLB.com. “It was just one after another and the quality of at-bats was incredible.”
Moniak went 5-for-5 as he hit three doubles and a home run of his own to tie yet another franchise record with four extra-base hits in a game, while Hunter Renfroe also went 5-for-5.
Rockies starter Chase Anderson allowed nine runs on 10 hits in 2 2/3 innings before Matt Carasiti took over pitching duties and allowed six runs in four hits in one-third of an inning.
It was a less auspicious record-breaking night for the Rockies as they succumbed to their worst defeat in franchise history, according to Reuters.
“Today was just one of those days, where everyone was feeling good and we were getting the right pitches to hit,” Moniak added, according to ESPN. “And we were able to capitalize on it.”