The Texas Rangers routed the Baltimore Orioles 30-3 in the opening game of Wednesday's doubleheader at Camden Yards, becoming the first major-league team in 110 years to score 30 runs.
To put it in perspective, Texas finished with more runs than outs (27).
Ramon Vazquez, second from right, celebrates a homer in a 30-3 romp.
(Nick Wass/Associated Press)
"I knew we would get the bats going, but I never expected anything like this," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "When the faucet is on, you want it to stay on, you never want to cut it off."
Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Ramon Vazquez each homered twice and drove in seven runs as Texas set an American League record for runs in a single contest.
National League teams have scored 30 runs eight times, the last being the Chicago Colts in a 36-7 victory over the Louisville Colonels on June 28, 1897.
"That was ridiculous," said Saltalamacchia, who went 4-for-6 with a walk and scored five runs. "I have never been in anything like that in my life."
The Rangers erased a 3-0 deficit with five runs in the fourth inning, nine more in the sixth, 10 in the eighth and six in the ninth.
They pounded out 29 hits, the most in the majors since the Milwaukee Brewers had 31 in a 22-2 romp over the Toronto Blue Jays on Aug. 28, 1992.
"You don't want to be the one to make the out," Rangers centre-fielder Marlon Byrd said. "You feel like you have to get a hit every time up."
"You won't see anything like this again for a long, long time. I am glad I was on this end of it."
Dave Murphy went 5-for-7 with five runs scored and two runs batted in for Texas, while Byrd and Travis Metcalf walloped grand slams.
"It was AMAZING in capital letters," Metcalf said.
Baltimore's earned-run average rose from 4.39 to 4.60, dropping it from seventh in the AL to 11th.
Asked how to handle such a defeat, Orioles manager Dave Trembley responded: "You have a real short memory and you let it go."
With files from the Associated Press
