The Rockies just gave up 23 runs in four innings and we’re still counting

Only Charlie Brown and his baseball team can relate to the depths the Rockies plumbed Saturday.

First, they surrendered 13 runs to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. That set a Rockies record for the most runs allowed in one inning. It surpassed the previous one-inning record, set 19 years ago.

Then, for an encore, they allowed eight more runs to score.

Twenty-one runs in two innings. According to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, no team had allowed that many runs in a two-inning span since 1894. By the way, that was 99 years before the Rockies made their debut.

In the middle of the fourth inning, it was 23-0.

This #Angels 13-run (so far) third inning is now the worst inning in #Rockies history. Previous worst was 12, in the 9th inning on 9/12/04 vs. SD.

— Thomas Harding (@harding_at_mlb) June 25, 2023

It was 2-0 after two innings. But the carnage truly began when starting pitcher Chase Anderson surrendered three solo home runs in the first four pitches of the inning.

Mike Trout, Brandon Drury and Matt Thaiss went deep on three consecutive pitches to push the Angels’ lead to 5-0.

📂 Saturday Plans
└📁 BACK TO BACK TO BACK BOMBS 💣 pic.twitter.com/LXR0vIfb3U

— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) June 25, 2023

A walk to Hunter Renfroe followed. Anderson then retired two of the next three batters, leaving runners on first and second and a chance to mitigate the damage.

But then the real tsunami began. The next eight batters reached base. Anderson allowed two of them before Matt Carasiti relieved him and permitted six Angels to reach base, capped by Mickey Monism’s two-run homer.

In the end, 16 Angels reached base in the third.

Making matters worse for the Rox’ beleaguered pitching staff is that no errors were necessary. All of the Angels’ runs were earned.

Mercifully, the final five innings of the game proceeded normally. Los Angeles scored twice more before Brenton Doyle averted the shutout with a solo shot to center field.

Final damage: Los Angeles 25, Colorado 1.

It was the second-most-lopsided home loss for any MLB team in the last 122 years.

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