What the....???

Yesterday, the Texas Rangers did something that has not been done for 110 years. They scored 30 runs in one game. 30. Thirty. Three Oh. I can't help but laugh just thinking about it.

This happened in the first game of a double-header in Camden Yards, the home of the Baltimore Orioles. Here's a team that has had one of its most mediocre seasons ever, and they went to town on the poor Orioles.

What makes it even funnier is that they only scored in four innings! Five runs in the fourth, nine runs in the sixth, TEN runs in the eighth, and six in the ninth. Marlon Byrd had a grand slam in the sixth, which just happened to be the Sonic Slam Inning. That's right. Some lucky Rangers fan won 25,000 dollars plus a little extra because someone else hit a home run in the same inning. Then Travis Metcalf hit a grand slam in one of the other innings. There were lots of singles, though. It wasn't all home runs. Just hit after hit, salted with a few walks. It was pretty incredible.

When I got to work last night, someone asked if there wasn't some kind of "mercy" rule. Nope. Not in the bigs. No ten run rule. On the one hand, it would have been nice to save 20 or so of those runs for other games. They only needed four runs to win the game. On the other hand, though, they now have the modern-day record for runs in a game, AND the modern-day record for most runs in a double header, breaking the previous record of 36 when they won the second game 9-7.

Needless to say, Kason Gabbard got the win in the first game.

Sadly, Benoit blew a save in the second, then got the win when the Rangers came back. Reinecker would have had the win, even though he gave up five runs.

That brings up the subject of a badly needed rule in baseball. It should not be allowed to blow a save then get the win. There's rule that a pitcher can't pitch his way into a save situation. Why isn't there a rule that a pitcher can't "steal" a win by blowing the save? There needs to be. Maybe someday, when baseball has a real commissioner, such a rule will be instituted. But as long as Bud Selig is pretending to be a baseball commissioner, that's not likely to happen.

Oops. I went and got on a soapbox, didn't I? Dang.

Oh, well. Congrats to the Rangers for making history. It made an otherwise bad day a little bit of fun. It was otherwise bad because the Devil Rays beat the Sox 2-1, and the Evil Empire finally managed to beat the Angels. So the Sox are back to only 5 games ahead. But...they are still the best team in baseball. For now.

TTFN, y'all!