In two innings, Saturday’s Rockies-Angels game started like any other baseball game. Then the floodgates opened at Coors Field – not in favor of the home team.
With Los Angeles leading 2-0, Mike Trout took the lead in the third with a solo home run off Rockies starter Chase Anderson. A pitch later, Brandon Drury threw an Anderson cutter into the pits from left center field for another solo home run. And then, one pitch after that, Matt Thaiss dropped a curveball from Anderson into the right field stands.
With back-to-back home runs on three straight pitches, the Angels’ 2-0 lead grew to 5-0. And that was just the start.
Los Angeles would go on to score 13 runs in the inning in a 25-1 thrashing that set a franchise record for runs scored. They scored eight runs in the fourth, then added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth and eighth to extend their lead to 25-0. The only consolation for the Rockies was a solo home run by Brenton Doyle in the ninth to cut their deficit to 24 runs and fend off a shutout.
In total, the Angels had 28 hits and five homers. They reached the base five times on foot. Every Angels starter had an RBI and a hit at the end of the third inning. Every Angels starter finished the game with at least one RBI and one run scored.
Left fielder Mickey Moniak led the way with five hits and five runs scored on a 5-for-5 night with four RBIs. He joined the home run barrage with a two-run outburst against Rockies reliever Matt Carasiti in third on his second at bat of the inning.
Anderson was long gone by then.
Shortstop David Fletcher led the way with five RBIs on a 4-of-6 effort that included a single run scored on the Angels’ fifth and final homer of the night, a three-run outburst in the fourth inning.
That Noah Davis home run extended the Angels’ lead to 23-0 and thankfully paused their goal barrage until Moniak scored on a defenseman’s pick in the sixth.
Drury and Hunter Renfroe joined Moniak with four RBIs apiece. Trout, Drury and Thaiss each had three hits, while Eduardo Escobar had four, one behind Moniak’s five.
Superstar Shohei Ohtani, meanwhile, finished a 1-of-7 pedestrian at the plate with a pair of strikeouts. But, like everyone else in the roster, he registered in both the run and RBI column with one each.
On the other hand, Anderson took the brunt of the damage, allowing 10 hits, 3 homers and 2 walks for 9 earned runs in 2 2/3 innings. Worse, he was the first pitcher to give up three homers on three straight pitches since, well – he did the same as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. The New York Yankees homered Anderson for three consecutive homers in that Sept. 17, 2020 game, a 10-7 Yankees win.
Davis joined Anderson with his own disastrous outing, allowing 11 hits, 1 walk and 2 homers while giving up 9 earned runs over three innings. Carasiti managed just one third-period out in relief of Anderson while allowing 6 hits, 2 walks and 1 homer that totaled 6 earned runs.
Unfortunately for the Rockies, they aren’t done with the Angels. They meet for Game 3 of a three-game series on Sunday afternoon. Austin Gomber, who sports a 4-7 record and 7.25 ERA, is expected to take the mound for Colorado.