Rangers score 30, set AL record
Five runs in the fourth inning. Nine runs in the sixth. Ten in the eighth. Six more in the ninth.
The Texas Rangers rounded the bases at a dizzying pace and became the first team in 110 years to score 30 runs in a game, setting an American League record Wednesday in a 30-3 rout of the host Baltimore Orioles.
"This is something freaky. You won't see anything like this again for a long, long time. I am glad I was on this end of it," said Marlon Byrd, who hit 1 of 2 Texas grand slams.
Trailing 3-0 in the opener of a doubleheader, Texas couldn't be stopped. At last, the last-place Rangers did something right.
"We set a record for something on the good side of baseball," manager Ron Washington said.
It was the ninth time a major-league team scored 30 runs, the first since the Chicago Colts set the major-league mark in a 36-7 rout of Louisville in a National League game on June 28, 1897, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
"It was AMAZING in capital letters," said Travis Metcalf, who hit a grand slam after being called up from Triple-A Oklahoma earlier in the day.
Hours after announcing manager Dave Trembley would return for the 2008 season, the Orioles absorbed the most lopsided loss in franchise history and set a team record for hits allowed in a game (29).
The Rangers had totaled 28 runs in their previous nine games, including 2 runs on 7 hits in their last two.
"I knew we'd get the bats going, but I never expected anything like this," Washington said. "When the faucet is on, you want it to stay on. You never want to cut it off."
The Rangers set a team record for runs scored in a doubleheader -- before the second game even started.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Ramon Vazquez, the bottom two batters in Texas' lineup, each homered twice and finished with 7 RBI.
"That was ridiculous. I have never been in anything like that in my life," said Saltalamacchia, who went 4-for-6 with a walk and scored 5 runs. He came in batting .179 and finished at .262.
David Murphy had 5 of the Rangers' 29 hits, the most by a major-league team since Milwaukee had 31 in a 22-2 victory over Toronto on Aug. 28, 1992, according to Elias.
Texas had 57 at-bats, tying the AL record for a nine-inning game set by Milwaukee in its 1992 rout of Toronto.
Indians 11, Tigers 8: Franklin Gutierrez hit a 3-run homer, and Cleveland beat host Detroit. The Indians overcame homers by Carlos Guillen, Magglio Ordonez and Marcus Thames to tie the series at a game apiece and increase their AL Central lead to 1½ games over Detroit.
Devil Rays 2, Red Sox 1: B.J. Upton hit a 2-run homer, and host Tampa Bay beat Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka (13-10) for the third time this season. Edwin Jackson (4-12) overcame control problems to limit Boston to 1 run in 6 innings.
Twins 8, Mariners 4: Michael Cuddyer's grand slam fueled a 7-run first inning for Minnesota against Miguel Batista, and the host Twins ended Seattle's winning streak at five.
Athletics 4, Blue Jays 1: Esteban Loaiza won in his season debut by outpitching A.J. Burnett, and Oakland beat host Toronto to complete a three-game sweep.
National League
Cardinals 6, Marlins 4: Albert Pujols homered for a career-best fifth consecutive game to give St. Louis an early lead, and Jim Edmonds' 2-run, seventh-inning shot put the host Cardinals ahead for good in a victory over Florida.
Reds 4, Braves 2: Josh Hamilton and Jeff Keppinger hit consecutive home runs, and Bronson Arroyo drove in a run to lead host Cincinnati past Atlanta.
Dodgers 15, Phillies 3: Andre Ethier and James Loney each drove in 3 runs, Matt Kemp had a career-high 4 hits, and Derek Lowe pitched 7 solid innings as Los Angeles beat host Philadelphia.
Padres 7, Mets 5: Jake Peavy (14-5) slowed down the New York Mets by striking out 11, and San Diego beat host New York.
Astros 3, Nationals 2: Woody Williams won his third straight decision, and Ty Wigginton hit a solo home run in host Houston's victory over Washington.