August 22, 2007: Rangers 30, Orioles 3

August 22, 2007: The biggest blowout in modern Major League Baseball history occurs.

The Baltimore Orioles hosted the Texas Rangers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. This was a makeup of the game rained out 2 days earlier. The night before, the Orioles had beaten the Rangers, 6-2. So there was no indication that such a large margin of victory in this game was likely.

Indeed, the Orioles took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st inning, and made it 3-0 in the 3rd. Through 3 innings, Oriole starter Daniel Cabrera had allowed just 3 baserunners, all singles.

It began to fall apart in the top of the 4th, with a walk, 3 singles, and a 3-run home run by Ramón Vázquez. It was 5-3 Rangers. It stayed that way through the end of the 5th. Had it stayed that way through the end of the 9th, this game would have been quickly forgotten -- except maybe by Vázquez.

But the Rangers blew the game open in the top of the 6th. Jarrod Saltalamacchia led off with a home run. This was followed by a single, a wild pitch, a walk, a sacrifice bunt, a single, and a grand slam by Marlon Byrd. Having already allowed 5 runs on just 1 out in the inning, Brian Burres got a strikeout, but the Rangers hit 6 straight singles, including 5 before Oriole manager Dave Trembley replaced Burres with Rob Bell. It was 14-3 Rangers.

Losses like that happen to a team every now and then. No one knew that the Rangers weren't even half-done. Cliché Alert: The wheels came off, in the top of the 8th. Single, walk, walk, RBI single, RBI single, grand slam by Travis Metcalf, walk, strikeout, double, RBI single, 3-run homer by Saltalamacchia. 24-3. This was now a football score.

Still, the Rangers weren't done. The record for the biggest winning margin in baseball history was 28, when the Providence Grays beat the Philadelphia Quakers, 28-0 at the Messer Street Grounds in Providence, Rhode Island. (The Grays won the Pennant in 1884, but went out of business following the next season. The Quakers changed their name to the Phillies in 1890.) The record for the most runs in a game was 29, when the Boston Red Sox beat the St. Louis Browns, 29-4 at Fenway Park in 1950. Both of these records would be seriously challenged.

In the 9th, already up 24-3, the Rangers produced walk, walk, single, 2-RBI double, strikeout, RBI single, strikeout, and a 3-run homer, the 2nd homer of the game by Vázquez.

Final score: Rangers 30, Orioles 3. The Rangers had broken the record for most runs in a game, but not for biggest margin of victory: 27 as opposed to 28.

Was this, in any way, indicative of how good both teams were? Not really: The Rangers finished 75-87, 5th and last in the American League Western Division; the Orioles, 69-93, 4th out of 5 in the AL Eastern Division.

Oh, by the way: There was still more baseball to be played that night. The rescheduling of the Monday rainout forced a twi-night doubleheader on Wednesday night. The Rangers won this game, too, "only" 9-7. Think about that: The Orioles scored 10 runs on the night, and didn't win a game, because the Rangers scored 39. That is by far the most runs scored by a single team in a single day. It's hard to believe, especially for fans of teams who struggle to score 39 runs in an entire week.

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August 22, 2007 was a Wednesday. These other games were played in Major League Baseball that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Los Angeles Angels, 8-2 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Bobby Abreu hit a home run, Derek Jeter went 1-for-5 with an RBI, and Alex Rodriguez went 0-for-2 with 3 walks, all in support of Andy Pettitte.

* The New York Mets lost to the San Diego Padres, 7-5 at Shea Stadium.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 15-3 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

* The Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Boston Red Sox, 2-1 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-1 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-2 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 11-8 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox, 7-6 at U.S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Seattle Mariners, 8-4 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Florida Marlins, 6-4 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Houston Astros beat the Washington Nationals, 3-2 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Colorado Rockies, 11-2 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 3-2 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

* And the Chicago Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants, 4-2 at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco. A passed ball and an error gave the Giants the win in the top of the 10th inning. Barry Bonds went 1-for-2 with 2 intentional walks and an RBI.