DYK: Angels' 21 runs set several milestones
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A struggling Angels offense exorcised its frustrations in a big way Saturday night, putting up an incredible 21 runs in a 21-2 rout of the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
The Halos' 21 runs are the most scored by any Major League team this season and marked the first time a team has scored at least 20 times in a game since the Astros beat the Diamondbacks, 21-5, last Oct. 2.
Here are some facts and figures to get a better idea of just what a 21-run output looks like:
• This was the first time the Angels have scored at least 20 runs in a game since Aug. 25, 2004, against the Kansas City Royals -- a game they won, 21-6, in Anaheim. It is the sixth time the Angels have scored at least 20 runs, and the third time they scored exactly 21 runs. The Halos' all-time record for runs in a game is the 24 scored against the Blue Jays on Aug. 25, 1979.
That game at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium, a 24-2 victory for the then-California Angels, also featured the greatest margin of victory (22 runs) in franchise history. Saturday night's 21-2 triumph by the Halos marked the second-highest margin since the team began play in 1961.
• C.J. Cron (6-for-6) became the third player in franchise history to collect six hits in one ballgame, joining Chone Figgins (2007) and Garret Anderson (1996). He also became the 67th player in modern MLB history, dating back to 1913, to collect a hit in each of his six at-bats. The last player to do so was the Rockies' Charlie Blackmon on April 4, 2014.
• Cron is the first player in Angels history to record at least five hits, five runs scored and five RBIs in the same game. The Mets' Yoenis Cespedes was the last player to do it against the Rockies on Aug. 21, 2015.
• Carlos Perez joined Cron with five hits as part of a 5-for-6 night at the plate. In doing so, he also became the fourth catcher in Angels history to record six RBIs in one game -- the first since Jeff Mathis is 2008.
• Cron and Perez became the first pair of teammates to record five hits and five RBIs each in the same game since Buck Jordan and Gene Moore did so for the Boston Braves on Aug. 25, 1936, against the St. Louis Cardinals.
• Cron and Perez also became the second pair of Angels teammates to record five hits each in the same game. Randy Velarde and Mo Vaughn were the first to do so on June 24, 1999, in a game against the Seattle Mariners.
• Cron (five RBIs), Perez (six) and Albert Pujols (five) became the first trio of Angels teammates to record at least five RBIs each in the same game.
• The Angels scored 11 runs in the seventh inning, the first time they have scored at least 11 in one frame since May 12, 1997, against the White Sox when they tallied 13, also in the seventh inning.
To put Los Angeles' seventh frame in perspective, the 11 runs they scored in the inning matched their previous season high for any game this season. It also was the total number of runs they had scored over a four-game losing streak entering Saturday night's contest.
• The Angels collected five singles, two doubles and one home run in their 11-run seventh inning, working two Red Sox relievers for a total of 41 pitches.
• Los Angeles totaled 22 hits en route to scoring its 21 runs, tied for the seventh-highest one-game total in franchise history. It marked the 36th time the Angels had recorded at least 20 hits, with the last instance coming June 17, 2013, when the Angels used 20 hits to beat the Mariners, 11-3, at Angel Stadium.
• Red Sox pitchers tossed just 169 total pitches despite giving up 21 runs, meaning the Angels scored an average of one run for every 8.05 pitches thrown by Boston pitchers.