The Colorado Rockies set a franchise record for runs in MLB on Sunday, beating the Athletics 23-9 at Las Vegas Ballpark on a 101-degree afternoon.
ESPN's game summary confirmed the final score and venue, while the Associated Press report said Colorado's 23 runs were the most in club history. For a last-place Rockies team that entered the day looking for a way out of a three-game losing streak, the scoreboard supplied a fairly loud answer.
Castro And Goodman Lead Colorado Outburst
Willi Castro drove in seven runs and finished with four hits, including a grand slam off Scott Barlow in the eighth inning. Hunter Goodman added a career-high five hits and four RBIs.
Both Castro and Goodman homered twice as Colorado hit six home runs. Troy Johnston and TJ Rumfield also went deep, turning the series finale into the kind of box score that makes pitching lines look like clerical errors.
Kyle Karros had four hits as part of Colorado's 24-hit total. ESPN/AP noted that the Rockies finished one hit short of the team record they set against Houston on Sept. 25, 2011.
Las Vegas Heat Turns Into A Hitter's Game
The setting mattered because the game was played at Las Vegas Ballpark, home of the Athletics' Triple-A affiliate, during a temporary big league homestand. ESPN/AP reported the temperature at 101 degrees.
Colorado scored six runs in the fifth inning to build a 14-6 lead, with Goodman opening the burst with a homer and Tyler Freeman capping it with a run-scoring triple. The Rockies did not need a late comeback because they had already turned the middle innings into a hitting drill with standings attached.
Tomoyuki Sugano got the win despite allowing eight runs and nine hits in five innings. Eiberson Castellano then threw three scoreless innings for a save in his major league debut, a quiet milestone inside a very loud game.
Athletics Homestand Ends With A Heavy Loss
The Athletics, who had won four straight before Sunday, still finished their Las Vegas homestand 4-2 after taking series against Milwaukee and Colorado. The club plans to move to Las Vegas full time in 2028, according to ESPN/AP.
Max Muncy and Tyler Soderstrom homered for the Athletics, while Lawrence Butler had three hits and Zack Gelof extended his hitting streak to 18 games. Those details mattered less once Colorado kept adding runs, but they keep the result from reading as a one-team batting practice summary.
Colorado improved to 27-45 with the win, while the Athletics fell to 35-36. The larger standings picture still leaves the Rockies with plenty to fix, but a club-record 23-run day in Las Vegas is a real marker in a season that has not offered many of them.