30

You don't see much Texas Rangers blogging on this blog because frankly, there's nothing to blog about. But this is just too good not to mention:

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 Baltimore Orioles.

Thirty runs. Comparisons are difficult, but that's the equivalent of scoring 100 points in a football game, 180 in a basketball game, or 10-15 goals in a hockey or soccer game. It's beyond ridiculous. Here are some highlights:

The Rangers, who had struck out 30 times over the previous two games in getting trounced by Cy Young contenders Johan Santana of Minnesota and Erik Bedard of Baltimore, got two homers and seven RBIs each from Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Ramon Vazquez. Saltalamacchia set a Rangers record for RBIs in a game by a rookie.

Oh, and Travis Metcalf and Marlon Byrd each hit grand slams. Metcalf ended up with four RBIs in the second game, too, tying a club record for most RBIs in a doubleheader.

Two players with two home runs each. Two players with two grand slams each...in a single game. And this was in a comeback at that, after the Rangers trailed the Orioles by three runs after three innings. Baseball is a game of numbers and statistics, and rarely do those stats change significantly after a single game, but that doesn't hold true in this case:

[Orioles Pitcher Brian] Burres (2/3 IP, eight earned) needed 34 pitches for his ERA to jump from 4.45 to 5.24.

Paul Shuey (nine earned runs in two innings) saw his ERA jump from 6.75 to 9.49.

Some more numbers for you: Baltimore's team ERA went from 4.39 to 4.60. Saltalmacchia raised his hitting average 83 points to .262. The Rangers overall hitting average went from .250 to .258. And four different Rangers had four RBIs each.

Insane, but fun. A nice highlight in what is otherwise a generation of mediocrity for the Rangers.