Back-to-back-to-back home runs spark Angels' 25-1 rout of Rockies

Through two innings, Saturday's Colorado Rockies vs. Los Angeles Angels tilt started like any other baseball game. Then the flood gates opened at Coors Field — and not in favor of the home team.

With Los Angeles leading 2-0, Mike Trout led off the top of the third with a solo home run off Rockies starter Chase Anderson. One pitch later, Brandon Drury launched an Anderson cutter into the left-center-field stands for another solo home run. One pitch after that, Matt Thaiss deposited an Anderson curveball into the right-field stands.

With back-to-back-to-back home runs on three consecutive pitches, the Angels' lead ballooned to 5-0. And that was just the beginning.

Los Angeles went on to plate 13 runs in the inning in a 25-1 drubbing that set a franchise record for runs scored. They scored eight in the fourth, then added a pair of, ahem, insurance runs in the sixth and the eighth to extend their lead to 25-0. The only solace for the Rockies was a solo home run by Brenton Doyle in the ninth to cut the deficit to 24 runs and fend off a shutout.

The Angels tallied 28 hits and five home runs. They reached base on walks five times. Every Angels starter had an RBI and a hit by the end of the third inning. Every Angels starter finished the game with at least one RBI and one run scored.

Left fielder Mickey Moniak led the way with five hits and five runs scored on a 5-for-5 night with four RBI. He joined the home run barrage with a two-run blast off Rockies reliever Matt Carasiti in his second at-bat of the third inning.

Anderson was long gone by that point.

Shortstop David Fletcher contributed five RBI on a 4-for-6 effort that included a single run scored on the Angels' fifth and final home run of the night, a three-run blast in the fourth inning.

That home run off Noah Davis extended the Angels' lead to 23-0 and mercifully paused their scoring barrage until Moniak scored on a fielder's choice in the sixth.

Drury and Hunter Renfroe joined Moniak with four RBI each. Trout, Drury and Thaiss each tallied three hits, while Eduardo Escobar totaled four, one behind Moniak's five.

Superstar Shohei Ohtani, meanwhile, finished a pedestrian 1-of-7 at the plate with a pair of strikeouts. Like everyone else in the lineup, he registered in both the run and RBI columns, with one each.

On the flip side, Anderson took the brunt of the damage, allowing 10 hits, 3 home runs and 2 walks for 9 earned runs in 2 2/3 innings. Making matters worse, he was the first pitcher to allow home runs on three consecutive pitches since, well, he did the same thing as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. The New York Yankees tagged Anderson for three straight home runs in a Sept. 17, 2020, game, a 10-7 Yankees win.

Davis joined Anderson with his own disastrous outing, allowing 11 hits, 1 walk and 2 home runs while giving up 9 earned runs in three innings. Carasiti managed just one out in the third in relief of Anderson while giving up 6 hits, 2 walks and 1 home run, which added up to 6 earned runs.

Sadly for the Rockies, they're not finished with the Angels. They face off for the third game of a three-game series Sunday. Austin Gomber, who sports a 4-7 record and 7.25 ERA, is scheduled to take the mound for Colorado.