Doug Kern 9y

Kernels: Run(s) for the roses

The Kentucky Derby isn't until next Saturday, but our weekly look at baseball's interesting and unusual is getting prepared with a "post" full of high-scoring affairs.

•  The Orioles erupted for the highest-scoring game so far this season when they piled up 18 runs on 20 hits against Boston on Sunday. It was the 17th time in franchise history that they'd scored 18 runs; that includes 10 such games in Baltimore, five in St. Louis, and two in their inaugural 1901 season as the original Milwaukee Brewers. Their previous effort came on April 19, 2006, in an 18-9 win against Cleveland. Only one of the other games was against Boston; that was September 15, 1920, when they ran up an 18-5 victory at Sportsman's Park. Hall-of-Famer Waite Hoyt gave up 11 runs in relief in that game.

Jimmy Paredes went single-double-triple on Sunday, becoming the third player this season to miss the cycle by the homer, and the first Oriole since Adam Jones on April 15, 2010. Paredes also had four hits on Saturday, marking the first back-to-back three-hit games of his career.

Six players in the game had at least three RBIs, the first time that's happened since May 14, 2010, when the Blue Jays won a 16-10 slugfest with the Rangers. The last time the Orioles had four players with 3 RBI each was June 13, 1999, when they blew out the Braves 22-1 in what was, at the time, the highest-scoring game in team history.

Hanley Ramirez had two homers in the loss Sunday, joining Nelson Cruz as the only players this season with two multi-homer games. The last Boston hitter with multiple homers in a game they lost by at least 11 was Dave Stapleton against the Brewers on May 31, 1980.

•  The previous high in runs came on Tuesday when the Reds hit five homers and outlasted the Brewers 16-10. It was the first time those two teams had both reached double digits against each other, and it was the highest-scoring Reds game since June 2007, when they hit five homers in Seattle and won 16-1.

Three of the "taters" in Tuesday's game (Jay Bruce, Todd Frazier, and Jonathan Herrera) were grand slams. The only other game in the past quarter-century to feature three grand slams was when the Yankees did it by themselves in 2011. Before that it last happened on June 3, 1987, at Wrigley Field (Cubs over Astros, 22-7).

There were six half-innings in Tuesday's game where at least three runs scored, the first such game in the majors since June 28, 2013.

•  One of the joys of lopsided games is position players pitching. The Angels piled up 14 runs in Tuesday's win over Oakland and eventually Ike Davis took to the hill. He threw the bottom of the eighth and retired the side in order. The last position player to pitch for the A's was Frank Menechino, who gave up four runs (plus two inherited) at Coors Field on July 18, 2000. The last Oakland position player to pitch a full inning without allowing a run was infielder Mark Wagner, who gave up one inherited run on a sac fly, but then got the final five outs of a 14-1 defeat at Tiger Stadium on August 20, 1984.

•  The Reds' and Angels' wins, combined with Toronto's 13-6 victory, made Tuesday the first day since April 7, 2013, where three teams scored 13 or more. The last day to have a 13, a 14, and a 16 (exactly) was April 5, 2006.

•  Brandon Moss had a three-run homer, a two-run homer, and a two-run double on Friday to lead the Indians to their biggest win over the Tigers since July 17, 1966, when they hit seven homers in a 15-2 win. Moss had the first 7-RBI game in the majors this season, and the 26th in Indians history. Lonnie Chisenhall memorably had a 9-RBI game when he hit three homers against Texas last June. It's only the third time a Clevelander had 7 RBI against the Tigers; Bill Glynn did it in a three-homer game on July 5, 1954; and Hall-of-Famer Tris Speaker did it on May 1, 1920.

•  Okay, it's Coors Field, but the Padres dropped 14 runs on the Rockies Monday, their most since August 20, 2011. Colorado starter Jorge De La Rosa gave up nine hits and nine runs in just two innings. No pitcher had posted that line for any team since Rick Porcello exactly two years prior, and no Rockies hurler had done it since Ubaldo Jimenez in a 10-2 loss to the Cubs in August 2007. In their history, the Padres are now 47-1 when they score at least 14 runs; the one loss was a 16-14 battle with the Cardinals in 2001. Albert Pujols hit his 31st career homer in that game.

Among the week's other statistical oddities:

• Wei-Yin Chen: First Orioles starter to allow at least five runs with none earned (Monday) since Bob Milacki in 1990.

• Patriots' Day game: Second one ever shortened by rain. The first came 45 years earlier to the day and was also against Baltimore (O's won 3-2).

• Kole Calhoun: two-run HR was Angels' only hit in Thursday's win. Third 1-hit win in team history (1986, 1969).

• Dallas Keuchel: Pitched nine scoreless innings Friday with two hits and did not win. Second in Astros history (Nolan Ryan vs Expos, 1986).

• Kevin Plawecki: First player whose first career home run came in a Subway Series game (for either team).

• Anthony DeSclafani: Back-to-back starts of 7+ scoreless innings with a max of two hits and two walks, first Reds pitcher to do that since Tony Cloninger in 1969.

• CC Sabathia: First Yankees pitcher to give up three home runs to Mets since Sean Henn in 2005 (Mike Mussina did it twice and won both games).

• Paulo Orlando: Fastest player in live-ball era to reach five career triples (13 games); previous mark held by Pirates' Johnny Rizzo (15 games) in 1938.

• Nori Aoki: First four-walk game for Giants since Darryl Hamilton (in 14 innings) in June 1998.

• Matt Harvey: First Mets pitcher to work exactly 8 2/3 innings since Al Leiter vs Rockies in 1999 (put tying run on base and Armando Benitez got the final out).

• Johnny Cueto: First Reds pitcher to commit two balks in a game since Chris Hammond in August 1990.

• Brian Matusz: Faced one batter Friday, walked him, and lost the game. First Orioles pitcher with that line since Tom Bolton in July 1994.

• Dan Otero: Four-inning win in relief while allowing just one hit; first Oakland pitcher to do that in a nine-inning game since Don Wengert in 1997.

• Miguel Cabrera: Three intentional walks Saturday for second time in career. Since IBB were officially kept in 1955, all other Tigers have done it once (catcher Bill Freehan in 1971).

• Felix Hernandez: Tied career high with five fielding assists Friday; before his two games, the last Mariners pitcher with five assists was Jamie Moyer in 2001.

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