Unbelievable MLB Showdowns: The Jaw-Dropping Games Where Runs Exploded Beyond Imagination

When was the last time you saw a baseball game where the scoreboard looked more like a basketball stat sheet? It’s no secret—major league hitters today are swinging for the fences as if they’re auditioning for a fireworks show. The evolution of the slugger’s swing has transformed the game, pushing home run totals to dizzying heights that even the steroid era would envy. Six of the seven highest home runs-per-game rates happened between 2016 and 2021, proving that modern batters have dialed up their power to a new stratosphere. But what about those jaw-dropping offensive explosions from decades past? Which records are recent marvels, and which feats have stubbornly withstood the test of time? Buckle up as we dive into some of the wildest, most prolific scoring games in MLB history—where runs rained down and bats set the diamond ablaze like never before. LEARN MORE
The Blue Jays are the only team to ever hit 10 homers in one game and they even accomplished the feat before steroids took over baseball. It was just your average September night in Toronto when the ball was flying off the bat. Ernie Whitt hit three dingers for the Jays, while Rance Mulliniks and George Bell had two of their own. By the end of the night, the Blue Jays emerged as 18-3 victors.

Major league hitters are swinging for the fences like never before.

Three other players in Major League history smacked three hits in one inning and all three accomplished the feat in the same inning of the same game. We’re obviously talking about Tom Burns, Fred Pfeffer and Ned Williamson in the seventh inning of the Chicago White Stockings-Detroit Wolverines game on Sept. 6, 1883. Chicago tallied 18 runs off of 18 hits against the now-defunct Wolverines (the White Stockings are the present-day Cubs).

Of course, technically the MLB record belongs to the Chicago Colts (now the Chicago Cubs). Chicago scored in every inning of the game and got six hits and a home run out of shortstop Barry McCormick. You remember him, right? 

Most Runs Scored by One Team (Modern Era)

Texas Rangers 30, Baltimore Orioles 3; Aug. 22, 2007

So here’s a look at which records were set in recent years and which have stood the test of time.

Most Runs Scored by One Team (Pre-1901)

Chicago Colts 36, Louisville Colonels 7; June 29, 1897 (National League)

Animations by Paul Connors.

Most Total Runs Scored in a Game

Chicago Cubs 26, Philadelphia Phillies 23; Aug. 25, 1922

The post The Highest-Scoring Games in MLB History appeared first on Opta Analyst.

The only other regular-season game in which both MLB teams scored more than 20 runs came between the same two teams and was played in the same ballpark.

Philadelphia Phillies 23, Chicago Cubs 22, 10 innings; May 17, 1979

Many sluggers in recent years have reengineered their swings to help put runs on the board in the most efficient way possible. There are more home runs in today’s game than there were during the steroid era, with six of the seven highest homers-per-game rates taking place between 2016-21.  

Most Runs Scored by One Team in One Inning (Modern Era)

Boston Red Sox, 17-run seventh vs. Detroit Tigers; June 18, 1953

We’ve got to go back nearly 100 years to get to the highest-scoring MLB game of all time. Strangely enough, the Cubbies only scored in four innings and went for just one run in two of them. The second and fourth innings, though, were offensive explosions. Chicago scored 10 runs in its second trip to the plate and went for 14 runs two innings later. Philadelphia only threw two pitchers that day, with Jimmy Ring surrendering 16 runs and reliever Lefty Weinert giving up 10 (only 14 runs were earned). The Cubs led 26-9 after seven and the Phillies came relatively close to an epic comeback victory after scoring eight in the eight and six in the ninth to make this look more like an NFL final. 

Most Runs Scored by One Team in One Inning (Pre-1901)

Chicago White Stockings, 18-run seventh vs. Detroit Wolverines; Sept. 6, 1883

The Orioles actually led 3-0 after three innings but it was all downhill from there. Texas scored five runs in the fourth inning before adding nine more in the sixth. And if you thought the Rangers would ease off the pedal holding a 14-3 lead in the eighth, that wasn’t the case. They scored 10 runs in the eighth (which included both a grand slam and a three-run shot) and six more in the ninth! Their 30 total runs came off of 29 hits and six homers. The Rangers technically weren’t done scoring for the day, either. The 30-3 rout was the first game of a doubleheader and Texas put up nine more runs in the second contest just a few hours later.

Most Total Home Runs Hit in a Game

Arizona Diamondbacks (8), Philadelphia Phillies (5); June 10, 2019 

We detailed the whole history of this Phillies-Cubs matchup earlier, but we’ll give you the summary here. The Cubs never led in the baseball game but kept it close the whole way. They fought back from 7-0, 17-6 and 21-9 deficits to send the game to extras before losing 23-22 in 10 innings. Dave Kingman smacked three homers for the Cubs, while perennial All-Star Mike Schmidt hit two for the Phillies – including the game-winner in the 10th. In all, there were 45 runs off of 50 hits in a thriller at the Friendly Confines. 

Most Home Runs Hit in a Game by One Team

Toronto Blue Jays (10) vs. Baltimore Orioles; Sept. 14, 1987

We decided to open up the record book and look back at some of the greatest offensive performances of all time.

Red Sox outfielder Gene Stephens had quite the seventh inning. When your team scores 17 times in one inning (as Boston did), you’re bound to come up to the plate a few times. All Stephens did was go a cool 3 for 3 to become the first American League player to get three hits in the same inning. It turned out to be the only occurrence of the 20th century (Johnny Damon did the same, but not until 2003). The Red Sox got 14 hits and drew six walks in their record-breaking inning. 
This was an absolute slugfest at Citizens Bank Park, with Arizona and Philadelphia’s hitters combining for 13 homers on a record-breaking night. There were four home runs hit by the end of the first inning, six sandwiched between the second and eighth and three more in the ninth. The multi-homer games belonged to Scott Kingery of the Phillies and Eduardo Escobar and Ildemaro Vargas of the Diamondbacks.