The Colorado Rockies stunned the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night, overcoming a 9-0 deficit after the top of the first inning to eventually score a 17-16 walk-off victory (box score) courtesy of a two-run home-run by outfielder Brenton Doyle.
The Rockies are just the third team in the last 50 years to notch a victory after surrendering at least nine first-inning runs. They’re the first to do it since the now-Cleveland Guardians pulled off the feat back in 2006. For the Pirates, it’s the first time they’ve lost while scoring 16 or more runs since 1893. Additionally, Friday’s contest marked the first MLB game where both teams scored at least 16 runs since a 2008 matchup between the Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox.
Here’s a complete list of teams to lose in a game in which they plated 16 or more runs during the Wild Card era:
The Pirates started off hot, becoming the second team in Major League Baseball history to enjoy a first inning that included nine-plus runs and 10-plus hits, as well as both a grand slam (Oneil Cruz) and a three-run home run (Andrew McCutchen), according to OptaStats. Yet the Rockies were able to reduce that lead throughout the night, cutting it to 9-4 in the third, 15-10 in the fifth and 16-12 in the eighth inning.
The bottom of the ninth inning saw the Rockies light up Pirates reliever Dennis Santana. Hunter Goodman hit a one-out home run to bring Colorado within three runs; Jordan Beck then walked before scoring on a Warming Bernabel triple. Thairo Estrada then plated Bernabel with a single of his own, cutting the deficit to one. That’s when Doyle played the hero:
The Rockies’ nine-run comeback is tied for the largest in franchise history. They previously scaled the same mountain vs. the Atlanta Braves in 2010 and the Miami Marlins in 2008.