Los Angeles Angels hitters have been getting hit a lot, and yesterday they combined with the White Sox to set a record.
Strange things often happen in Los Angeles Angels games, and the Angels took this to a bizarre extreme in yesterday’s getaway-day game against the Chicago White Sox, as a total of three batters were hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the contest to set an MLB record.
The weirdness started in the fourth inning of the Halos’ 8-2 win over the White Sox. The Angels loaded the bases with two outs, and reliever Osvaldo Bido came in the game to try to do damage control. Instead he hit Jorge Soler and Jo Adell on back-to-bich pitches as the Angels upped their lead to 7-1.
The odds of this happening again are almost certainly astronomical, but no lead is safe with the Angels bullpen, and reliever Drew Pomeranz hit Sam Antonacci with the bases loaded in the seventh inning, driving in yet another run to make it 7-2. Pomeranz managed to get out of the inning without further damage, but the unusual sequences of events quickly sent stats departments scrambling.
What they found was astounding. According to Elias via a story by Brent Maguire of MLB.com, it was the first time three batters ever got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the same game. This new record covers a period of over 70 seasons, as researchers had to go back to the date when RBIs first started being recorded to verify the uniqueness of what happened.
Maguire also added some context in his writeup, adding that only 12 batters have been hit by a pitch so far this season. The Angels became the first team to be hit twice in the same game with the bases loaded this season, with the last time occurring back in 2024 when the Milwaukee Brewers had it happen twice in one game against the St. Lous Cardinals in May of that year.
Angels fans know there’s nothing new under the sun with this particular record, aside from the uniqueness of it. The at-bats by Soler and Adell almost looked like an instant replay, with both hitter being plunked near the elbow guards that are required wearing for Halos hitters these days.
The Angels have a power-packed lineup, and the book on them is to pitch up and in with abandon. Mike Trout has been getting buzzed all season long, and of course Soler had that memorable encounter with starter Reynaldo Perez of the Atlanta Braves when Perez buzzed him and Soler charged the mound, which led to a wild brawl and suspensions for both players.
The umpires aren’t doing a very good job of controlling all this so far, and someone’s going to get seriously hurt if that doesn’t change soon.