Colorado sets, ties marks in 12-run inning

DENVER ---The Chicago Cubs don't want to hear anything about the humidor making Coors Field a pitcher's park.

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Matt Mcclain/Associated Press

Colorado's Ian Stewart is congratulated by teammates after connecting on a two-run homer during the Rockies' 12-run eighth inning. It was one of two homers hit in the inning in Friday's victory over Chicago. Stewart had two hits and drove in three runs.

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The Colorado Rockies made it look like the old Coors Canaveral launching pad when they batted around three times and nearly a fourth in a 17-2 romp of the Cubs on Friday night.

The game was still tight -- 5-2 -- with runners at the corners and two outs in the bottom of the eighth. Rockies closer Huston Street was warming up in the bullpen, ready to go for a save.

Then, the Rockies set a major league record by pounding out 11 consecutive hits.

By the time Ian Stewart flied out to deep center with the bases full to end the inning, the Rockies had set several franchise records: a dozen runs in the inning on 13 hits, eight of them for extra bases, in 18 plate appearances.

According to STATS LLC, the 12 two-out runs is the most since March 21, 1956, when the Kansas City Athletics scored 13 times with two outs in the second inning of a game against the Chicago White Sox. And the eight extra-base hits in the eighth inning tied a major league mark set by Cleveland last season.

The 12 runs tied the NL record accomplished twice by the Dodgers when they played in Brooklyn, the last time coming on Aug. 8, 1954, against Cincinnati.

The Rockies fell one hit shy of 12 consecutive in a game, a record set by the 1920 St. Louis Cardinals and tied by the Dodgers a decade later. The Rockies' previous best was seven hits in a row in an inning.

The Boston Red Sox were the last team to bat around twice in an inning, on June 26, 2003, when they scored 14 in the first inning against Florida.

"This game makes you twirl your head sometimes," said winning pitcher Jeff Francis. "There's no reason for something like that to happen. This is a team that's been looking for some hits for a long time now and you pound out 13 in one inning?

"It's just nuts. Those guys are major league pitchers."

The Rockies batted around twice in the inning against relievers Sean Marshall, Andrew Cashner and Brian Schlitter. Troy Tulowitzki had two doubles and three RBI, Clint Barmes and Melvin Mora also had two hits and Brad Hawpe and Chris Iannetta reached base twice in the inning. Dexter Fowler and Ian Stewart both hit two-run homers.

Every batter got at least one hit in the eighth.

"I haven't seen anything like that at any level," Tulowitzki said. "That was special, something you'll never see again."

After all, Carlos Gonzalez had two strikes on him with two outs when he started the streak with an RBI single to right that made it 6-2.

"You're just trying to extend the inning, not try to do too much, put the ball in play," Tulowitzki said.

And they did, over and over and over.