Halos, Royals combine for 15 dingers

03/22/09 9:51 PM ET
Halos, Royals combine for 15 dingers
Cactus League clubs surpass regular-season record of 12

By Dick Kaegel / MLB.com

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The way the wind was blowing toward the outfield -- 26 mph with gusts up to 36 mph -- you might have suspected the ball was going to fly Sunday at Surprise Stadium.

Did it ever. The Los Angeles Angels and the Kansas City Royals combined for 15 home runs in the Angels' 18-12 victory. The regular-season record for home runs in a single game is 12.

Matt Brown hit two home runs in his 6-for-6 day for the Angels. Robb Quinlan, Juan Rivera, Mike Napoli, Jeff Mathis, Ryan Budde and Brandon Wood also connected to give the Angels a total of eight homers.

On the flag-snapping afternoon, the Royals hit seven homers, including two by Miguel Olivo. The others were by Ryan Shealy, Alberto Callaspo, Mike Jacobs, Coco Crisp and Tony Pena Jr.

"I've never seen anything like it," Jacobs said. "I've never been part of a game like that."

The ball usually flies well in the light air of Arizona. Mix in a stiff wind, and look out.

"You knew all you had to do was get it in that wind and it was going to go out," Jacobs said. "Some of them were legit home runs. Some of them might have got a little help, but it is what it is."

Brown, who is trying to make the Angels' club as a utilityman, raised his spring average to .543, but took a realistic view of his big afternoon. He saw his first home run as a routine fly ball.

"The ball was absolutely flying out of the park," Brown said. "I probably had three legit hits, the rest were wind-aided. I got a little lucky."

The Angels banged three of their homers and scored nine runs in the first two innings against Royals left-hander Horacio Ramirez, who is bidding for a rotation job. He declined to blame the wind for his misfortune.

"A couple of those might have been wind-blown, but, for the most part, I think I just made bad pitches," Ramirez said.

"It wasn't a great day. It felt like if I made a great pitch, it was a blooper or it went through the hole. If I made a real bad pitch, it was a double or a home run. So I didn't have a good day."

Despite the Angels' six-run first inning, the Royals made a game of it, joining in the home-run spirit.

"We could have easily given up after that first inning," Jacobs said. "But we didn't. We battled back and it was good to see."

Jacobs and Pena each had a three-run blast. Jacobs lofted his to right field, but Pena's was more of a line drive to dead-center field.

"I know I hit it hard," Pena said. "I know the ball flies here in Arizona, but I've never seen the wind help more."

Crisp and Callaspo each hit hard liners to right field for their homers, and Olivo felt as if his two pokes might have gone out on a normal day.

"Yeah, I think so," Olivo said. "I hit the ball pretty good. In Spring Training, you're still learning how to hit the breaking ball but both teams hit the ball well today."

Crisp, the Royals' center fielder, said the wind made a tough day for the outfielders. However, he made a fine diving catch in short center and his replacement, Mitch Maier, went deep to snag a wind-aided drive.

To add to the craziness, the infield produced an unusual number of wicked bad hops.

"Today they put a lot of water on it but I guess the wind dried it out quicker," said Pena, who finished the game at shortstop. "The infield was pretty hard."

The teams combined for 30 runs on 40 hits, but the attention-grabber was the 15 homers.

"I don't know what the record is but I know it was dang near close, if not well past the record," Crisp said.

There is no record book for Spring Training games, but the regular-season mark for home runs in a game of 12 was accomplished twice by the Detroit Tigers and the Chicago White Sox, in 1995 and again in 2002.

"It was a tough day to be a pitcher, but I guess it was a fun day for the fans," Crisp said.

Dick Kaegel is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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