Most of the time, when you're up 21-9 halfway through a ballgame--assuming that's a baseball game, anyway--you're feeling pretty secure about coming home with the W. That one game out of a hundred though, no lead is secure, and even a 12-run advantage isn't enough to prevent the game from going into extras. Such a game was played between the Cubs and the Phillies on May 17th, 1979, when the two times combined for a four-game series' worth of runs over the course of nine innings, plus one extra.
The Phils started off the fun with a seven-run first inning, including blasts by third-baseman Mike Schmidt and catcher Bob Boone, chasing Cubs starter Dennis Lamp from the game after just one-third of an inning. Unfortunately, Philly starter Randy Lerch fared no better, also getting pulled after one out in the first as the Cubs responded with six of their own. The Phils seemed to pull away from there as they scored 14 more times (!!!) in the next four innings, but the Cubs continued to battle, eventually tying the game at 22-22 in the eighth inning. Schmidt homered a second time in the top of the tenth to put the Phils up, and Rawly Eastwick pitched a scoreless bottom of the inning to secure the win. Final score: Phillies 23, Cubs 22.
The damage detailed in the box score for this one was predictably severe. 11 home runs were hit in all, including the two by Schmidt and three by the Cubs' Dave Kingman, the two of whom combined for 93 total homers in the '79 season. 50 total base hits were registered, and 45 runs crossed the plate, the most scored in a game since August of 1922--ironically, a contest also fought between the Phils and Cubbies. “Uncipherable — if there is such a word,” said broadcaster Richie Ashburn of the box score he attempted to keep for the game.
New York Times: Thirty Years Ago, Perfect Storm of Offense Formed at Wrigley
