The Sugar Land Space Cowboys put together an inning for the ages Friday night, sending 23 men to the plate and scoring 17 runs in the sixth during a 21-4 win over the Oklahoma City Dodgers in Sugar Land, Texas.
The Space Cowboys, the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros, torched the Dodgers’ pitching in an inning that lasted 58 minutes in the second game of a doubleheader at Constellation Field. The wild inning included 10 hits, including one home run and three doubles, and nine walks. Twelve of the 17 runs came with two outs.
Oklahoma City burned through four pitchers and 108 pitches before finally getting out of the inning.
17-RUN INNING!
The Triple-A @astros affiliate sent 23 men to the plate, tallying 10 hits and 9 walks to bring the @SLSpaceCowboys‘ total to 21 runs on the night! pic.twitter.com/mEQJNg75TB
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) August 20, 2022
Sugar Land’s 17-run inning would have equaled the modern-day major league record (since 1900), set by the Boston Red Sox, who scored 17 in an inning against the Detroit Tigers on June 18, 1953.
The all-time major league record is 18 runs in one inning, set by the Chicago White Stockings (now the Cubs) on Sept. 6, 1883.
It wasn’t immediately known what the minor league record for runs in an inning is, but a Dominican summer league game between the Yankees and Angels in 2019 saw New York’s affiliate plate 19 in the second.