Los Angeles Angels Make History By Accounting For Half of MLB's Home Runs on Thursday

There were 12 home runs hit across MLB on Thursday, with Mike Trout, Taylor Ward and Jo Adell combining to hit six of them in the Los Angeles Angels' blowout win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Tampa, FL, USA; Los Angeles Angels outfielder Taylor Ward (3) is congratulated in the dugout after he hit a home run against the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning  at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
Tampa, FL, USA; Los Angeles Angels outfielder Taylor Ward (3) is congratulated in the dugout after he hit a home run against the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning at George M. Steinbrenner Field. / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
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The Los Angeles Angels set all kind of records with their home run barrage against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday, all while achieving a feat that hasn't been seen in nearly five decades.

Taylor Ward got the ball rolling in the first, belting a leadoff homer to right. He hit another in the fifth, right between bombs from Jo Adell and Mike Trout. Adell went on to hit the Angels' fourth home run of the inning as well, before Trout capped things off with his second solo shot in the ninth.

By the end of the afternoon, Los Angeles had hit six home runs – two apiece from Ward, Adell and Trout – en route to an 11-1 victory. In the five other games across MLB on Thursday, there were a total of six home runs.

According to OptaSTATS, the Angels are the first team to hit at least half of the home runs in MLB on a day with at least a dozen homers since the Cincinnati Reds did so on April 29, 1978.

Los Angeles now sits half a game back from the Texas Rangers atop the AL West at 8-4, ranking second in the American League with a .457 slugging percentage.

The Angels' road trip will continue Friday as they open a series against the Houston Astros at 8:10 p.m. ET.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer covering baseball for “Fastball on SI.’’ He previously covered UCLA Athletics for On SI’s All Bruins site, and is a UCLA graduate, with his work there as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for On SI’s New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Sam lives in Boston.