- The highest-scoring game in MLB history took place in 1922.
- The Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs combined for 49 runs.
- Atlanta’s win over Miami in 2020 is the most recent entry on this list.
The highest-scoring games in MLB history are thrilling for neutrals. This can be due to very favourable hitting conditions or poor pitching. Runs in the early parts of games often forced teams to use less-effective relievers or even position players.
Different eras in baseball history have favoured hitters or pitchers. Even when pitchers have been in the ascendancy, there have still been some very high-scoring games. In the 21st century, offence has had the upper hand, but most of the highest-scoring games are from several decades ago (and even longer in some cases).
Here are the highest-scoring MLB games since 1900.
5 Highest-Scoring MLB Games Since 1900
| Rank | Winning Team | Losing Team | Total Runs |
| 1 | Chicago Cubs | Philadelphia Phillies | 49 |
| 2 | Philadelphia Phillies | Chicago Cubs | 45 |
| T-3 | New York Giants | Cincinnati Reds | 38 |
| T-3 | Atlanta Braves | Miami Marlins | 38 |
| 5 | Brooklyn Robins | Philadelphia Phillies | 36 |
49 Runs, Phillies vs. Cubs — 1922
With an almost 20-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies ahead of this game, baseball odds would have priced the Chicago Cubs as heavy favourites. The Cubs, though, only won by three runs in the end after the Phillies scored 14 runs across the eighth and ninth innings.
With the league finally leaving the dead-ball era by 1922, offence was on the rise. The league had a .746 OPS, even though only 0.43 homers were hit per game, which is a long way off modern averages.
Cubs centre fielder Cliff Heathcoate was the standout performer in this historic matchup, finishing the game with five hits, two walks, and two runs.
45 Runs, Phillies vs. Cubs — 1979
The most entertaining game on this list, the Phillies beat the Cubs 23-22 in May 1979. Philadelphia was taken to extra innings when the Cubs scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth, but a 10th-inning home run from Mike Schmidt off Bruce Sutter gave the Phils the lead.
The win put Philadelphia 14 games above .500. They ultimately finished fourth in their division, but went on to win 91 games and the World Series in the following season. Chicago, meanwhile, was in the midst of an 11-year streak without a winning season.
Schmidt hit another homer earlier in the game. Chicago’s Dave Kingman homered three times on his way to an MLB-leading 48 bombs in 1979.
38 Runs, Giants vs. Reds — 1901
Despite a league-wide OPS of .686 and an average of 0.21 homers per game, the 1901 season produced a 38-run barnstormer between the New York Giants and Cincinnati Reds.
New York was 10-0 up after the top of the third inning. The Reds fought back with four runs in the bottom of the inning, but the Giants offence kept the pressure on to build a 15-4 lead by the middle of the seventh.
While Cincinnati got a few runs late, the Giants were never under much pressure. They ultimately won 25-13.
Although the Giants were 19-12 after this win, they finished the season 52-84-4. The Reds had the worst record in the National League but were above .500 in each of the next five seasons.
38 Total Runs, Marlins vs. Braves — 2020
In the most one-sided game featured here, the Atlanta Braves beat the Miami Marlins 29-9 in 2020. Atlanta became just the fourth team since 1900 to score 29 or more runs in a regular-season contest, with the Marlins pitching staff allowing seven home runs.
Braves WIN!
Final: #Braves 29, Marlins 9.#ForTheA pic.twitter.com/wh3eR7VGrz
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) September 10, 2020
Jordan Yamamoto had a particularly tough time, throwing 94 pitches in 2.2 innings for 13 runs. This game was over by the end of the second inning, with the Braves already delivering for people who backed the over in MLB betting.
The teams met in the NLDS. Atlanta swept the series 3-0, but it was much lower scoring, with an 18-5 advantage over the three games.
36 Runs, Robins vs. Phillies — 1929
For 50 years, this was the third-highest-scoring game of the 20th century. The Brooklyn Robins defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 20-16 in May 1929. Both teams were comfortably below .500 at the time of the game, suggesting they would have been massive outsiders in World Series betting at BetMGM online sportsbook.
Hall of Famer Chuck Klein was Philadelphia’s biggest star at the time, and he delivered three hits with five RBIs in this high-scoring loss.
Brooklyn finished the season 70-83, which was only good for sixth in the National League. The team was renamed the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1932 and moved to Los Angeles before the 1958 season.