- The Diamondbacks and Phillies set the record with 13 combined homers in 2019.
- There have been four games in MLB history with 12 or more homers.
- The Tigers and White Sox have played two 12-homer games.
Many of the highest-scoring seasons in MLB history have been recorded over the last three decades. Juiced baseballs and steroids have seen some monstrous offensive numbers, and home run records have regularly been broken.
Power has always been a factor to consider in MLB betting, but some of the home-run totals over the last five years or so have been particularly remarkable. Even the sport’s best pitchers can struggle to keep the ball in the yard.
Below, I have compiled the games with the most total home runs in MLB history.
Most Home Runs in an MLB Game
| Rank | Home Team | Away Team | Total Home Runs | Year |
| 1 | Philadelphia Phillies | Arizona Diamondbacks | 13 | 2019 |
| T-2 | Detroit Tigers | Chicago White Sox | 12 | 1995 |
| T-2 | Washington Nationals | Milwaukee Brewers | 12 | 2019 |
| T-2 | Chicago White Sox | Detroit Tigers | 12 | 2002 |
13 Home Runs, Diamondbacks vs. Phillies
A total of 21 runs were scored, as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Philadelphia Phillies 13-8 in 2019. Three players, Eduardo Escobar, Scott Kingery, and Ildemaro Vargas, hit two homers apiece in what was a brutal day for the two pitching staffs.
Both were over .500, but with Taylor Clarke and Jerad Eickhoff starting, baseball betting experts were surely backing the over.
Eickhoff gave up five homers in just three innings of work. Clarke only allowed two, but Matt Andriese and Greg Holland combined to allow three more. It’s not often a team hits five homers and loses, but that was Philadelphia’s fate in this Monday night epic.
12 Home Runs, Brewers vs. Nationals
When the Milwaukee Brewers and Washington Nationals met in August 2019, the BetMGM online sportsbook priced both teams among the favourites to win the World Series. Of course, Washington went on to win the Fall Classic.
Several months before their triumph over the Houston Astros, the Nats were involved in a slugfest with the Brewers at Nationals Park. Washington slammed eight homers en route to a 16-8 victory.
lol Juan Soto just homered
No, we're not kidding.
BOTTOM 3 // #Nats 13, Brewers 0 pic.twitter.com/GqKVeXKHYo
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 18, 2019
This is the second time the 2019 season appears on this list. Home runs were hit more often in 2019 than any other season in MLB history, with an average of 1.39 per game (no other season has seen more than 1.28 per game).
Juan Soto and Brian Dozier were the stars of the day with two homers apiece. Anthony Rendon, Matt Adams, Victor Robles, and Adam Eaton also cleared the fence for the Nats.
12 Home Runs, White Sox vs. Tigers
In May 1995, the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers played a thrilling game at Comiskey Park II. Chicago ultimately won 14-12 over Detroit, with the teams combining for 12 homers.
Where the 2019 season was historic from a homer perspective, the 1995 campaign was relatively normal by modern standards. The average of 1.01 homers per game is lower than most seasons since then.
Rookie James Baldwin started for the ChiSox, allowing four homers in 1.1 innings. David Wells and John Doherty conceded the five homers Detroit allowed. Chad Curtis, Cecil Fielder, and Kirk Gibson hit two homers each for the Tigers, while Ron Karkovice went yard twice for the White Sox.
12 Home Runs, Tigers vs. White Sox
Seven years later, the Tigers and White Sox again combined for 12 home runs. Chicago was victorious by a score of 17-9 thanks to a seven-run bottom of the eighth.
Dmitri Young homered twice for the Tigers. Magglio Ordóñez and Sandy Alomar both hit long balls for the White Sox. It was a painful day for Detroit’s pitching staff, despite holding Frank Thomas and Paul Konerko to a combined 1-for-8 with no extra-base hits.
Games with 12 or more homers are a rare sight. There have only been 17 total games with 11 homers, and 36 with 10. For comparison, there have been 24 official perfect games in MLB history. A perfecto has happened more often than an 11-homer game.