How to Read a Baseball Line Score

A baseball line score acts as a quick glance of an entire baseball game. With only three rows of data, you can understand not only who won, but see the momentum shifts throughout the game as it was played.

Instructions

1. Take note of the first two columns. This lists the two teams. The visiting team is listed first, followed by the home team. This is also the order in which they bat in an inning.

2. Look at the numbers across the top row. This indicates the inning. The numbers in the boxes underneath each inning represent the number of run a team scored in that inning.

3. Notice the last three columns that are labeled with the letters R, H and E. The letter R stands for "Runs" and shows the total number of runs scored by each team. These numbers will equal the sum of the runs scored per inning for each team. The H stands for "Hits" and is the total number of hits a team compiled in the game. The E stands for "Errors" and reflects the number of errors a team made in the game.

4. Check to see if an X appears in the box for the bottom of the ninth inning. If an X is present, it means the bottom of the final inning was not played, as the home team had more runs at the end of the top of the final inning and playing the bottom of the final inning was not necessary.