"274" takes up a lot less space and is far more informative than "scores of". I hate the word phrase "scores of". When media outlets want to manipulate public sentiment they use to make the number in question seem a lot (if not vastly) smaller.
I think when the average American hears the word "scores" they very roughly imagine something like 50 to 100. That sounds a hell of a lot better than the first media reports that indicated the estimated number was - at the time - probably ~200.
And even now when the number is 274 - they still use it!