IN THE NEWS: Yankee Vic Raschi, troubled by the new rule that requires a one-second stop before delivery with men on base, balks four times in one game, a club record and two fewer than the single-season record. Nevertheless, he wins, 4–3, over the White Sox. He'll finish the season with six balks to tie the since-topped American League mark.
IN THE NEWS: The White Sox, helped by Bob "Sugar" Cain's 5-hitter, embarrass the Yankees 15–0 at the Stadium. The score ties the Yank's team record, set in 1907, for the most runs in a shutout loss. One bright spot for the Yankees in the humiliating defeat is Phil Rizzuto's three hits.
In a 9–6 win at St. Louis, Phillies' OF Dick Sisler raps five hits in a row. He has a home run and four singles to drive in 5. He starts the next game with three hits in a row before making out.
IN THE NEWS: Giants rookie Tookie Gilbert, singed for $50,000 in 1946, debuts with a 3-run home run and single, and scores three runs, but the Pirates win, 5–4. Reliever Bill Werle stops NY in the 9th when the Giants put runners at 2B and 3B with no out.
IN THE NEWS: Ralph Kiner of the Pirates hits his 2nd grand slam in three days—and the 8th of his career—and adds a 3-run homer to drives in seven runs as the Pirates beat Brooklyn 10–5.
IN THE NEWS: Commissioner Happy Chandler voids the Dick Wakefield deal between the Yankees and the White Sox. The Yanks immediately suspend the outfielder.
Connecticut House member Abraham Ribicoff introduces legislation for observance of National Baseball Day.
Airplane travel is still a baseball rarity, but a railroad strike forces five clubs—the Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers, Giants, and Reds—to fly home or away to play their next scheduled games. The Senators, with short hops in the prospect, will take the bus.
IN THE NEWS: Red Sox star Ted Williams apologizes to the hometown fans for "insulting gestures" he made in response to catcalls prompted by his two errors in a doubleheader loss (13–4 and 5–3) to Detroit yesterday. Williams' 2nd bobble allowed the Tigers' eventual winning run to score.
IN THE NEWS: The Red Sox release Piper Davis, their first black minor leaguer. Davis hit .378 last season with the Birmingham Black Barons and was the leading hitter on the Scranton (Eastern L) team when the Sox released him.
IN THE NEWS: The Pirates Johnny Hopp goes 6-for-6, including two home runs, in a 16–9, 2nd-game victory as the Pirates sweep the Cubs. The Pirates take the opener 6–5.
IN THE NEWS: After 11 straight losses to Max Lanier, the Dodgers finally top the Cardinal lefty 6–2 for the first time since 1943. Don Newcombe is the winning pitcher. Lanier helps his downfall with three balks, to tie the National League-record.
The Yankees reinstate Dick Wakefield, but he is not asked to rejoin the team.
IN THE NEWS: Cards third baseman Tom Glaviano makes three errors on successive plays in the 9th—2 wild throws and a boot—that lets in four runs in a 9–8 loss. The Dodgers trail by an 8–0 score in the game, and close to 8–5 in the 9th and have the bases jammed when Glaviano experiences his nightmare. He ties a major-league record set most recently by Dodgers Billy Cox last year.
At the Polo Grounds, Rube Walker poles a grand slam in the 6th inning for the Cubs. In the bottom of the inning, Monte Irvin hits a grand slam for the Giants, the first time in history that each team has slammed in the same inning. The game is called on account of rain after six innings, and the Giants win, 10–4, behind Clint Hartung. Johnny Schmitz, the first of four pitchers, is the loser.
IN THE NEWS: The Tigers send 14 batters to the plate and score 10 runs in the 5th to beat the Athletics, 14–8. George Kell and Vic Wertz each have two hits in the frame. Tigers ace Virgil Trucks, a 19-game winner in 1949, hurts his arm and is lost for the season. Fred Hutchinson relieves Trucks in the 3rd and picks up the win.
IN THE NEWS: Three Dodger relief hurlers, Ralph Branca, Jack Banta, and Dan Bankhead, combine to pitch 9 2/3 innings of no-hit ball, as Brooklyn beats Pittsburgh 4–3 in 11 innings.
The Tigers 2B Jerry Priddy starts a record five DPs in the first five innings to lead the Tigers to a 5–3 win over the A's. Shortstop Johnny Lipon participates in all the DPs.
IN THE NEWS: Pittsburgh's first bonus baby Bill MacDonald (13–11 at New Orleans in 1949) makes his first ML start and shuts out the Phillies, 6–0. MacDonald will finish the season at 8–10 for the last-place Bucs before going into the service in 1951. He'll win just one more ML game after that.
IN THE NEWS: The Red Sox outhit the Browns, 19–15, and out score to win, 15–12. Boston scores 10 runs in the last three innings. Walt Dropo drives in six runs, four with a grand slam in the 8th. It is his 10th home run since joining the Sox on May 3.
The Athletics make some changes. Connie Mack's son, Earle Mack, who had been assistant manager, assumes the duties of chief scout. Earle, who had hoped to succeed his father as manager, is replaced by Jimmie Dykes. Mickey Cochrane is named general manager. It doesn't help today as the Yanks extend their winning streak to nine games by defeating the A's, 2–0, behind Ed Lopat and Joe Page.
The Oakland Oaks of the PCL buy recalcitrant OF Dick Wakefield from the Yanks. New York will not allow him to buy out his own contract.
IN THE NEWS: White Sox P Howie Judson, loser of 15 straight games—14 last year and one this year—breaks his string of reverses with a 12–8 relief win over the Browns.
Pueblo (Western League) announces that its players will don shorts during the summer.
IN THE NEWS: The Dodgers Duke Snider hits three home runs in the 2nd-game, 6–4 win of a doubleheader sweep of the Phils at Ebbets Field.
The Cards sweep a pair from Pittsburgh with Gerry Staley winning both games in relief, 17–13 and 8–5. The Cards explode in the 8th in both games, plating seven in Game One and six in game 2. Staley also won a pair in 1948, the first reliever to ever accomplish the feat twice. For the Bucs, Nanny Fernandez hit home runs in the 8th and 9th of game 1. In game 2, Stan Musial has his only hit in 10 at bats today when he hits a 9th-inning liner for an inside-the-park home run.
With their record 8–25 and in last place, the Browns fire Dr. David Tracy. Tracy, a New York psychologist, had been hired to help the players overcome their losers' complex.
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