IN THE NEWS: The Senators stake rookie Carl Mathias to a 3–0 lead over New York, but a Mickey Mantle solo shot, a few feet left of the 456-foot sign in left at Yankee Stadium, puts New York on the board. The Nats up the score to 5–1, but Mantle then bangs a 3-run homer to make it 5–4 and knock out Mathias [who in his 11 ML games will give up three homers to Mantle]. In the 9th, Roger Maris poles a 2-run homer, his 28th, to give New York a 7–6 victory.
At Milwaukee, Gordy Coleman collects eight hits and leads the Reds to a sweep over the Braves. The Reds win the opener, 8–5, as Coleman collects five hits, including a 3-run homer in the 13th off Warren Spahn. Gordy chips in with three more hits in the nitecap, a 4–3 Reds win.
IN THE NEWS: The Yankees hit five homers -- #28 by Mickey Mantle and #'s 29 and 30 by Roger Maris -- to easily beat the Senators 13–4.
The Pirates sweep a pair from the Giants, winning 7–6 and 9–0. Sore-armed Vern Law, making his 1st start in more than three weeks, is lifted in the 6th and Harvey Haddix wins in relief. Bobby Shantz pitches a 5-hitter to win the nitecap as the Bucs score six unearned runs off Juan Marichal. The Giants, two 1/2 games back yesterday, will be nine out on the evening of July 8.
Pitcher Glen Hobbie and Tony Taylor each hit a pair of homers for the Cubs, but it is not enough as the Cardinals win, 10–9. Pinch hitter Richie Ashburn's bases-loaded single in the 8th brings home the deciding run .
IN THE NEWS: Before 74,246 -- the largest crowd at Yankee Stadium since 1947 -- the Yankees split with the Tigers, winning the opener 6–2, before losing 4–3 in 10 innings.
At Metropolitan Stadium, the Twins sweep a pair from the White Sox, winning the opener 6–4 when Julio Becquer hits a 9th inning grand slam as a pinch hitter. Cal McLish shuts out the Twins in game 2 until the 8th inning when the Twins score 4 runs, 2 on Harmon Killebrew's only career inside-the-park-HR, off McLish. Appropriately, it is the Metro’s first IPHR. The Twins win, 4–2, behind Jack Kralick.
At Chicago, the Giants roll to a 19–3 win in game 1, collecting 22 hits including a homer by Orlando Cepeda that is one of the longest in Wrigley history. The Cubs come back in the nitecap to win, 3–2, overcoming Willie Mays' 300th homer.
Johnny Antonelli returns to the Braves as the Indians sell the veteran back to where he started as an 18-year-old pitcher.
IN THE NEWS: At Yankee Stadium, Roger Maris cracks a 7th inning solo home run against the Indians, and also is credited—erroneously, as it turns out—with a 3rd inning RBI on a single. The two RBIs are officially recorded, though just one appears in the game's box score, and the error will not be noted until 1995. With the correction, Maris and Jim Gentile become co-leaders in RBIs for the season.
IN THE NEWS: Sherm Lollar's 9th-inning pinch-hit grand slam, off Frank Funk, for the White Sox crushes Cleveland 7–5. It is the 5th pinch slam in the American League this season—two by the Sox—and ties the ML record. The Sox also win a 2nd game 9–8. Over the afternoon eight home runs are hit.
The Tigers take over 1st place with a doubleheader sweep of the Angels. Frank Lary's 13th victory in the opener, a 1–0 three-hitter, is followed by Jim Bunning's 6–3 win in the nitecap.
At Los Angeles, Frank Robinson has a pair of homers, a double and single to drive in seven runs and the Reds coast over LA, 14–3.
IN THE NEWS: Strong winds dominate the first All-Star Game of 1961. A capacity crowd sees P Stu Miller blown off the mound in the 9th inning at Candlestick Park. A balk is called, and it enables the American League to forge a 3–3 tie before losing 5–4 in 10 innings.
IN THE NEWS: Mack Jones of the Braves ties the National League record with four hits—3 singles and a double—in his ML debut, a 6–5 triumph over St. Louis.
Chicago's Early Wynn gets an early departure as he retires just two Yankees in the first inning. Then Mickey Mantle (30th) and Roger Maris (34th) belt back-to-back homers to send the vet to the showers. For Mantle, it is the 13th homer in his career off Wynn, his favorite target. New York wins, 6–2
IN THE NEWS: Willie Kirkland whacks his 5th home run in three games to help the Indians down the Angels 7–5 at Cleveland. His first four were in consecutive at bats before and after the All-Star break and tied the ML record. He now has 16 en route to 27 for the year.
At Los Angeles, the Phils top the Dodgers 7–5 in 10 innings. Phils' reliever Jack Baldschun pitches in his 8th straight game to pick up the win.
IN THE NEWS: Following a year-long illness, Ty Cobb succumbs to cancer at age 74 at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.
Bill White goes 8-for-10 in a doubleheader, as the Cards sweep the Cubs 10–6 and 8–5 at Busch Stadium.
Commissioner Ford Frick decrees that Babe Ruth's record of 60 home runs in a 154-game schedule in 1927 "cannot be broken unless some batter hits 61 or more within his club's first 154 games."
The Yankees top the O's, 5–0, behind Whitey Ford's 13th straight win. Mickey Mantle (#33) and Skowron hit long home runs at Baltimore. The nitecap goes into the 5th when, with two outs and the Yanks up 4–1, a thunderstorm strikes. The umps wait 65 minutes before calling the game, thus washing out homers by Roger Maris and Mantle.
IN THE NEWS: Bill White and the Cards continue to beat up on the Cubs, sweeping 8–3 and 7–5. White goes 3-for-4 in each game and ties Ty Cobb's 49-year-old record of 14 hits in consecutive twin bills.
Henry Aaron, Joe Adcock, and Joe Torre of the Braves startle the Reds with a triple steal in the 6th inning. For Aaron, it is his first steal of home.
Mickey Mantle poles two homers, off rookie Joe McLain, to pace New York to a 5–3 win over the Senators. In pre-game ceremonies, Mantle teamed with New York Congressman Eddie Dooley to win the homer-hitting contest against other Congressional-player duos.
IN THE NEWS: The Yanks and Senators split, with Washington winning the nitecap 12–2. Dick Donovan is the winner. Mickey Mantle belts a 500 foot homer in the 4th over the RF wall.
Ford Frick, an old friend of Babe Ruth's, announces that should Ruth's record be beaten after 154 games, the record will carry an asterisk. When asked about the ruling, Roger Maris replies, "A season is a season."
IN THE NEWS: With each team stranding 15 base runners, the Angels and Senators tie the major-league record for runners left on base by two clubs in a 9-inning game. Los Angeles wins 16–5.
Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris slam back-to-back home runs in the first inning for New York, but it takes a 2-out, 9th-inning pinch-hit grand slam by Johnny Blanchard to finally subdue the Red Sox, 11–8, at Fenway. The pinch slam is the American League's 6th of the season, a new record.
IN THE NEWS: Using 21 pitchers, the Tigers (11) and A's (10) set an American League record for most hurlers used in an 18-inning doubleheader. At three hours, 54 minutes, the 2nd game is the longest 9-inning contest in AL history. The entire doubleheader lasts six hours, 50 minutes, a ML record. The Tigers sweep 6–4 and 17–14, taking first place by one percentage point.
IN THE NEWS: At Kansas City, Detroit P Frank Lary collides with rookie 3B Steve Boros, and both players leave the game with injuries. Lary does not miss a start but Boros' collarbone is broken and he will not return. He has 53 RBIs to date.
Boston OF Jackie Jensen's fear of flying gets the best of him and he refuses to fly to Los Angeles. The Sox say they will not pay him for games he misses because of the flying fear.
At Yankee Stadium, 50,000 fans, on hand for the Yankees exhibition game with the Giants, save their biggest cheer for Willie Mays. Willie delivers a 2-run single in the 4–1 victory. The only score for the Yanks is a Mickey Mantle homer.
IN THE NEWS: Roger Maris hits four home runs, tying the American League record for a twin bill (at least one in each game), as New York beats Chicago 5–1 and 12–0. Mickey Mantle also homers off Frank Baumann in the first game. He ends the day with 38 home runs to 40 for Maris.
IN THE NEWS: John Blanchard ties a major-league record by hitting his 3rd and 4th home runs in four at bats over three games. He drives in four of the Yankee runs in a 5–2 victory over the White Sox at the Stadium. New York manages just six hits but four are homers, including one by Mickey Mantle following Blanchard's first-inning clout. Blanchard will end the year with 21 homers in 243 at bats, the first player in history to hit 20 or more in fewer than 250 at bats.
At Milwaukee, the Reds muscle three runs in the 8th inning to beat the Braves, 3–2. Gus Bell rings a pinch homer and Frank Robinson clubs a two-run homer for the Reds.
IN THE NEWS: Vada Pinson gives the Reds a 2–1 win over the Braves when he swipes home in the 9th inning. Pitcher Carlton Willey's throw beats Pinson but he kicks the ball out of the glove of C Sammy White.
The Giants Juan Marichal fires his first shutout of the year, stopping the Pirates, 2–0, on five hits. Manager Alvin Dark says before the game that "Marichal will go all the way" and keeps his relief pitchers in the dugout to emphasis the point.
IN THE NEWS: The Yanks buy 1B Bob Hale from Cleveland. This will make vet Earl Torgeson, signed on June 17, expendable. They'll release Torgy as a player in early September and sign him as a coach.
IN THE NEWS: Duke Snider's pinch home run and Ron Fairly's RBI hit give Los Angeles a 5–4 win at Pittsburgh. The Dodgers take over first place from the Reds.
The Giants Orlando Cepeda hits a 1st inning grand slam to give the Giants a 4–3 win over the Phils. The Phillies will lose 23 straight before another victory.