IN THE NEWS: Dick Williams pulls Carl Yastrzemski from the Boston lineup after one at bat and fines him $500 for "dogging it." Jim Lonborg allows just three hits over eight innings, but the A's rally in the 9th for three runs and beat the Sox, 43.
IN THE NEWS: At St. Louis, the Cards take a 71 lead over the Dodgers, and stagger to a 76 win. It's the Redbirds' 6th straight win and 13th in the last 15 games. Vada Pinson has a sac fly but no hits for the Cards, ending his 22-game hitting streak.
IN THE NEWS: Twin Rich Reese's pinch-hit grand slam off the Orioles' Dave McNally in the 7th ends his 17-game winning streak. McNally, now 15-1 for the year, loses 52 to Jim Kaat.
The Reds tally 10 runs in the 5th inning and smack 25 hits in the game to just beat the Phillies 1917 at Connie Mack Stadium. With the 10 run-5th they take a 169 lead, and add another pair in the 6th. The Phils counter with seven runs in the 6th. Johnny Bench is the high man for the Reds with five hits.
IN THE NEWS: Consecutive home runs in the 5th by Dave Marshall, Ron Hunt, and Bobby Bonds highlight the first of two San Francisco wins at Philadelphia. SF wins, 62, then win the second game, 53, to regain first place in the National League West by one-half game.
In the 7th inning, Pirate Willie Stargell hits the first home run completely out of Dodger Stadium. The 512-foot blast (another account has 480 feet) breaks a deadlock and comes in an 113 Pittsburgh rout of Los Angeles. The Bucs score seven in the 9th, climaxed by a Bill Mazeroski 2-run homer.
IN THE NEWS: Jim Merritt pitches the Reds back into first place in the National League West with a 32 win against the Mets.
Twins manager Billy Martin punches out his P Dave Boswell after a scuffle between Boswell and teammate Bob Allison. Boswell is hospitalized and requires 20 stitches. The Twins win today, 31, behind Jim Perry's 7th straight win.
IN THE NEWS: Phils' manager Bob Skinner quits saying he had little front office support in his attempts to discipline slugger Dick Allen. Coach George Myatt will manage the team for the rest of the season.
IN THE NEWS: Hot-hitting Manny Sanguillen collects a single, double, and triple to lead the Pirates to a 71 win over the Padres. Sanguillen is 13-for his last-26. Bob Veale allows 11 hits but strikes out 10 for the win.
Three-run homers by Tom Tresh and Willie Horton allow the Tigers to sweep a pair from the White Sox, 73 and 97. Tresh's homer comes in the 8th inning of the Friday nitecap. Rookie of the year candidate Carlos May has two hits in the 2nd game, his last before going on weekend Army reserve duty at Camp Pendleton, California. While there, May suffers a serious injury when a mortar misfires and blows off most of his right thumb. May, hitting .281 with 18 homers, will have extensive skin grafts and surgery and will return to play 150 games and hit .285 next year. His home run output will drop to 12.
IN THE NEWS: The Giants purchase relief P Don McMahon from the Tigers. Tomorrow, he'll give up four runs in the 9th as the Giants lose, 74, to the Cards.
IN THE NEWS: Mike Cuellar's (15-9) string of 35 straight batters retired is ended by Cesar Tovar, who also spoils Cuellar's no-hit bid in a 20 win against the Twins. Tovar has the only hit in a game for the 3rd time, and the 2nd time this season.
Don Sutton breaks his 13-game losing streak to the Cubs with a 42 win at Los Angeles, but needs relief help to do it. Sutton tops Ken Holtzman, who handed Sutton his last four losses to Chicago. It was one short of the most consecutive losses by any pitcher to one club in ML history, and is the National League record for straight losses to a team from the start of a career. Sutton will close out his career with a record of 18-20 versus the Cubs.
IN THE NEWS: Don Drysdale retires because of damage to his right shoulder. Drysdale is the last Brooklyn Dodger active with the Dodgers. Bob Aspromonte (1 AB), who retires in 1971, will be the last active Brooklyn Dodger member.
IN THE NEWS: Baltimore's Jim Palmer leaves no doubt about his comeback with a 80 no-hitter against Oakland. Reggie Jackson, leading the American League with 42 home runs, walks three times, as the A's drop two games behind the Twins in the West. Palmer, now 11-2, pushes the O's lead to a comfortable 14 1/2 games.
Bill Hands pitches a complete game 42 win over San Diego. Chicago now has a seemingly comfortable eight 1/2 game lead.
Commissioner Bowie Kuhn is elected for a 7-year term by unanimous vote of ML owners.
Joe Pepitone returns to the Yankees but does not play in their 52 loss to the Twins. Rich Reese is 4-for-4 with two homers and two singles to drive in four runs for the Twins as Jim Kaat is the winner over Mel Stottlemyre (16-9). Reese will have hits his first three at bats tomorrow before flying out.
Montreal reliever Elroy Face gives up the last of his record 21 extra-inning gopher balls, an 11th inning grand slam to the Reds Johnny Bench. Cincinnati wins, 83 in Montreal.
IN THE NEWS: In a 32 win over the White Sox, the Yankees Horace Clarke triples with two on in the 9th, then scores the winning run on a passed ball. Wilbur Wood takes the loss while Jack Aker is the winner.
IN THE NEWS: Don Sutton (15-11) opens a 9-game eastern swing for Los Angeles with a 92 win at Montreal. The Dodgers remain two games behind the first-place Reds. Montreal reliever Roy Face makes his final ML appearance, a record 657th consecutive relief effort (excluding his two games with the Tigers).
IN THE NEWS: In an 81 win in Atlanta, St. Louis P Bob Gibson reaches 200 strikeouts (en route to 269) for the 7th season, a National League record.
Seattle's Sicks Stadium shakes when 250-pound Boog Powell legs out an inside-the-park homer in the 9th against ex-teammate Steve Barber. It really isn't that vital, as Baltimore romps 153.
The Phillies rack up their 4th straight shutout victory when Rick Wise pitches a 4-hitter to defeat the Astros, 70. The Phils set a modern club record with the streak. Dick Allen has a homer and Wise joins in with a homer and a single.
IN THE NEWS: After the Pirates open with five runs in the first inning, the Reds answer with four tallies as Pete Rose and Bobby Tolan, the first two Reds hitters in the game, belt homers off Pittsburgh's Steve Blass. It's a record-setting 2nd time this year that the duo has led off a game this way: Don Drysdale was greeted on April 7th with double dingers. It's Pittsburgh day, however, as they win, 85.
The Phils streak of four shutouts and 39 consecutive scoreless innings ends when Astros OF Sandy Valdespino steals home in the 1st. Dick Allen and Rader match homers as the Astros win, 32.
The Tigers tie a club record with six homers, and Denny McLain wins his 19th, beating the A's at Oakland, 94. Al Kaline homers in the 7th and 9th off relievers, but the first three Bengal homers come off starter Catfish Hunter.
IN THE NEWS: Cub Ken Holtzman (14-7) pitches the 5th no-hitter of 1969. Ron Santo's 3-run home run off Phil Niekro provides first-place Chicago with a 30 win against Atlanta. Holtzman is the first no-hit hurler with no strikeouts since Sam Jones (on September 4, 1923). LF Billy Williams, with his back against the vines, hauls in Aaron's drive in the 7th to preserve the no-hitter.
John "Swede" Hollison dies in Chicago at age 99. He was the last surviving ML pitcher to throw from a mound 50 feet from home plate. He pitched in one game in 1892.
IN THE NEWS: At St. Louis, Hank Aaron belts a 14th inning 3-run homer to give the Braves a 41 win over the Cards. There are no stolen bases in the game, though Bob Didier and Tim McCarver throw out six would-be thieves between them.
IN THE NEWS: Willie McCovey drives in six runs with homer #40, a grand slam, a sac fly and a single, while Bobby Bonds drives in another five as the Giants bomb the Phils 134. The win is the Giants 6th in a row and they keep their half game lead in the National League West. McCovey's slamhis 2nd of the yearis his career 10th and his six RBIs ups his season total to 106. Gaylord Perry (16-10) is the winner.
IN THE NEWS: New York's 41 win at San Diego, its 74th of the year, sets a club record.
Chicago loses for the 7th time in the last eight games, a 63 loss to the Reds Tony Cloninger. Ken Holtzman is the loser. Chicago is now just two games ahead of the Amazing Mets.
IN THE NEWS: Detroit OF Jim Northrup goes 6-for-6, the first 6-hit game for Detroit since June 24, 1962, as the Tigers beat the A's, 53. Northrup's 6th hit is a home run over the roof in the bottom of the 13th to win the game.
Canadian reliever Claude Raymond gains his first win since joining the Expos as they come from behind to beat the Dodgers, 95. Willie Davis has a pair of singles for LA to stretch his hit streak to 25 straight games.
At a press conference in New York, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn announces the publication of The Baseball Encyclopedia and holds up a copy of the six 1/2 pound book.
IN THE NEWS: Joe Pepitone quits the Yankees after being fined $500 for leaving the bench during a game.
Bill Hands pitches the Cubs to a 21 win over Atlanta and is helped by two spectacular catches by Oscar Gamble in the 9th. The Cubs lead stands at three 1/2 games.
Houston's Jim Bouton makes his first National League start and toils 10 innings before losing to the Pirates, 42.
IN THE NEWS: Washington 2B Tim Cullen ties a major-league record with three consecutive errors in the 8th inning, but the Senators beat Oakland 113. Frank Howard leads the offense with four hits, including his 41st home run, and his 1st stolen base in three years.
Merv Rettenmund drives in three runs to lead the Orioles to a 63 win over the Angels. The O's score their last run on a single by Brooks Robinson in the 7th and three consecutive passed balls by Jose Azcue which ties the American League record for catchers. He is the first backstop on the 20th-C list not to be catching Hoyt Wilhelm, though Wilhelm comes in to relief Vern Geishert in the 8th.