IN THE NEWS: At Yankee Stadium, Roger Clemens and New York overpower the Indians, 11-5. Derek Jeter has two hits, three runs, and has now reached base in all 50 Yankee games (a record going back to 1961). Reliever Steve Reed plunks Jeter in the 8th, then Paul O'Neill hits 2-run home run.
Montreal's Shane Andrews has two home runs and a double to drive in five runs in Montreal's 10-8 win over 1st-place Arizona. The DBacks Steve Finley tops him with six RBIs on two home runs.
American League President Gene Budig interviews Jaret Wright regarding the Cleveland starter's proclivity for hitting batters. Wright has hit batters in the head twice this season precipitating a brawl each time and a fine and suspension for himself. The right-hander maintains that he's not aiming to hit batters but only to move them off the plate.
IN THE NEWS: American League president Gene Budig meets with Indians P Jaret Wright to discuss head-hunting accusations, due to pitches he has thrown near the heads of Boston's Darren Lewis and Detroit's Tony Clark, which have precipitated fights this season.
The Devil Rays make Josh Hamilton the 1st HS player in six years to be selected No. one in major league baseball's amateur draft. He'll sign for $3.96 million. The Marlins take another Josh -- Josh Beckett -- with the 2nd pick and sign him for $3.625 million, while C Eric Munson, a Braves 2nd round pick in '96, goes to Detroit at number three and signs for $3.65 million. In a spending glut that will have scouts brushing up on their Latin American geography, 34 players, including all but one first rounder, will sign for $1 million or more; 76 players in the 1st ten rounds get $500,000 or more; 127 players sign for $200,000+. The Pirates ink 39th round pick Patrick O'Brien for $500,000. The Baltimore Orioles are the first team in the 35-year history of Baseball's amateur draft to have four first round picks. Only two pitchers will make it as far as AAA this year -- the A's Barry Zito and the Diamondbacks' Jeremy Ward, a 2nd round pick.
Arizona sets a team record with 20 hits in beating the Expos, 15–2.
IN THE NEWS: Tampa Bay OF Quinton McCracken undergoes surgery for a torn ACL in his right knee and will be out the rest of the season. McCracken caught his cleats in the wall trying to catch what turned out to be a home run by Juan Gonzalez.
IN THE NEWS: In a battle of East Division leaders, the Red Sox defeat the Braves, 5-1, behind the 3-hit pitching of Pedro Martinez. The Boston righthander fans 16 batters in notching his 11th victory of the year.
Randy Johnson (7-2) wins his 3rd start in a row, beating Texas, 11–3. Johnson allows three hits and K's 11 in eight innings.
The KC-Cincinnati game at Kauffman Stadium is postponed when an electrical outage knocks out the lights on the 3rd base side. Workers attempt to fix the situation, but a switch gear explodes, causing a small fire. The game will be made up as part of a DH tomorrow.
Astros owner Drayton McLane Jr. sparks a controversy after allegedly making derogatory comments regarding Hispanics to the general manager of television station KTMD. McLane denies the story, saying remarks he made were taken out of context.
IN THE NEWS: Dodger P Chan Ho Park aims a kick at Angels P Tim Belcher during a scuffle in LA's 7-4 victory. Park will be fined $3,000 for his actions and suspended for seven games.
The Braves score two runs in the top of the 9th inning to defeat the Red Sox, 6-5. Boston P Tom Gordon blows the save opportunity, ending his major league record consecutive save streak at 54 games.
The Rockies defeat the Brewers, 12-11, as 3B Vinny Castilla hits three home runs and drives home 5. Castilla also strokes a single in his five trips to the plate.
The Mets defeat the Yankees, 7-2 to end Roger Clemens' 20-game winning streak. The Mets also end SS Derek Jeter's streak of reaching base in 53 consecutive games as they snap an 8-game losing streak of their own.
The Twins defeat the Astros, 13-6, as every member of Minnesota's starting lineup gets at least two hits. The Twins pound out a total of 21 safeties.
IN THE NEWS: The Braves defeat the Devil Rays, 9-5, as P John Smoltz records his 2000th strikeout. He becomes the 53rd pitcher—and 3rd Brave—to reach that level.
The hot Cubs pound the White Sox, 13–7, as Sammy Sosa and Jose Hernandez each hit 3-run homers and collect five RBIs. The Cubs sweep their South Side rivals completing their 3rd consecutive 3-game sweep, something the Cubs have not done since 1918.
IN THE NEWS: The Phillies score nine runs in the 7th inning in defeating the Yankees, 11-5.
The Expos defeat the Red Sox, 5-1, as P Dan Smith wins his major league debut. After allowing three hits to the first four batters he faces, Smith retires his last 20 batters in a row before being replaced after seven innings.
The Padres defeat the Athletics, 5-3, spoiling the major league debut of Oakland hurler, Tim Hudson. Hudson fans 11 batters in only five innings of work, as he falls one shy of the American League record for most strikeouts in a pitcher's 1st game. The rookie surrenders three runs on seven hits and leaves the game with a no decision.
Kansas City overcomes Mark McGwire's 475th career homer and beat the Cards, 11–10. Big Mac ties for 17th place on the home run list with Willie Stargell and Stan Musial.
IN THE NEWS: The Pirates defeat the Tigers, 15-3, as OF Brant Brown strokes five hits, including a double and home run. Brown scores four runs and drives home five for Pittsburgh.
The Mets lose to the Red Sox, 3-2, in 12 innings. NY manager Bobby Valentine is ejected in the 12th inning for arguing a call. He later returns to the dugout wearing dark glasses and a lampblack mustache. For his indiscretion, he will be suspended for two games and fined $5,000.
The Dodgers defeat the Rangers, 7-2. Prior to the game, the national anthem is sung by 3-year-old Rex Spjute of Meridian, Idaho, who becomes the youngest person ever to perform the song before a game.
The Expos pound the Red Sox, 13-1, handing Pedro Martinez (11–2) his first loss in two months. Pedro still fans 10. Mike Thurman gets win pitching into the 8th inning. Montreal scores eight in the 8th, including a 3-run home run by rookie relief P Guillermo Mota in his 1st major league at bat. He'll have a sac in his only other plate appearance this year.
In the finale of the I-70 series, Kansas City defeats the Cardinals, 17-13, scoring eight runs in the 8th inning. 3B Joe Randa strokes five hits, including a pair of doubles, for the Royals, while Beltran, sweeney and Febles each have three RBIs. The loss goes to Scott Radinsky, the middle of five pitchers, who allows just two runs.
Arizona defeats the Cubs, 8-7, as 1B Travis Lee gets five hits, including a double and triple. Diamondbacks P Byung-Hyun Kim is ejected from the game after a bandage containing heat balm flies out of his shirt sleeve. Kim claims he used such a bandage during games in Korea, but forgot to take it off when he entered the contest.
Houston defeats the White Sox, 13-4, as 1B Jeff Bagwell hits three home runs and drives home six runs for the Astros. In doing so, Bagwell joins Johnny Mize and Ralph Kiner as the only players in history to hit three homers in a game twice in the same city in the same season. Bagwell is the 1st to perform the feat in a city on the road.
Jerrod Wong of Atlanta's Myrtle Beach farm team, hits for the cycle while going 5-for-6 in Class A game. Tomorrow, Jerrod's younger brother, Travis Wong, drafted earlier this month by the Cincinnati Reds, will hit for a home run cycle in an American Legion game. Travis strokes a solo, 2-run, 3-run, and grand slam home run in a contest for the Boise Gems.
IN THE NEWS: San Diego defeats Oakland, 2-1, as P Trevor Hoffman records his 200th career save. Hoffman, who strikes out the side in order in the 9th, becomes the 25th pitcher in history to reach the mark.
It sounds like football. At Denver, the Rockies and Mariners combine for 10 home runs in a 16–11 Rockies win.
IN THE NEWS: The Brewers retire Paul Molitor's uniform before taking the field to lose to the Twins, 9-7.
Oakland defeats the Dodgers, 12-6, as SS Miguel Tejada strokes three home runs and drives home five runs. He becomes just the 10th player to have a 3-homer game while playing shortstop throughout.
The Orioles defeat the Braves, 6-2, as Albert Belle's streak of 392 consecutive games (the longest active streak) is ended. Belle is benched by Baltimore manager Ray Miller for failing to run out a ground ball.
IN THE NEWS: The Pirates defeat the Royals, 9-8, as KC 3B Joe Randa has his consecutive hit streak stopped at 10–2 short of the ML record.
The Giants win a slugfest against the Mariners, topping Seattle by a score of 15-11. 2B Jeff Kent has five hits for the Giants, including a home run, and brings home four runs. The Giants stoke 22 hits in the contest.
IN THE NEWS: Astros manager Larry Dierker is taken to the hospital after suffering a grand mal seizure during the 8th inning of Houston's game against the Padres. The contest is suspended with the Astros leading, 4-1. Dierker will undergo surgery on the 15th to remove two masses of tangled blood vessels in his brain that caused the seizure. Coach Matt Galante takes over as temporary manager in Dierker's absence. Dierker later tells GM Gerry Hunsicker he doesn't remember anything after the second inning.
The Orioles set a franchise record for runs scored, defeating the Braves, 22-1. 3B Cal Ripken Jr. goes 6-for-6 for Baltimore, hitting two homers, driving home six runs and scoring 5. His six hits in a 9-inning game ties the American League record. 1B Will Clark goes 4-for-4 with five RBIs. Mike Mussina earns the win as he allows one run on five hits in seven innings. He also joins in with two hits and three RBI. John Smoltz takes the loss as he allows seven runs on seven hits in two 1/3 IP. The Baltimore scoring record was 19, set in August 28, 1967, and the franchise record was the Browns 20 runs on August 18, 1950.
IN THE NEWS: With a 3-run double in the bottom of the 8th, Todd Helton leads the Rockies to a 5-4 win over the Giants. In the 5th, the Giants turned a 5-4-3 triple play—the 1st triple play in Coors Field history.
IN THE NEWS: The Cubs defeat the Brewers, 7-4. During the game, losing P Jim Abbott, born without a right hand, records his 1st major league hit for Milwaukee.
The Blue Jays score nine runs in the 6th inning on the way to a 13-2 win over the Angels.
The Marlins trade 2B Craig Counsell to the Dodgers in exchange for a player to be named.
IN THE NEWS: Calling it "a bad biorhythm day," Chili Davis lines into a triple play and a double play as the Yanks go down to the Rangers, 4–2. New York wastes a 12-strikeout performance by Roger Clemens.
IN THE NEWS: Yankees OF Darryl Strawberry is suspended for 120 days, retroactive to April 14, for violating baseball's drug policy and aftercare program. He will be eligible to return on August 11.
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