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AUGUST
2002
IN THE NEWS: The Rangers clobber the Red Sox, 19–7, as Texas OF Carl Everett hits a pair of home runs and drives home seven runs against his former teammates.
A.J. Burnett (11–7) fires his 4th shutout of the year, beating the Cardinals, 4–0, on four hits. The high point for St. Louis is a 6th inning triple play (9–6–3), just the 11th in history started by a right fielder. With runners on 1st and 2B, J.D. Drew snags Eric Owens' line drive and throws to SS Edgar Renteria who steps on 2B and relays to first baseman Tino Martinez. Jay Buhner was the last right fielder to start a triple play, accomplishing the feat for the 1992 Mariners.
IN THE NEWS: Cincinnati defeats San Diego, 15–10, as LF Russell Branyan slugs three home runs and drives home five runs for the Reds.
The Braves edge the Cardinals, 2–1, as Damian Moss and John Smoltz combine on a 1–hitter. Mike Matheny's single is the only St. Louis hit.
The Athletics defeat Detroit, 4–0, as Cory Lidle, Ricardo Rincon, Chad Bradford, and Billy Koch combine on the 1–hit shutout. Tiger OF Wendell Magee's single is the only Detroit safety.
IN THE NEWS: The Athletics down the Red Sox, 9–1, but SS Miguel Tejada's 24–game hitting streak comes to an end. The streak began the day after the All–Star break, July 11, and is the second–longest in the majors this year behind Luis Castillo's
The Blue Jays nearly blow a 13–2 lead, but hold on to defeat the Mariners, 14–12. P Mark Hendrickson makes his ML debut for Toronto. Hendrickson also played pro basketball, thus becoming the 10th major leaguer to have also played in the NBA.
In the 13th inning of an AA game, Tom Nevers, a first baseman for Chattanooga, takes the mound and pitches five innings. He gets the victory as the Lookouts beat the Huntsville Stars, 8–7 in 18 innings. He also goes 3–for–8 with a homer and two RBIs at the plate.
IN THE NEWS: The Mariners upend the Blue Jays, 5–4, despite Toronto SS Chris Woodward's three home runs.
In a historic move, ML baseball players end their long–held opposition to mandatory drug testing by agreeing to be tested for illegal steroids beginning in 2003.
IN THE NEWS: Atlanta defeats Arizona, 4–1, as Braves RP John Smoltz reaches 40 saves in a season faster than any pitcher in history.
IN THE NEWS: Barry Bonds hits the 600th home run of his career, but the Giants still fall to the Pirates by a score of 4–3. Bonds joins Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, and Willie Mays (his godfather) in the exclusive club.
The Reds defeat the Padres, 12–10, as Cincinnati 3B Aaron Boone hits three home runs. Two of the blasts come in Cincinnati's 9–run 1st inning.
The Expos trounce the Brewers, 11–4, as OF Vladimir Guerrero ties Ken Griffey Jr. as the 2nd–youngest player ever to reach 200 home runs.
IN THE NEWS: The Diamondbacks beat the Marlins, 9–2, as Randy Johnson fans 14 Florida batters to move past Tom Seaver into 5th place on the all–time list.
The Giants beat the Pirates, 8–3, as Barry Bonds draws three intentional walks to give him an ML–record 46 for the season. The three intentional passes also tie a record for a 9–inning game. Bonds will receive 68 intentional walks this year, 23 more than the old record, set by the Giants' Willie McCovey in 1969.
The Cubs wallop the Rockies, 15–1, as Sammy Sosa clouts three home runs and drives home nine runs.
IN THE NEWS: The Cubs defeat Colorado, 12–9, as Sammy Sosa hits a grand slam and drives home five runs. The RBIs give him an National League–record 14 in two consecutive games.
The Phillies beat the Dodgers, 5–3, as Philadelphia SS Jimmy Rollins strokes five hits and steals two bases.
Chipper Jones strokes five hits, including a pair of doubles, as the Braves rout the Astros, 13–3.
IN THE NEWS: The Astros down the Cubs, 9–6, despite Sammy Sosa's 5th home run in the last three games. Sosa's blast makes him only the 3rd player in National League history with five straight 40–HR seasons.
IN THE NEWS: In Minnesota, the Twins' Rick Reed needs little help in shutting out the Baltimore Orioles, 6–0. Doug Mientkiewitz hits two homers and David Ortiz adds a home run and 2-run double. In the pre-game ceremonies celebrating Native American Heritage Day, golfer Notah Begay, a Navajo, chips the opening pitch. The losing pitcher is Scott Erickson, who had beaten his former team nine straight times over six seasons.
Warring Mets co–owners Fred Wilpon and Nelson Doubleday finally complete their deal to transfer full ownership of the team to Wilpon within the next 30 days. But Nelson will question the valuation of the team by the independent arbitrator, and the transaction will not be resolved until the fall.
IN THE NEWS: Reds C Jason LaRue has a bad first inning with knuckleballer Jared Fernandez on the mound, and allows three consecutive passed balls and a run scoring wild pitch. LaRue will lead the majors this year with 20 passed balls. The Diamondbacks break a tie in the 6th as Tony Womack singles off reliever John Riedling to win, 7–2, their 18th out of 22 games. Luis Gonzalez misses the game because of a strained rib cage, and breaks his ML high streak of 446 consecutive games played.
Two contests in the American League go 14 innings. Geronimo Gil hits a 2-out 14th inning homer to give Baltimore a 6–5 victory over Minnesota, while the Yankees overcome a straight steal of home by Mike Sweeney to beat the Royals, 3–2. Bernie Williams hits an RBI single to give Ramiro Mendoza (8-3) the win.
IN THE NEWS: The Yankees top the Royals, 7–5, as Bernie Williams gets five hits, including a double.
The Mets trade P Shawn Estes to the Reds for minor leaguers Pedro Feliciano and Elvin Andujar, and two players to be named.
IN THE NEWS: The Twins down the Red Sox, 5–0, in the process ending Pedro Martinez's scoreless inning streak at 35. It is the longest such streak in the majors since 2000.
Major league players announce a tentative strike date of August 30 if an agreement cannot be reached with the club owners.
IN THE NEWS: The Yankees defeat the Mariners, 8–3, as Alfonso Soriano homers to become the first 2B ever to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in a season. NY OF Bernie Williams singles in his 1st at bat to give him 11 consecutive hits. He makes out his next time up to fall one short of the ML record.
The Rangers pound the Blue Jays, 9–5, as Alex Rodriguez clouts three home runs. By doing so, he becomes the 6th player ever with five straight 40–HR seasons.
Going, going, Yan. For the 2nd day in a row, Tampa Bay's Esteban Yan gives up a 2-out homer in the 9th, and it costs him his closer's job. Yesterday, Raul Ibanez hits a 2-run homer to give Kansas City a 6–5 win. Today, Brent Mayne ties the score with a solo home run, then Mike Sweeney ices it for KC, 7–3, in the 12th with a 3-run shot. Ibanez adds a homer.
The Padres down the Expos, 6–5. In doing so, they set a new major-league record for pitchers used in a season when reliever Jonathon Johnson (1–0) pitches a perfect 7th. Gene Kingsale caps a 4-run 8th with a 2-run pinch double. A streaker, clad in shorts, then runs across the field and slides into 2B at Kingsale's feet.
Houston scores five runs in the 9th inning to beat Cincinnati, 6–1. SS Jose Vizcaino gets five hits, including a leadoff home run.
IN THE NEWS: The Rangers stop the Blue Jays, 10–7, as SS Alex Rodriguez ties an major-league record by becoming the 4th player to hit six home runs in a 3–game span. His two round–trippers give him the American League lead with 44.
IN THE NEWS: The Pirates shut out the Cardinals, 8–0, on a combined one–hitter hurled by Kris Benson (7 innings), Brian Boehringer (1), and Al Reyes (1). Kerry Robinson's one–out single in the 1st inning is St. Louis' only safety.
IN THE NEWS: The Cardinals defeat the Pirates, 4–1, for Tony La Russa's 1,887th career win as a manager, moving him into 10th place on the all–time list.
The Athletics win their 8th straight game behind Cory Lidle's 1–hitter, beating Cleveland by a score of 6–0. Lidle gives up a 2–out single to Ellis Burks in the 1st inning, walks the next batter, then retires the last 25 batters. It is the 4th straight start for Lidle in which he's been part of a shutout, but it is the only one he's completed.
The Astros obtain RP Tom Gordon from the Cubs in exchange for minor league P Russ Rohlicek and two players to be named.
IN THE NEWS: Cleveland's rookie C Josh Bard hits a game–winning 2–run home run in the bottom of the 9th inning against Seattle in his 1st ML appearance. He has two hits and three RBIs as the Tribe wins, 4–2.
The Padres score nine runs in the 5th inning on their way to an 18–2 win over the Marlins. Bubba Trammell, who has two homers in the game, starts the scoring in the 5th with a homer.7 players have RBIs in the 5th, and the last 11 hitters come up with the bases loaded. Jake Peavy is the easy winner.
Bobby Abreu hits a solo homer in the 14th to give the Phillies a 5–4 win over the Cards in five hrs: 13 minutes. Scott Rolen is 4–for–5 in his 1st appearance against his old team.
The Orioles spot the Blue Jays six runs and then roar back with four homers to win, 11–7. The win puts Baltimore (63–63) at .500. From here on it'll be all downhill.
IN THE NEWS: The Angels defeat the Red Sox, 2–0. Manny Ramirez's streak of reaching base in 14 straight plate appearances is stopped two short of the ML mark.
The Orioles drop a pair to the Blue Jays, losing 4–1 and 8–3. This is the start of a miserable 4–31 year–end slide. In game 1, a makeup of a July 23 rainout, Vernon Wells has four hits, including a homer, and scores three runs. Pete Walker pitches seven innings for the win. The bright spot for Baltimore is Mike Bordick, who fields four chances flawlessly to set a major-league record with 428 straight chances without an error. It breaks the mark that Cal Ripken set in 1990. Wells and Chris Woodward hit homers in game 2.
IN THE NEWS: Arizona's Randy Johnson strikes out 16 Cubs as the Diamondbacks defeat Chicago, 7–0.
IN THE NEWS: The Red Sox score a 10–9, 10–inning victory over the Angels as Manny Ramirez gets five hits, including a pair of home runs.
IN THE NEWS: Barry Bonds slugs three home runs and a double to lead the Giants to a 7–4 win over the Rockies. It is the 4th three–homer game of Bonds' career.
The Angels defeat the Devil Rays, 7–3. as OF Darin Erstad gets five hits, including a pair of doubles, for Anaheim.
The Twins top the Mariners, 5–2. Minnesota SS Cristian Guzman is held hitless, ending his 23–game hitting streak.
The White Sox down the Blue Jays, 8–4. Rookie 3B Joe Crede's 9th inning 2–run homer ties the score and his 10th inning grand slam wins it. Crede drives home seven runs in the game.
IN THE NEWS: Odalis Perez of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits a solo homer, off Arizona's Rick Helling, for the only run of the game. He is the first pitcher (and the 12th ever) since Bob Welch in 1983 to hit a solo homer for the only run.
The Cardinals obtain P Jamey Wright from the Brewers in exchange for minor league OF Chris Morris and cash.
IN THE NEWS: 1B Mark Bellhorn becomes the 1st player in National League history to homer from both sides of the plate in the same inning, doing so in the Cubs' 10–run 4th inning in Chicago's 13–10 win over the Brewers. He also ties a team record with five RBIs in the inning.
The IOC votes to drop baseball from the Olympics and replace it with golf. The reason is that the competition does not draw the best players, since MLB does not release their players to play.
IN THE NEWS: Major league baseball players and owners agree to a historic contract that prevents the players from going out on strike.
IN THE NEWS: The Mets are shut out by the Phillies, 1–0, to mark their 13th consecutive home defeat. In doing so, they become the first National League team to lose all their home games over the course of a month.
The Astros acquire free–agent–to–be Mark Loretta from the Brewers for cash and a player to be named. In two days, the player turns out to be Keith Ginter, hitting .264 at New Orleans.
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