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MAY
2002
IN THE NEWS: The Padres defeat the Cubs, 4–3, with Trevor Hoffman saving the game for Bobby Jones. It is Hoffman's 321st save for SD, a major-league record for most with one team. Oakland's Dennis Eckersley held the old mark.
IN THE NEWS: The Mariners rout the White Sox by a score of 15–4 as OF Mike Cameron becomes the 13th player in ML history to slug four home runs in a single game, all solo shots. Cameron is also hit by a pitch and flies out to deep right in a bid for a 5th homer. Cameron and 2B Bret Boone also become the first teammates in history to hit back–to–back home runs twice in the same inning, performing the feat in Seattle's 10–run 1st inning. The duo waste little time putting their names into the record book. After Ichiro Suzuki is hit by a pitch leading off, Boone homers. Cameron follows with a drive off Jon Rauch that barely cleared the center–field wall and a leaping Kenny Lofton. Two outs later, Boone again homers on the first pitch, this time off reliever Jim Parque. Cameron goes to a full count, then homers to center again. The Mariners also tie a team record with seven homers in the game. James Baldwin is the easy winner, with seven innings pitched. There had only been 39 previous occasions of a player hitting two home runs in an inning, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Eric Karros was last to do it, on August 22, 2000, for Los Angeles. Mark McGwire was the previous American League player to do it, on September 22, 1996, for Oakland.
3rd The Braves defeat the Cardinals, 2–1, on Chipper Jones' 2–run home run in the 11th inning. Braves' starter, rookie Damian Moss, hurls seven hitless innings for Atlanta, walking seven and striking out 6. He leaves for a pinch–hitter in the 8th with the game scoreless.
Peoria's Tyler Johnson loses a no–hitter when Michigan's Brooks Conrad is credited with a single when his batted ball hits baserunner Kerry Hodges, who had walked with two out in the 8th inning.
IN THE NEWS: Barry Bonds hits his 400th home run as a Giants, leading the Giants to a 3–0 win over Cincinnati. Ryan Jensen relieves starter Jason Schmidt in the 1st inning and carries a no–hitter into the 8th before surrendering a single to Jason LaRue. Bonds is the first player to hit 400 homers for one team and 100 with another.
Pinch–hitter Shea Hillenbrand hits a 2–out grand slam in the 9th inning, off Victor Zambrano, to give the Red Sox a 7–5 win over host Tampa Bay. It is the 3rd straight game in which Tampa Bay has blown a lead in the 9th; According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Devil Rays are the first A.L. team since the 1929 White Sox to lose three straight games after taking the lead into the 9th inning.
IN THE NEWS: The Indians top the Rangers by a score of 9–2. SS Omar Vizquel strokes five hits for Cleveland, including three doubles.
The Red Sox snap a scoreless tie with a run in the 8th and add another in the 9th on a solo home run By Nomar Garciaparra to give Tampa Bay its 10th straight loss. Frank Castillo pitches eight innings for the win. Boston will sweep by winning tomorrow, 7–5
IN THE NEWS: The White Sox defeat the Rangers, 11–6, scoring eight runs in the 6th inning. It is the third time this season they've had an outbursts of eight or more runs in an inning.
A collector from Pennsylvania buys Shoeless Joe Jackson's famous bat, Black Betsy, for $577,610, believed to be the highest price ever paid for a bat.
IN THE NEWS: The Angels score eight runs in the 3rd inning on their way to a 19–0 rout of the White Sox. The Haloes join the 1923 Indians, 1939 Yankees and 1950 Red Sox as the only teams to beat two opponents by 19 or more runs in the same season. Earlier this year, the Angels beat the Indians, 21–2. The Anaheim calcimine of Chicago is just the 11th since 1901 in which a team scored 19 or more runs while shutting out its opponent, and the first such shutout in the A.L. since 1955 when Cleveland beat Boston, 19–0.
The Phillies Vicente Padilla holds Arizona hitless until Chris Donnels doubles with two outs in the 8th inning. He surrenders another hit in tossing a 4–0 victory.
IN THE NEWS: Tampa Bay defeats Baltimore, 6–4, breaking the Devil Rays' 15–game losing streak.
IN THE NEWS: The Yankees top Minnesota on Mother's Day, 10–4, giving Joe Torre his 1,500th career win as manager.
The Reds take an 8–0 lead over St. Louis after two innings, but the Cardinals bounce back and score five runs in the 8th to pull out a 10–8 win.
IN THE NEWS: The Giants defeat the Braves, 7–6 in 11 innings, as an earthquake jolts Pac Bell Park during the 9th inning. The game was not stopped by the quake.
Houston tops Philadelphia, 17–3, plating eight runs in the 8th inning to finish the scoring.
IN THE NEWS: The Royals hire Tony Pena as their new manager replacing interim skipper John Mizerock.
The Blue Jays send P Pedro Borbon (1-2) to the Astros for a player to be named.
IN THE NEWS: The Mariners score eight times in the 7th inning and go on to batter the Blue Jays, 15–2. LF Mark McLemore goes 5–5, including a double and 3–run home run, for Seattle.
The Tigers obtain 3B Chris Truby from the Expos in exchange for IF Jose Macias.
IN THE NEWS: After the Twins score three times in the top of the 14th, the Yankees come back to win, 13–12, on Jason Giambi's one-out grand slam, hitting the first pitch from reliever Mike Trombley over the RF fence. It is the 21st time in history that a player has hit a game–winning grand slam -- the ultimate grand slam -- with his team down by three runs. Babe Ruth, in 1925, was the only previous Yankee to have performed the feat. Giambi's home run is one of six by New York as each team has 20 hits. The last time that two teams reached 20 hits was also on May 17—1996. Baltimore beat Seattle, 13–12 on 41 hits total.
The Mets score eight runs in the 7th inning, highlighted by Mike Piazza's grand slam, to defeat the Padres, 13–4.
Erubiel Durazo hits three home runs and a double and drives in nine runs for the Diamondbacks as Arizona downs Philadelphia, 12–9. It is Durazo's 2nd game of the season after spending six weeks on the DL with a broken right hamate bone. Phillies 2B Marlon Anderson strokes five hits, including a double.
The Royals send P Bryan Rekar to the Rockies. In return, KC receives minor league P Eduardo Villacis.
IN THE NEWS: After sitting through a 2-hour rain delay, the Red Sox defeat the Mariners, 4–1, behind the pitching of Pedro Martinez. Martinez strikes out the side in the 1st inning on nine pitches, the 17th time the feat has been performed since 1970. Pedro is now 10–0 against the Mariners, with a 0.93 ERA against them. For the M's, it is just their 4th road defeat in 21 games.
IN THE NEWS: The Pirates defeat the Astros, 5–3, in Houston. Prior to the game, the Astros retire former pitcher and manager Larry Dierker's uniform #49.
The Detroit Tigers stage a unique promotion -- an octopus–throwing contest in honor of the Stanley Cup Western Conference Championship Series, which began yesterday at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena. Throwing boiled octopi on the ice is a hockey tradition in Detroit. Each participant in the Tigers' contest threw the octopi at a target with the winner getting a limo ride to the nearby Arena and tickets to the second game of the Conference Championship. Tiger pitchers Jeff Weaver and Matt Anderson try their luck along with fifty fans, but neither pitcher hits his target. The Rangers must've thought they were hitting octopus, as they lose the game, 2–1. Seth Greisinger allows one run in six 2/3 innings, and Dmitri Young's homer in the 4th snaps a 1–1 tie.
IN THE NEWS: Behind a combined 2-hitter by Derek Lowe (7–1) and Rich Garces, the Red Sox defeat the visiting White Sox, 9–0. Shea Hillenbrand pokes a 3-run homer, a 303 ft. drive around the Pesky pole, one of the shortest homers in decades. It lands in the front-row lap of a youngster.
IN THE NEWS: The Diamondbacks set down the Giants, 9–4, behind Randy Johnson. Johnson notches the 3,500th strikeout of his big league career in the contest.
Trailing the Dodgers 6–0, the Brewers score eight times in the 7th inning to pull out an 8–6 victory.
The Devil Rays defeat the Mariners, 1–0, behind Joe Kennedy's 4–hitter. The contest ends Tampa Bay's streak of 194 consecutive games without a complete game. Kennedy's only misplay is an error on a bad throw; Kennedy will make 10 errors on 41 chances this year to lead the majors in E's.
IN THE NEWS: The Tigers defeat the Indians, 2–0, on Jeff Weaver's 1–hitter. OF Chris Magruder's double with two outs in the 8th inning in his Cleveland debut is the Tribe's only safety.
The Athletics send OF Jeremy Giambi to the Phillies in exchange for IF/OF John Mabry. The trade, viewed as one–sided for the Phils, will be a good one for Oakland. Giambi will homer in his first two Philley at bats on the 25th, and be the first player in major–league history to hit eight homers in each league before the All–Star break. He'll finish the year with 20. That, plus Jason Giambi's 41, will give the Giambi boys the record for homers by brothers in the same season, topping the 59 hit in 1937 by Joe DiMaggio (46) and Vince DiMaggio (13).
Behind Shawn Green's RBI triple, the Dodgers beat the Brewers, 1–0. Green also throws out Jenkins at home to complete a DP. Hideo Nomo pitches six innings to earn the win.
Minnesota receives a boost in its efforts to save the Twins when Governor Jesse Ventura approves a financing plan for a new $330 million stadium.
The Wichita Wranglers (Texas League) score 14 runs in the 3rd in beating Tulsa, 19–2. They set league records for singles (10) in an inning, and by having 16 straight players reach base. Five players make two hits in the inning.
IN THE NEWS: At Miller Park, Dodger OF Shawn Green becomes the second player this year to hit four home runs in a game, doing so in LA's 16–3 shellacking of the Brewers. Green goes 6–6 in the contest, scores six runs (both Dodgers records), drives home seven runs, and sets a major league record with 19 total bases. This breaks Joe Adcock's former mark of 18 set in 1954. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, six players have produced 17 or more total bases in a game with the last being Mike Schmidt in 1976. Green is the first player to collect six hits while hitting four homers, and his four homers plus a double ties the National League mark for extra base hits. The Dodgers hit eight homers in the game, another franchise record. Before today's power display, Green had gone 0-for-15, and been benched May 18.
Marlins' 2B Luis Castillo hits his 1st home run from the left side of the plate in his 600th ML game, pacing Florida to an 8–4 win over Cincinnati.
IN THE NEWS: The Dodgers lose to the Diamondbacks, 14–3, despite Shawn Green's 5th home run in two games, tying a ML record. Green also hits two singles to tie another mark with 25 total bases in the two games.
The pilot of a small plane carrying the remains of an avid Mariners' fan attempts to drop the ashes above SAFECO Field, but the canister bounces off the stadium roof and lands on the street. Fear of an attack brings police and firemen rushing to the stadium.
IN THE NEWS: The Royals defeat the Rangers, 6–3. Closer Roberto Hernandez gets the save, becoming the 15th pitcher in history to tally 300 saves.
The Rockies beat the Giants, 6–3, as Barry Bonds takes over sole possession of 5th place on the all–time home run list with the 584th round–tripper of his career.
The Dodgers top Arizona, 10–5, as Shawn Green hits two more home runs and drives home six runs. The seven home runs in three games is a new ML record.
IN THE NEWS: Arizona edges Los Angeles, 10–9 in 10 innings. Craig Counsell gets five hits for the Diamondbacks, including a 2B.
Cory Bailey of the Kansas City Royals wins both ends of a doubleheader against the Rangers, becoming the first pitcher since David Wells in 1989 to do that. He pitches the top of the 9th in the first game trailing, 5-4; but a 3-run rally gives him the victory. In the second game, Bailey gets two outs to end the top of the sixth after the Rangers tied the game 7-7, The Royals rally to take a 9-7 lead in the bottom half and go on to win 9-8.
The Phillies and Blue Jays exchange pitchers with Cliff Politte (2-0) going to Toronto and Dan Plesac to Philadelphia. The high-priced 40-year-old Plesac had declared that this would be his last year.
IN THE NEWS: The Dodgers best the Brewers, 5–3, with the help of Shawn Green's 10th home run in seven days.
IN THE NEWS: Arizona's Miguel Batista hurls nine innings of 1–hit ball against the Giants, but the Giants win in 10 innings, 1–0. Barry Bonds walks off Myers, and Jeff Kent's 2nd hit of the game, off Bret Prinz, moves him to 3rd. Benito Santiago's single wins it. Robb Nen, in relief of Jason Schmidt, picks up the win.
IN THE NEWS: In an article in Sports Illustrated magazine, former National League MVP Ken Caminiti says that about 50 percent of current ML players use some form of steroids.
25-year–old minor leaguer Joe Bauldree dies in his sleep. The former Atlanta farmhand, a pitcher for the Indy Allentown Ambassadors, had a history of irregular heart beat.
IN THE NEWS: The Devil Rays score eight runs in the 4th inning of their game against Oakland, but still come out on the short end of a 13–9 score. Home plate umpire Steve Rippley is forced to leave the game after being hit in the head by a pitch from Tampa Bay's Lee Gardner, which hits Adam Piatt and deflects off catcher John Flaherty before hitting Rippley. He suffers a slight fracture between his left temple and cheekbone but never loses consciousness and is removed on a stretcher.
Carlos Beltran hits a grand slam and adds a solo homer in the 11th to pace the Royals to a 10–7 win over Texas. His solo shot is the first of three consecutive home runs in the 11th, as Mike Sweeney and Joe Randa follow suit. They became just the 2nd team to hit at least three consecutive home runs in extra innings. The Twins had four consecutive home runs, from Tony Oliva, Bob Allison, Jimmie Hall and Harmon Killebrew, in the 11th inning, on May 2, 1964. Neifi Perez homers for KC, and Alex Rodriguez hits two for Texas.
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