2001
» The Marlins Brad Penny (8 innings) and Antonio Alfonseca (1 inning) combine to 1-hit the Expos, 3-0. 3B Geoff Blum's single is the only Montreal hit.
2000
» The Padres defeat the Dodgers, 9-5, scoring eight runs in the 2nd inning.
The Diamondbacks defeat the Astros, 6-1. Arizona rookie 1B Alex Cabrera hits a pinch-hitter 2-run home run in his 1st major league at bat.
1999
» Shortstop Pat Meares of the Pittsburgh Pirates, on the disabled list recovering from surgery on his left hand, participates in a sausage race at Milwaukee's County Stadium. Meares, dressed as a 10-foot bratwurst, wins the race defeating a giant hot dog and a polish sausage. Two days ago, Meares was caught on videotape sunbathing in the upper deck of Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium for the first six innings of game.
KC scores 10 runs in the 8th inning to defeat the Indians, 11-7. The Royals total eight hits in the game and their only home run is a 2-out solo shot by Johnny Damon in the big frame.
Boston scores 11 runs in the 1st inning on the way to a 17-1 victory over the White Sox. Pedro Martinez (14-2) goes five innings with John Wasdin pitching the last 4. Brian Daubach and Nomar Garciaparra homer in the 1st with Nomar adding another in the 3rd. Mike Stanley and Jason Varitek also homer in the game for Boston.
1997
» In Detroit's 10–6 walloping of the Red Sox, Tiger Brian Hunter swipes four bases. Detroit also gets a home run from Shane Mack to offset two Boston homers.
1996
» Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda undergoes an angioplasty after suffering a mild heart attack. Bill Russell is named Los Angeles' interim manager.
1992
» The Padres top the Giants, 6–2, scoring four runs in the 4th. The Pads might've scored more but Tony Fernandez is thrown out twice in the inning, matching the ML record. Fernandez will attempt to steal 40 times this season, and be successful on just half; this is the worst percentage for anyone with 20 steals since Jack Fournier in 1923.
1991
» Mickey Tettleton repeats his feat of four days ago by again hitting a home run out of Tiger Stadium, in an 8-7 win over the Brewers. The Tigers break a 7–7 tie with two outs in the 9th.
The California Angels set an American League mark by playing their 13th consecutive errorless game, a 10-5 win over Kansas City. The previous mark of 12 had been set by Detroit in 1963.
Cory Davis' 434-foot homer off San Diego's Craig Lefferts keeps the Giants from being shut out three straight times.
1987
» Wade Boggs has his hitting streak snapped at 25 consecutive games and the Rocket sputters as Roger Clemens fails to hold a 9–0, 2nd-inning lead. Boston loses to New York 12–11 in 10 innings. The 9-run comeback ties a Yankee team record: Boston, alas, has blown bigger leads.
You gotta give him credit for trying. Paul Noce of the Cubs ties a major-league record (tied 11 days ago) in the 3rd inning by twice being thrown out trying to steal. A dropped ball leaves him safe at 2B after he is caught, then he is thrown out trying to steal 3B. Pittsburgh beats Greg Maddux and the Cubs, 5–2. Maddux will finish 6–14, his last losing season.
1986
» The A's fire manager Jackie Moore and name Jeff Newman his interim replacement. They will eventually hire recently ousted White Sox manager Tony LaRussa.
1985
» Minnesota's Ken Schrom one-hits Kansas City, but needs a 2-run single from Roy Smalley in the bottom of the 9th to secure the 2–1 victory. Willie Wilson's 3rd-inning single is the only Royals hit.
The Cubs beat the Mets 7–3, ending a club-record-tying losing streak at 13 games, their longest loss streak since 1944.
In Clearwater (Florida State League), after a disputed call at first base, Phillies Grapefruit League organist Wilbur Snapp is ejected by the first base umpire for playing "Three Blind Mice."
1984
» Pirates Jason Thompson hits a pair of home runs in each game of a doubleheader split with the Cubs. The Pirates take the opener, 9–0 behind Rick Rhoden's four hitter, and lose the nitecap, 9–8.
1983
» Mets Rusty Staub delivers his 8th consecutive pinch hit in the 9th inning of an 8–4 loss to the Phillies, tying Dave Philley for the all-time ML record. Staub's streak will be snapped by Cards Bruce Sutter three days from now.
Baltimore's Storm Davis holds the Tigers hitless for eight innings, then needs help from reliever Tippy Martinez to complete a 3–1 victory. Pinch hitter Rick Leach, who had been in a 3-for-35 slump, breaks up the no-hit bid with his first home run of the year leading off the 9th.
1982
» Despite managing just one hit in each game, the Appleton Foxes (Midwest League) sweep a doubleheader from the Wisconsin Rapids 2–1 and 1–0.
1980
» Commissioner Bowie Kuhn voids the Yankees' drafting of highly touted high school shortstop Billy Cannon, Jr. Four teams had complained that Billy Cannon, Sr., college football's Heisman Trophy winner in 1959, misled them with telegrams saying that his son would go to college, in the hopes that he would then be drafted by the Yankees. In a special draft, the Indians will pick Cannon but he chooses to attend Texas A & M instead. The young Cannon will be drafted number one by the Dallas Cowboys in 1984.
1979
» The Yankees reacquire the popular Bobby Murcer from the Cubs in exchange for P Paul Semall and cash. Murcer will once again thrive in Yankee Stadium hitting .273 with eight home runs.
1978
» Toronto's Dave McKay and Otto Velez each hit two doubles in one inning during a 24–10 rout of Baltimore. With the score 19–6 following a homer by Lee May, Earl Weaver tosses OF Larry Harlow to the Blue Jay. Harlow gets two batters out in the 5th, then walks three in a row and hurls a wild pitch. He then allows a single, a walk, and a grand slam by John Mayberry makes the score 24–6. Bullpen catcher Ellie Hendricks then relieves Harlow and gives up just a walk and no runs in 2-1/3 innings. Closer Don Stanhouse takes over in the 8th.
1977
» On Jersey Day in Minnesota, every fan receives a jersey with #29 on it, Rod Carew's number. Rod Carew responds by going 4-for-5, scoring four runs, and raising his average to .403. one of the hits is a grand slam and he will hit another slam on July 4. Teammate Glenn Adams drives in eight as the Twins beat the White Sox 19–12.
In front of 55,039 fans, the Yankees complete a 3-game sweep of the Red Sox, avenging the three losses last week to the Sox at Fenway. New York takes 4–1 lead into the 9th, but the Sox tie the game. In the bottom of the 9th, Paul Blair bounces a bases-loaded ball over the head of Butch Hobson at 3B to pin the loss on reliever Bill Campbell.
In a sweep of Texas, both by 4–3 scores, Angels 2B Jerry Remy has 26 chances, an American League record (4PO, 12A in 11 inning, game 1: five PO, 5A in g2). This comes two days after 2B Don Money ties the AL mark with 12 assists.
1976
» Marty Pattin and Steve Mingori combine on a one-hit shutout as the Royals beat the Angels, 3–0.
1972
» Detroit's Bill Slayback makes his ML debut a good one, allowing no hits for seven innings against the Yankees. Johnny Callison's single in the 8th is the first hit, but Detroit hangs on to a 4–3 win.
Brewer Billy Conigliaro jumps his club for the comfort of a Massachusetts island retreat.
1971
» Last year's American League batting king Alex Johnson is suspended by the Angels following a series of incidents (including five benchings and 29 fines) resulting from his failure to hustle.
The Brewers Marty Pattin gives up 11 hits to Minnesota, but still shuts them out, 5–0.
1970
» Frank Robinson belts two successive grand slams during a 12–2 Oriole romp over the Senators, just the 7th major leaguer to ever accomplish the feat. Dave McNally, the winning pitcher, Don Buford, and Paul Blair trot home ahead of him on each blow. They will be Robby's only grand slams for the O's. The Orioles will lose C Clay Dalrymple tomorrow when he breaks his ankle in a home plate collision with the Nats Mike Epstein.
For the third time in two years, Pete Rose and Bobby Tolan lead off a game with homers to start the Reds to a 3–2 win over Houston. The pair did it twice last year.
1968
» The ML Executive Council decides that both the American League and National League will play 162-game schedules in 1969 and operate two 6-team divisions.
Cardinal Bob Gibson pitches his 5th straight shutout in the first game of a doubleheader with Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh wins the 2nd game 3–1, although the Cardinals stop Maury Wills' 24-game hitting streak.
1966
» Sandy Koufax (13-2) matches his NL record of seven consecutive strikeouts in consecutive 9-inning appearances on his way to a 2–1 win in Atlanta.
Chicago's Ron Santo singles in the first and his next time up is struck in the face by a Jack Fisher pitch that fractures his cheek. Before Santo's at bat, the Mets Ron Hunt and the Cubs Adolfo Phillips had both been hit by pitches. Santo will be operated on tomorrow but will return to action in a week. The injury ends his consecutive game streak at .390, but his hitting streak continues.
1964
» Twins P Jerry Arrigo just misses a no-hitter when Chicago's Mike Hershberger laces a 9th-inning single, as the Twins beat the Sox, 2–0. Arrigo will toss another one-hitter while pitching for the Reds.
1962
» Earl Wilson pitches a no-hitter, his first ML shutout, as Boston beats the Los Angeles Angels 2–0. The righthander also hits a home run off loser Bo Belinsky, who pitched his no-hitter six weeks earlier.
1961
» At LA's Wrigley Field, Angel reliever Art Fowler, who has allowed just one hit in his last 12 innings, serves up a 9th inning home run to Bill Skowron as New York wins 8–6. Mickey Mantle adds an earlier homer, off Ken McBride, and Ford wins his 13th.
Don DiChiara sets a NYP league record with four consecutive home runs in Batavia's 14–9 loss to Jamestown.
1960
» Hoping to speed up the election process, the Hall of Fame changes its voting procedures. The new rules allow the Special Veterans Committee to vote annually, rather than every other year, and to induct up to two players a year. The BBWAA is authorized to hold a runoff election of the top 30 vote getters if no one is elected in the first ballot.
At Forbes Field, Cubs rookie Ron Santo, making his ML debut, leads Chicago to a sweep of the first place Pirates. Santo is 3-for-7 and drives in five runs as the Cubs win 7–5 and 7–6.
1959
» The "Emperor's game," the greatest in Japanese baseball history, is played by the Yomiuri Giants and the Hanshin Tigers, with Emperor Hirohito and his wife attending at Tokyo's Korakuen Stadium. The game is tied 4–4 in the 7th on Giants rookie Sadaharu Oh's 2-run home run, then won 5–4 in the last of the 9th on a home run by the Giant's Shigeo Nagashima. This starts the famed "O-N cannon," the hitting combination of Oh and Nagashima, that will bring the Giants nine pennants between 1965 and 1973. In all, the O-N cannon hits dual home runs in 106 games.
1958
» Hector Lopez of the Kansas City Athletics hits three home runs in a 8–6, 12-inning home win against Washington. His 3rd homer is a 2-run shot to win the game. Roy Sievers almost matches Lopez with two homers.
Joe Gordon replaces Bobby Bragan as manager of the Cleveland Indians, signing a contract through 1959.
The Braves fall to the Dodgers 4–1 and cut their lead over St. Louis to 1 1/2 games.
1956
»
Robin Roberts and the Phillies hand the Braves a 4-2 loss. It was the first loss for the Braves after 11 wins under new manager Fred Haney.
1951
» Fresh from a doubleheader loss on the 24th at Forbes Field, the Dodgers get further bad news at the Polo Grounds. Sal Maglie shuts out Brooklyn on three hits, and Preacher Roe takes his first loss after ten wins. Eddie Stanky and Whitey Lockman hit homers.
1949
»
Pat Mullin hits three HRs for the Detroit Tigers.
1940
» Sam Chapman is 5-for-5 including a grand slam to lead the Browns to a win over the A's.
1938
» Carl Hubbell wins his 200th game, as the Giants beat the visiting Cubs 5–1 and stretch their lead over the 2nd-place Reds to two games. Larry French takes the loss. Newly acquired Bob Seeds, up from Newark, leads the way with a 470-foot inside the park homer to the Eddie Grant memorial in dead center.
In the Phils-Reds split, Reds leadoff hitter Lonnie Frey bangs out eight hits, just the 3rd Red player to collect eight hits in a twinbill (Miller, 10/9/98: Cuyler, 7/30/36). Frey is 5-for-5 in game two as the Reds win 8–5 behind Derringer. Claude Passeau wins the opener, 10–3 for the Phils. Jordan has four hits and Weintraub and Klein hit homers.
1935
» Lloyd Waner has a still-standing major-league record 18 putouts in CF in a doubleheader as the Pirates take a pair from the Braves at Boston. The Buccaneers win 2–1 and 5–1 behind Bush and Swift.
1934
» Paul Dean wins his 10th game against one loss, defeating the Giants 13–7. Paul allows 15 hits, including homers by Jackson and Ott, in winning. Brother Dizzy's record is 10–3.
1927
» In Washington, the Senators make it three straight over Boston, winning 8–7, scoring all of their runs in the 4th inning. Former Senator Buddy Myer belts a homer off Walter Johnson, who lasts five innings and gets credit for the win. Johnson will serve up six gopher balls to the Red Sox in his career, all in Washington. Goose Goslin homers, off Tony Welzer.
1926
»
The Cardinals move into second with a win over the Cubs. The next day Alexander will earn a split with a 4-hitter over his former teammates.
1920
»
Lou Gehrig gets his first national mention when, as a high school junior for New York City's School of Commerce, he steals the show in a high school championship game against Lane Tech in Chicago. His grand-slam HR in the eighth gives the NY team a 12-8 victory. Scouts sit with open mouths as the ball sails out of the NL park (later known as Wrigley Field).
1916
» The Dodgers split with the Giants, losing 11–8 before winning the nitecap, 2–1. New York takes a 6–0 lead in the opener, but the Dodgers score five in the 5th off starter Bill Perritt, then put two on against reliever Rube Schauer. Christy Mathewson then takes over and George Cutshaw cranks a 3-run homer to give the Dodgers an 8–6 lead. Matty allows just one other hit and New York comes back against Duster Mails to win. It is Mathewson's last major league victory. During the game, police at the Polo Grounds and arrest three fans for not throwing back baseballs hit into the stands.
Cleveland players, in a game with the White Sox, wear numbers pinned to their their sleeves, marking the first time players are identified by numbers corresponding to those on the scorecard. Jack Graney, leading off for the Tribe, is the first batter to wear a number in the 20th century.
1915
» Phillie ace Pete Alexander continues his masterful pitching, topping Brooklyn's Jack Coombs, 4–0. Zack Wheat's 8th-inning single is the only Dodger safety.
1914
» In Boston, the Giants hammer the Braves for 27 hits, winning 8–4 and 10–4, and put Boston back in the cellar. Boston had moved into 7th with yesterday's win over New York. Christy Mathewson wins the opener over Lefty Tyler, and Art Fromme wraps up the nitecap.
1913
» In the A's doubleheader pasting of the Senators, 11–2 and 10–3, Nats' catcher Eddie Ainsmith swipes 2B, 3B, and home in the opener.
The Giants sweep two from the Braves, winning 5–4 and 11–3. Christy Mathewson preserves the 1st win with two innings of relief, then starts the 2nd contest. Led by Larry Doyle's grand slam off Otto Hess, the Giants forge into a 9–0 lead after six innings and Matty exits. Mathewson now has throw 21 innings without a walk.
Brooklyn sees Alexander for a second day in a row, this time beating the Phillies righty, 4–2, in a doubleheader sweep by the Superbas. The Phils now lead the Giants by a half-game.
1912
» Boston's Smoky Joe Wood outguns the Nationals ace Walter Johnson to win, 3–0. Wood allows three hits to Big Train's 4. Johnson fans 10 batters in the loss.
The Yankees send future star Hippo Vaughn (2–8), winner of last year's opener, to the Senators for the waiver price. In late August, Washington will compound the mistake by selling him to Kansas City (AA).
1911
» In Philadelphia, Grover Alexander shuts out Boston Rustlers, 5–0. Phillies' catcher/manager Red Dooin suffers a broken leg in a collision at home. Dooin will play in only 74 games that season. The speedy catcher had broken his knee the year before.
1906
» At South End Grounds, the Giants roast the Beaneaters, 6-4, as Christy Mathewson wins his 8th game.
In an Iowa State league game at Waterloo, Herbert Whitney, catcher for the Burlington (Iowa) Pathfinders, is beaned by a pitch from Fred Evans and his skull is fractured. He dies from the injury (as noted by Tim Rask),
1903
» Before the start of the Giants-Pirates showdown Giants catcher Frank Bowerman starts a fight with Pirates player-manager Fred Clarke in the Giants office. While the cause of the brawl is unclear, Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss reports it to the NL offices and Bowerman is fined $100. Clarke gets no fine, but does take home a black eye. Christy Mathewson then pitches his 5th victory over Pittsburgh, defeating them 8-2, and beating Sam Leever. Sam Mertes, who will lead the NL in doubles and RBIs, doubles home three runs in the 5th.
Veteran SS George Davis, 1900-1901 Giants manager who played for the White Stockings in 1902 and was awarded to them as part of the peace treaty, gets the approval of NL president Harry Pulliam to play for the Giants. After Davis plays in four games, including today, for the Giants, Chicago's owner Charles Comiskey gets an injunction preventing Davis from playing. On July 20th the NL directors vote that Davis cannot play for any team except the White Stockings. Davis sits out the rest of the season but rejoins Chicago in 1904 and finishes a 20-year career with them in 1909.
1901
» Boston arrives in Philadelphia for an expected game against the A's, unaware that the schedule had been changed and they are supposed to be in Baltimore. The Orioles squad and 4500 fans wait for an hour and a half in 90 degree heat for Boston to arrive. The AL umpire assigned to the game showed up in Philly as well.
New York's Christy Mathewson scatters nine hits in coasting to a 6-2 win over the visiting Reds. Dick Scott takes the loss.
At Brooklyn, the Pirates lose 16-3. Tommy Daly has five hits including four long hits for Brooklyn-3 doubles and a triple. He adds a stolen base, one of seven in the game. In September he'll have another five hit game.
1880
» Abner Dalrymple, George Gore, and Larry Corcoran, all normally lefthanded batters, cross over and bat right-handed against southpaw Lee Richmond and get one hit each as Chicago beats Worcester 4–0.