May 21

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Stats of players who were born this day
Stats of players who died on this day
Standings on this day
Permanent link to Today's Entry
Sources
Baseball Library Chronology
Today in Baseball History

Events, births and deaths that occurred on May 21.

Events

• 1880 - In Albany's Riverside Park, Lip Pike hits a ball over the wall and into the river. RF Lon Knight begins to go after the ball in a boat but gives up. Few parks have ground rules about giving the batter an automatic home run on a hit over the fence.
• 1892:
  • George "Hub" Collins, 28-year-old Brooklyn OF and leadoff batter, dies of typhoid fever after a brief illness. He had led the American Association in doubles in 1888 and the National League in runs in 1890.
  • Behind Bill Hutchison, Chicago wins its 13th straight game, 1 - 0, over Pud Galvin and the Pirates. Galvin surrenders only two hits in the loss, none before the 8th inning. The streak will stop the following day.
• 1896:
  • Cy Young gets Cleveland's eighth consecutive win with a 4 - 1 decision over Boston. The streak has helped the Spiders to solidify their hold on first place.
  • Louisville gets a rare victory, riding Mike McDermott's two-hitter to a 1 - 0 win over Baltimore. This is McDermott's only good performance of the year. In the remaining 56 innings he will pitch this year, he will allow 85 hits.
• 1901 - Giants fractious owner Andrew Freedman accuses umpire Billy Nash of incompetence and bars him from the Polo Grounds. The Pirates' Charles Zimmer and the Giants' John Warner are forced to officiate. Christy Mathewson then wins his seventh straight, 2 - 1, but his scoreless streak stops at 39 innings when the Bucs score an unearned run in the 9th.
• 1902 - At Pittsburgh, the Giants top the leading Pirates, 5 - 2, with Christy Mathewson winning in relief. Matty takes over for Luther Taylor in the 7th, allows a tying run to score, then scores the winning run himself in the 8th.
• 1904 - Boston Americans SS Bill O'Neill puts himself in the record books by committing six errors in a 13-inning, 5 - 3 loss to the Browns. O'Neill makes errors in the 1st inning on the first three balls hit to him, and a fourth straight error with a misplay in the 2nd frame. His final error is on an easy grounder in the 13th inning and allows two runs to score. O'Neill is the only 20th century player to record six errors.
• 1906:
  • In Chicago, the Giants' Hooks Wiltse, with relief help from Christy Mathewson, stops the leading Cubs, 6 - 4. Mathewson allows one run in his four innings.
  • An 11-game win streak by Philadelphia is stopped by Cleveland, 2 - 1, in 13 innings. The Athletics, Cleveland Naps, and New York Highlanders juggle the top spot in American League standings.
• 1907:
  • National League president Harry Pulliam dismisses the Opening Day protests of Pittsburgh manager Fred Clarke over Roger Bresnahan's shin guards. As yet, Bresnahan is the only catcher using them.
  • Three-Finger Brown and Christy Mathewson hook up in a pitching duel, with the Chicago ace emerging the winner, 3 - 2. Matty's batterymate Roger Bresnahan commits two errors to cause Mathewson to lose his first of the year. Mobbed at the Polo Grounds after the loss, umpires Hank O'Day and Bob Emslie require police protection. The crowd is egged on by manager John McGraw, who will be thrown out of games seven times this year.
• 1908 - Pitching for Kansas City of the American Association, Smokey Joe Wood hurls a 1 - 0 no-hitter against Milwaukee.
• 1912 - Bill Malarkey of the Pacific Coast League's Oakland Oaks allows no hits for nine innings before being touched for a single in the 10th against San Francisco. The game ends in a scoreless tie because of a time limit.
• 1915 - The Red Sox and White Sox battle for 17 innings at Comiskey Park, before Chicago prevails, 3 - 2. Red Faber wins his seventh straight, beating Carl Mays, who takes over in the 8th.
• 1917:
  • The Phillies use nine hits - one by each starter - to beat the Cubs, 4 - 3, and drop the Cubs from first to third. The Phils move into second place behind the Giants. Eppa Rixey is the winner for the Quakers.
  • The Giants take over first place with a 4 - 3 win over the Pirates behind the pitching of Big Jeff Tesreau and the favorable umpiring of Kitty Bransfield. Tesreau allows just two hits through eight innings before weakening in the 9th. Kitty makes an out call in the 9th on a grounder that 3B Doug Baird clearly appears to beat, and in the 2nd inning ignores Art Fletcher's failure to return to third base before scoring on a sacrifice fly. Fletcher had taken a 15-foot lead.
• 1919 - The Giants deal Jim Thorpe to Braves for the waiver price of $1,500. The Olympic star will play only 60 games in Boston and will finish his six-year major league career with a lifetime .252 average
• 1923 - Formal transfer of T.L. Huston's interest in the Yankees to Jake Ruppert is completed for $1.5 million. Ten days later, Ruppert buys two more sets of uniforms so his players can wear a clean outfit every day, an unprecedented move.
• 1925:
  • A's rookie Mickey Cochrane hits three homers to lead Philadelphia to a 20 - 4 rout over the Browns. His first two clouts come off Milt Gaston, and the third off George Blaeholder. He will hit just another two all year to total six.
  • Behind the hitting (3 for 4) and pitching of Walter Johnson, the Senators tame the Tigers, 6 - 2. The two teams combine for nine double plays, setting a record (since tied) for a nine-inning game. The Reds and Braves will turn a record 10 double plays in 12 innings on June 7th.
• 1926 - White Sox 1B Earl Sheely hits three doubles and a home run at Boston, following three doubles in his last three at bats yesterday. His seven straight extra-base hits tie the major league record. Chicago needs all of his hitting as they edge the Red Sox, 8 - 7, after the previous day's 13 - 4 victory.
• 1927:
  • The Cubs move into first place in the National League when a nine-run 9th inning gives them a 11 - 6 win and doubleheader sweep at Brooklyn. Chicago takes the opener, 6 - 4. For the second day in a row, a disputed call - this one by Frank Wilson - causes fans to stop the game. Meanwhile, the Pirates are beating New York for the third straight game, 5 - 3.
  • It is George Burns Day in Cleveland as he is presented with a diploma as the MVP of 1926, a silver bat containing $1,150 in cash, and an automobile. Burns has a pair of doubles but the visiting Yankees win, 6 - 4, in 12 innings.
• 1930 - Babe Ruth hits three consecutive home runs in the first game of a doubleheader against the A's, then batting against Jack Quinn in the 9th, Ruth decides to hit right-handed. After two strikes, he switches to lefty but strikes out. This is the first of two career three-homer games for the Babe. Max Bishop draws five walks for the second time in his career (he is the only player to do this twice), and Jimmie Foxx homers to help the A's to a 15 - 7 victory. Ruth is homerless in the second game, a 4 - 1 Yankee loss, but Bishop has three more walks. Bishop will also walk eight times in a doubleheader in 1934, the only player to collect more than six walks in an afternoon.
• 1930 - Cincinnati sends 2B Hughie Critz to the Giants for veteran P Larry Benton. Critz will prove a fine pickup for the Giants.
• 1931 - Carl Hubbell stops the Braves, 3 - 0, in the opener and Giants pitcher Bill Walker matches the King with a 6 - 0 whitewash in the nitecap.
• 1932 - Before 60,000 at Yankee Stadium, the Bronx Bombers roll over Washington, 14 - 2 and 8 - 0. Washington collects just 11 hits off Herb Pennock and Johnny Allen. In the opener, Babe Ruth homers in the 5th off Lloyd Brown and he and Lou Gehrig connect in the 6th off Frank Ragland. Tony Lazzeri is 6 for 7 on the afternoon, including a home run, two doubles and a triple.
• 1934 - The Giants beat the Cardinals, 5 - 2, but do it without starting pitcher Freddie Fitzsimmons, who is struck in the back by a fungo bat while warming up. Fat Freddie will miss several starts.
• 1935:
  • Promising pitcher Bobo Newsom is sold by the Browns to the Senators for $40,000. It is the first of five Washington stints for Newsom, who will also return to St. Louis for a couple other turns.
  • The A's acquire P George Blaeholder, who has won ten or more games in each of the last seven seasons, from the Browns for Ed Coleman and Sugar Cain. Blaeholder had one of the highest salaries on the cash-poor Browns.
• 1936 - The Phillies reacquire "The Clouting Kraut" Chuck Klein, from the Cubs, along with P Fabian Kowalik and a reported $50,000, for P Curt Davis and OF Ethan Allen. Klein is hitting .294 this year for the Cubs.
• 1938 - The power-laden Yankees give little support to pitcher Spud Chandler, but he hits a home run in the 8th to gain a 1 - 0 victory over Thornton Lee and the White Sox.
• 1940:
  • Jimmie Foxx hits a grand slam for the second day in a row against Detroit in an 11 - 8 Red Sox win. Only Babe Ruth, twice, and Bill Dickey have slammed on consecutive days in the American League. Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr and Doc Cramer also homer for Boston. Hank Greenberg and Rudy York homer for the Bengals, while Wally Moses has a pair of triples and two singles.
  • The Phils sign pitcher Cy Blanton when he is made a free agent by the Pirates on orders from Commissioner Landis.
• 1943 - The White Sox defeat the Senators, 1 - 0, in 89 minutes, making the contest the fastest night game in American League history.
• 1947 - Joe DiMaggio and five other Yankees are slapped with $100 fines for not fulfilling contract requirements to do promotional duties for the Bronx Bombers.
• 1948 - Joe DiMaggio hits for the cycle as he delivers two home runs, a triple, double and single helping the Yankees beat the White Sox, 13 - 2.
• 1948 - At the Polo Grounds, the Giants drop an 8 - 3 decision to the Cubs. New York rookie Les Layton, in his first major league at-bat, hits a pinch homer in the 9th off Johnny Schmitz.
• 1950 - Ralph Kiner's hits a 475-foot triple as Pittsburgh sweeps a twin bill against the Giants. The two wins temporarily elevate the cellar-bound Bucs to a .500 record, but this will be short-lived.
• 1952 - After leadoff batter Billy Cox grounds out against Ewell Blackwell, the Whip loses his snap. The Dodgers then score 15 runs in the 1st inning as a record 19 consecutive batters reach first base (ten hits, seven walks and two hit batters). Captain Pee Wee Reese walks twice in reaching base safely three times. Andy Pafko is thrown out trying to steal third base, and Duke Snider mercifully strikes out to end the barrage against the Reds. The Dodgers score 15 runs and collect 15 RBIs in the frame, and coast to win at home, 19 - 1. Winning pitcher Chris Van Cuyk has the most hits with four - two in the 1st inning off Bud Byerly and Frank Smith - while Bobby Morgan has a pair of two-run homers and Snider another two-run homer. The Reds' lone run is a homer by reserve catcher Dixie Howell.
• 1953 - At Fenway Park, Bosox C Del Wilber hits his third pinch-homer of the year, this one a 14th-inning solo homer to beat reliever Don Larsen and the Browns, 3 - 2. Former Red Sox player Don Lenhardt takes Hal Brown downtown with a shot to center field just left of the flag pole and the last upright of the screen.
• 1954 - Boston rookie Frank Sullivan makes his first start and beats the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, 6 - 3. Sullivan strikes out Mickey Mantle three times before Mickey clocks one over the auxiliary scoreboard into the right-centerfield bleachers.
• 1955:
  • In a game marked by a fight between Mickey McDermott and Jackie Jensen, the Senators top the Red Sox, 1 - 0, in 12 innings. In the 12th, Jensen is trapped off first base but his way back to the bag is obstructed by first baseman Mickey Vernon; it is called by second base umpire Ed Runge, but he makes no gestures and Jensen continues back to first. McDermott, waiting to put the tag on, is knocked over by Jensen, and Hank Soar calls the runner out. Soar is overruled and then the fight starts between Jensen and the pitcher and both are tossed. Pedro Ramos, who succeeds McDermott, draws a walk and scores the winning run.
  • In Milwaukee, Cubs pitcher Warren Hacker loses his no-hitter when he gives up a one-out 9th-inning home run to George Crowe. Hacker holds on to win, 2 - 1.
  • After Willie Mays opens the scoring with a 1st-inning single, Pittsburgh's rookie phenom Roberto Clemente leads off the bottom of the frame by launching homer #3 off Sal Maglie, a rocket to left center that touches down to the right of the 406-foot mark. While the Giants untie the game with a two-run 4th, Maglie is busy shutting down the Bucs, allowing only two runners to reach second base until running out of gas in the 9th. He leaves the game with two on, two out and New York ahead, 3 - 2. Clemente then faces reliever Marv Grissom, who saves the win.
• 1956:
  • The White Sox send 3B George Kell, OF Bob Nieman, and pitchers Mike Fornieles and Connie Johnson to the Orioles for P Jim Wilson and OF Dave Philley. Kell will play solid 3B until Brooks Robinson is ready, while Johnson will lead the Birds' starters in wins in 1957.
  • At Kansas City, Mickey Mantle clouts a drive over the second and more distance fence in right field to help the Yankees win, 8 - 5. The drive, off Moe Burtschy, matches homers to that spot by Larry Doby and Harry Simpson.
• 1957:
  • Boston baseball writers reaffirm their decision to bar women from the press box and refuse to allow Doris O'Donnell, a Cleveland feature writer traveling with the Indians, to sit in the Fenway Park press area.
  • For his part in the Copacabana incident, Yankee OF Hank Bauer is arraigned. He is eventually cleared and threatens to sue the alleged victim, Edward Jones, who suffered a concussion and a broken jaw. In today's game, Yogi Berra, Billy Martin and Whitey Ford are benched, while Bauer bats 8th. Mickey Mantle has a single, two walks, and a homer to back Bob Turley's four-hit, 3 - 0 shutout over the A's. Turley helps his cause by starting a triple play. The Yanks now trail the White Sox by a half game.
• 1959 - Despite growing pressure to expand, major league owners, at a meeting at John Galbreath's farm in Ohio, decline the option to add new teams to the existing American and National Leagues. Given there are no plans for expansion, Commissioner Ford Frick will announce at a later date that Major League Baseball will "favorably consider an application for major league status within the present baseball structure by an acceptable group of eight clubs which would qualify under ten specifications."
• 1962:
  • The Orioles sign veteran Robin Roberts, released by the Yankees on April 30th. Roberts will win 42 games for Baltimore before going to Houston.
  • The Tribe keeps up a fine offensive run but loses, 10 - 7, to Baltimore. Three more Cleveland home runs set a since-topped American League record for most home runs (26) over eight straight games. They also go in the record books with nine straight games with two or more homers.
• 1963 - Jim Maloney ties the modern major-league record with eight consecutive strikeouts, from the 1st to the 4th innings, against the Braves. Maloney finishes with 16 strikeouts in the 2 - 0 win, but needs relief help from Bill Henry, who retires the last two batters.
• 1967:
  • Earl Wilson gives Detroit its third straight win over the Yankees, 9 - 4. Mickey Mantle hits his fifth homer in six games but it's not enough for Whitey Ford, who appears in his last major league game.
  • At Philadelphia, the Phils win an 18-inning marathon with the Reds when Don Lock hits a two-out RBI single off Darrell Osteen.
• 1968 - The Cubs climb above the .500 mark the first time all season with a 6 - 5 win over the Phillies. Chicago's Billy Williams sets a new record for outfielders by playing his 695th straight game.
• 1969 - The Mets are at .500 at the latest point of the season in team history. The 18-18 record is reached as Tom Seaver blanks the Braves at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, 5 - 0.
• 1970:
  • A generous Mel Stottlemyre hands out 11 walks to Washington in 8 1/3 innings, but the Senators are unable to score. Steve Hamilton gets the last two outs to preserve the 2 - 0 win. The 11 walks in a shutout ties Lefty Gomez, who did complete his 1941 shutout. Danny Cater's two-run homer in the 5th accounts for the scoring off Dick Such, making his first major league start.
  • In Houston, Reds pitcher Jim McGlothlin fires a two-hitter as Cincy wins, 3 - 0. Joe Morgan and Jesus Alou have the only hits for the Astros.
• 1974 - The Phils' Ed Farmer, making his second National League start, strong-arms the Cardinals, 4 - 2. Both teams make four hits, but the visiting Phils do all their scoring in the 1st off John Curtis. Philadelphia now leads the NL East by 1 1/2 games.
• 1975 - The Reds, entering the game with a 20-20 record, five games behind the first-place Dodgers, come from behind to beat Tom Seaver and the Mets, 11 - 4. Cincinnati will go on to win 41 of 50 games and run away with the National League West title.
• 1977:
  • Merv Rettenmund hits a three-run home run in the 21st inning to give the Padres an 11 - 8 win over the Expos. The two teams combine for a major league-record nine intentional walks (five for Montreal and four for San Diego) in an effort to end the game earlier, but to no avail.
  • The Reds trade P Santo Alcala, 11 - 4 in his rookie year last season, to the Expos for two minor leaguers, Shane Rawley and Angel Torres.
• 1981 - In what is billed as the greatest college pitching duel ever, Yale's Ron Darling and St. John's Frank Viola match zeroes through 11 innings. Darling allows no hits while striking out 16. In the 12th, St. John's Steve Scafa hits an opposite-field scratch single, then steals second base and third base. The next batter reaches on an error and, when he tries to steal second, Scafa breaks for home, scoring the only run. St. John's wins, 1 - 0.
• 1985 - Vince Coleman's first major league homer is inside-the-park as the Cards beat the Braves, 6 - 3. Bob Horner accounts for the Braves' runs with two homers.
• 1986 - Rafael Ramirez doubles four times in seven at-bats in the Braves' 13-inning victory over the Cubs, 9 - 8.
• 1992 - Four members of the California Angels, including manager Buck Rodgers, are hospitalized after the bus carrying the team swerves into a row of trees off the New Jersey Turnpike. Rodgers, the most seriously injured, incurs a broken right rib, left knee and right elbow. John Wathan takes over the team as interim manager.
• 1993 - B.J. Birdie, mascot of the Toronto Blue Jays, is ejected from Toronto's game against Minnesota by umpire Jim McKean after making gestures which the ump finds offensive. The Blue Jays go on to lose the game, 2 - 1.
• 1996:
  • In San Francisco, the fans and players ignore a light earthquake at 3Com Park - 4.8 on the Richter scale - in the 3rd inning, and the Giants break a 6th-inning tie to win, 8 - 5, over the Expos. Matt Williams hits his 11th home run and drives in three runs for San Francisco, while Henry Rodriguez hits his 17th homer for the Expos. His three ribbies give him 51 to lead the National League.
  • In a 12 - 10 defeat of the Pirates, Larry Walker sets a Rockies club record with 13 total bases. The right fielder drives in a six runs with a pair of two-run homers, a triple and a double. Colorado tallies 20 hits. The following day, Walker will get a double and consecutive triples to set a new National League record by getting extra-base hits in six straight plate appearances. He will also tie the major league record for most extra-base hits (seven) in two consecutive games.
  • Dave Weathers homers and pitches six shutout innings as the streaking Marlins win, 3 - 2, over the slumping Reds. The Marlins (24-23) are over .500 for the first time in two years.
  • At Fenway Park, Seattle pounds out 19 hits to beat Boston, 13 - 7. Ken Griffey, Jr. becomes the seventh-youngest player to collect 200 homers when he connects in the M's six-run 4th inning. Jay Buhner hits a two-run shot in the inning, the fifth game in a row in which he has connected, and Edgar Martinez adds four hits in the game.
  • The Phils' Terry Mulholland defeats the Padres, 5 - 4. Mulholland, who entered the game with the third-lowest batting average in history of any player with 400 at bats, clouts a 407-foot home run in the 2nd inning off Sean Bergman. As Mulholland explains, "Most great power hitters don't hit for a high average."
• 1997 - Roger Clemens fires Toronto past the Yankees, 4 - 1, for his eighth win of the year against no losses. The Rocket wins his 200th, the 94th pitcher to reach 200 wins.
• 1999 - In a long-rumored move, the Twins finally trade Rick Aguilera, along with minor league P Scott Downs, to the Cubs for minor league pitchers Jason Ryan and Kyle Lohse. The next day, Cubs reliever Rod Beck undergoes arthroscopic surgery on his elbow.
• 2000:
  • The Braves defeat the Padres, 12 - 6, as 1B Andres Galarraga goes 5 for 5, including a double. OF Brian Jordan has four hits for Atlanta, including two home runs, and drives in seven runs.
  • The Mariners defeat the Devil Rays, 8 - 4, as OF Rickey Henderson hits a leadoff home run for the second consecutive game, and for the 77th time in his career.
  • The White Sox defeat the Blue Jays, 2 - 1, despite getting only one hit in the game. Five Toronto errors help Chicago score two unearned runs. C Mark Johnson's 3rd-inning single is the White Sox's only hit.
  • The Giants score 11 runs in the 6th inning on their way to a 16 - 10 win over the Brewers. OF Terrell Lowery collects five hits for San Francisco, including three doubles. Starter Russ Ortiz is the winner despite allowing ten earned runs, the most earned runs in a win since Bob Friend, in 1954. The last pitcher to notch a win and give up ten runs (nine earned) was Vida Blue against the Padres on April 19, 1979. The Giants are the second team to score 11 runs in an inning this year. Earlier this season, the White Sox dropped 11 runs against the Mariners in one inning.
  • Major League Baseball has its first six-grand slam day, less than one year after establishing the mark with five. Garret Anderson (Angels), J.T. Snow (Giants), Brian Hunter (Phillies), Jason Giambi (A's) and Adrian Beltre and Shawn Green (Dodgers) all contribute to the record. The National League also sets a record with four of the six bases-loaded homers. Anderson's shot off Chris Fussell is the record-breaker.
• 2001 - The Diamondbacks double the Giants, 4 - 2, overcoming another home run by Barry Bonds. His eighth home run in five games ties another major league record.
• 2002:
  • 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.
  • The Devil Rays defeat the Mariners, 1 - 0, behind Joe Kennedy's four-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 ten errors on 41 chances this year to lead major league pitchers in miscues.
• 2004 - In his return to Texas, Alex Rodriguez is roundly booed by fans at the Ballpark in Arlington. The fans continue to show their displeasure as the Yankees third baseman drives a 2-1 pitch over the fence during his 1st-inning at-bat.
• 2005:
  • As Dae-Sung Koo stands in against Randy Johnson, Mike Piazza confides to David Wright in the dugout, "If he gets a hit, I'll donate a million dollars to charity." The Korean reliever, batting lefty off the Yankee fire-balling southpaw, was afraid to stand in the batter's box in a previous game, but promptly hits a 91-mph fastball to the wall in center for a double, causing the Mets catcher to say he will be making a significant donation to a charity over the next 20 years.
  • Before their interleague game with the Athletics, the Giants pay homage to Juan Marichal by dedicating a nine-foot bronze statue outside SBC Park. The "Dominican Dandy", who hurled for San Francisco from 1960 to 1973, joins Willie Mays and Willie McCovey as former players to have statues made in their honor in the city.
  • At the Ballpark in Arlington, the Rangers establish two team records as the club hits four homers in one inning and goes yard a total of eight times in a rout of the Astros, 18 - 3, in a Lone Star State interleague game.
• 2009:
  • Jeanmar Gomez throws a 3 - 0 perfect game for the Akron Aeros against the Trenton Thunder in Trenton. Damaso Espino is the batterymate for the Eastern League gem. It is the first perfect game in Aeros history and the first that Trenton is ever involved in. It is the first minor league perfecto since Guillermo Moscoso performed the feat in 2007. The game is saved by a diving catch by OF Matt McBride in the 9th inning.
  • Joe Mauer hits a grand slam and two doubles and drives in six runs as Minnesota routs the White Sox, 20 - 1. It is only the second time in franchise history that the White Sox have lost a game by 19 runs.
  • Joba Chamberlain is knocked out of the game in the 1st inning with a bruised right knee after being hit by a line drive off the bat of Adam Jones. The Yankees still defeat the Orioles, 7 - 4, as Robinson Cano drives in three runs. Alfredo Aceves pitches 3 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of Chamberlain to earn the Bronx Bombers' ninth straight win.
  • The San Diego Padres acquire outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers for Jody Gerut. Gwynn, who has struggled to stay on a major league roster since making his debut in 2006, joins the team for which his father, Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, played his entire career and which retired his uniform number 19. Gerut revived his career with a solid season as the Padres' centerfielder in 2008.
• 2010:
  • Cardinals pitcher Brad Penny makes his mark with the bat, connecting for a grand slam in the 3rd inning, but then has to leave the game shortly afterwards with a back injury. The Cardinals beat the Angels, 9 - 5, as reliever Jason Motte picks up the win.
  • Houston Astros ace Roy Oswalt vents his frustration about pitching in front of the worst offense in the major leagues, saying he is willing to waive his no-trade clause. With the team headed for a third straight losing season, Oswalt has a sparkling 2.66 ERA but is only 2-6 because of the lack of support. In today's game, Houston scores only two runs, but still tops the major league-leading Tampa Bay Rays, 2 - 1, thanks to a stellar start by Brett Myers. Oswalt will be traded to Philadelphia later this season.
  • The Blue Jays blast six home runs against the Arizona Diamondbacks, but they're all solo shots. They lose, 8 - 6, wasting a three-homer effort by Edwin Encarnacion; Fred Lewis also leads off the contest with a long ball, to no avail. Since 1920, only one other team has scored six runs, all on solo homers, in a game: the Athletics in 1991.
• 2011:
  • Tim Lincecum takes advantage of creeping shadows in a mid-afternoon start to stifle the Oakland A's bats, defeating them, 3 - 0, and throwing a three-hitter. The Giants ace strikes out six and walks none.
  • Wearing the uniforms from the 1918 World Series, the Cubs score eight runs in the 8th inning, taking advantage of three Boston errors, to win, 9 - 3, at Fenway Park. Two of the runs score on a botched rundown of Alfonso Soriano, which accounts for two of the miscues. Losing P Matt Albers gives up six runs without retiring a batter. The game is marred by an injury to Cubs CF Marlon Byrd, who suffers multiple fractures when beaned by Alfredo Aceves.
• 2012:
  • P Mike Leake hits his first career homer, Drew Stubbs hits a pair, and Zack Cozart adds a fourth solo shot off Mike Minor to power the Reds to a 4 - 1 win over the Braves. Juan Francisco also homers against his former teammates to account for the game's other run, as Leake picks up his first win after starting the year 0-5. One supremely lucky fan, Caleb Lloyd, sitting in the right field bleachers at Great American Ballpark, catches Leake's home run ball, and then catches Cozart's as well when he goes yard back-to-back, to become an instant folk hero. Stubbs also follows with a homer, but that ball eludes the great Caleb's grasp.
  • Today, youth beats experience, when Giancarlo Stanton tees off against ageless Jamie Moyer and crushes one of his pitches into the left-field scoreboard for a grand slam at Marlins Park, temporarily disabling part of the display. Stanton's mighty blast leads Miami to a 7 - 4 win over Colorado.
• 2013:
  • Mike Trout of the Angels is the first batter to hit for the cycle this season, driving in five runs in a 12 - 0 rout of the Mariners. Josh Hamilton chips in with a homer and a triple, and Howie Kendrick also goes deep in support of Jerome Williams.
  • On the other end of the success scale, Dusty Robinson goes 0 for 8 with seven strikeouts for the Stockton Ports of the California League in his team's 11 - 9 win over the Lake Elsinore Storm. Pitcher Wade Kirkland hits a walk-off two-run homer to end the game. Robinson is the first player to strike out seven times in a game since Russ Laribee did so in the longest game in Organized Baseball history on April 18, 1981; Laribee needed 12 plate appearances over 33 innings to accumulate all of those Ks, however.
• 2014:
  • What does the Cubs' Jeff Samardzija have to do to get a win? Today, the major leagues' ERA leader pitches seven scoreless innings, but Hector Rondon blows a 2 - 0 9th-inning lead against the Yankees to send the game into extra innings. In the 13th, Yankees pitcher Preston Claiborne lays down a perfect sacrifice bunt in his first major league plate appearance as part of a two-run rally, Jose Veras throws a wild pitch to let in a first run and back-up catcher John Ryan Murphy drives in another with a single as the Bronx Bombers end up on top, 4 - 2. Samardzija is 0-4 in spite of a 1.46 ERA.
  • More evidence that good pitching is sometimes not enough: five Rays pitchers give up only a single hit to the A's, but Oakland still wins, 3 - 2. The A's score two runs on two walks and two errors in the 2nd, and Brandon Moss goes deep in the 4th for their lone safety. Erik Bedard is the unlucky loser, against Tommy Milone.
• 2015 - The Brewers' Will Smith is ejected for having rosin and sunscreen on his forearm in the 7th inning of Milwaukee's 10 - 1 loss to the Braves. Smith explains that he simply forgot to wipe off his arm before leaving the bullpen when called into the game. He will receive an eight-game suspension as well. The Braves are only up 2 - 1 when Smith gets thrown out, but the Braves tee up against his successors, Neal Cotts and Michael Blazek, to run away with the game.
• 2018 - Baseball has a new phenom as 19-year-old Juan Soto of the Nationals, making his first start ever in the outfield after striking out as a pinch-hitter in his debut the day before, crushes the first pitch he sees from Robbie Erlin of the Padres for a three-run homer. He goes 2-for-4 in 10 - 2 win by Washington. He is the first teenager to homer since teammate Bryce Harper did so in his rookie year in 2012.
• 2021:
  • The Braves are the first team to hit seven homers including two grand slams in a 20 - 1 win over the Pirates. Austin Riley homers twice, while Ronald Acuna and pinch-hitter Ehire Adrianza, facing off against position player Wilmer Difo, hit the slams.
  • The Rays trade their starting shorstop, Willy Adames, to the Brewers along with P Trevor Richards in return for Ps J.P. Feyereisen and Drew Rasmussen. Both clubs are in denial in explaining the trade, the Brewers claiming that the move was not motivated by SS Luis Urias' recent rash of errors, while the Rays claim it has nothing to do with opening a spot for top prospect Wander Franco, who seemingly has nothing left to prove in the minors. Both teams will benefit from the deal.

Births

• 1859 - Fred Dunlap, infielder, manager (d. 1902)
• 1867 - Fred Clement, infielder (d. 1930)
• 1874 - Sandy McDougal, pitcher (d. 1910)
• 1878 - Sam Brown, catcher (d. 1931)
• 1881 - Charlie Loudenslager, infielder (d. 1933)
• 1883 - Eddie Grant, infielder (d. 1918)
• 1884 - Carl Spongberg, pitcher (d. 1938)
• 1890 - Doc Ayers, pitcher (d. 1968)
• 1891 - Bunny Hearn, pitcher (d. 1959)
• 1893 - Harry Juul, pitcher (d. 1942)
• 1895 - Michael Donohue, umpire (d. 1968)
• 1900 - Sam Langford, outfielder (d. 1993)
• 1901 - Mule Shirley, infielder (d. 1955)
• 1902 - Earl Averill, outfielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer (d. 1983)
• 1906 - Hank Johnson, pitcher (d. 1982)
• 1909 - Mace Brown, pitcher; All-Star (d. 2002)
• 1909 - Dick Ward, pitcher (d. 1966)
• 1910 - Larry Rosenthal, outfielder (d. 1992)
• 1911 - J.C. Segraves, outfielder (d. 1956)
• 1911 - Irv Stein, pitcher (d. 1981)
• 1912 - Monty Stratton, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1982)
• 1918 - Stan Goletz, pinch hitter (d. 1997)
• 1918 - Neb Stewart, outfielder (d. 1990)
• 1919 - Larry Napp, umpire (d. 1993)
• 1924 - Ed FitzGerald, catcher (d. 2020)
• 1924 - George Tesnow, minor league player and manager (d. 2012)
• 1926 - Johnny Reagan, college coach (d. 2018)
• 1926 - Elmer Sexauer, pitcher (d. 2011)
• 1927 - El Tappe, catcher, manager (d. 1998)
• 1927 - Mel Tappe, minor league pitcher (d. 1992)
• 1930 - Rudy Regalado, infielder (d. 2018)
• 1932 - Earl Hersh, outfielder (D. 2013)
• 1934 - Joe Abernethy, minor league player and manager (d. 2011)
• 1934 - Moe Thacker, catcher (d. 1997)
• 1935 - Harvey Dorfman, author (d. 2011)
• 1936 - Barry Latman, pitcher; All-Star (d. 2019)
• 1941 - Bobby Cox, infielder, manager
• 1944 - Hiroaki Inoue, NPB outfielder
• 1950 - Bob Molinaro, outfielder
• 1950 - Hank Webb, pitcher
• 1952 - Bob McCown, broadcaster
• 1954 - Arnoldo Muñoz, Nicaraguan national team infielder
• 1955 - Eddie Milner, outfielder (d. 2015)
• 1958 - Paul Runge, infielder
• 1960 - Kent Hrbek, infielder; All-Star
• 1961 - Tony LaCava, executive
• 1961 - Greg Tabor, infielder
• 1962 - Paolo Ceccaroli, Serie A1 pitcher-infielder and manager; Italian Baseball Hall of Fame
• 1962 - Bernie Tatis, minor league outfielder and manager
• 1963 - Jose Roman, pitcher
• 1965 - Chien-Lin Kuo, CPBL infielder and coach
• 1968 - Gary Hymel, minor league catcher
• 1968 - Greg O'Halloran, catcher
• 1968 - Steve Pegues, outfielder
• 1969 - Dave Aschwege, umpire
• 1969 - Mike Kennedy, college coach
• 1970 - Bryce Florie, pitcher
• 1970 - Tom Martin, pitcher
• 1971 - Chris Widger, catcher
• 1973 - Tommy Davis, catcher
• 1974 - Mark Quinn, outfielder
• 1975 - Josh Patton, minor league infielder
• 1976 - Rocky Biddle, pitcher
• 1976 - Travis Harper, pitcher
• 1977 - Ricky Williams, minor league outfielder
• 1978 - Ricardo Rodriguez, pitcher
• 1980 - Lee Delfino, minor league infielder
• 1981 - Josh Hamilton, outfielder; All-Star
• 1981 - Joe Mazzuca, minor league infielder
• 1981 - Carl Michaels, minor league pitcher
• 1982 - Ed Lucas, infielder
• 1983 - Michael Nix, minor league pitcher
• 1983 - Kan Otake, NPB pitcher
• 1983 - Salvador Paniagua, minor league catcher and manager
• 1984 - Luisgardo Alvarez, Netherlands Antilles national team outfielder
• 1984 - Mario Holmann, minor league infielder
• 1985 - Kohei Hasebe, NPB pitcher
• 1985 - Yuta Kimura, NPB pitcher
• 1985 - Andrew Miller, pitcher; All-Star
• 1986 - Gaby Hernandez, minor league pitcher
• 1986 - Luke Murton, minor league infielder
• 1986 - Dusty Napoleon, minor league infielder
• 1986 - Ryan Pope, minor league pitcher
• 1986 - Matt Wieters, catcher; All-Star
• 1987 - Allan Dykstra, infielder
• 1987 - Spencer Kreisberg, Elitserien pitcher
• 1989 - Jose Casilla, minor league pitcher
• 1990 - Harold Guerrero, minor league pitcher
• 1990 - Kevin Medrano, minor league infielder
• 1990 - Christian Wise, New Zealand national team pitcher
• 1991 - Alaín Delá, Cuban league pitcher
• 1991 - Joe Hudson, catcher
• 1991 - Jordy Lara, minor league infielder
• 1991 - Williams Perez, pitcher
• 1991 - Joey Rickard, outfielder
• 1991 - Jacob Turner, pitcher
• 1993 - Rob Paller, minor league outfielder
• 1993 - Joe Ross, pitcher
• 1995 - José Alvarado, pitcher
• 1995 - Franky Quintana, Cuban league pitcher
• 1996 - Darko Kvaternik, Croatian national team pitcher
• 1999 - Rodolfo Castro, infielder
• 1999 - Aaron de Groot, Hoofdklasse pitcher
• 1999 - Tyler Freeman, infielder
• 1999 - Haonan Zhang, minor league pitcher
• 2001 - Andres Melendez, minor league catcher (d. 2021)
• 2002 - Jordan McCants, minor league infielder

Deaths

• 1886 - David Lenz, catcher (b. 1851)
• 1891 - Jim Whitney, pitcher (b. 1857)
• 1892 - Hub Collins, infielder (b. 1864)
• 1933 - Charlie Osterhout, catcher/outfielder (b. 1856)
• 1937 - Jack McAdams, pitcher (b. 1886)
• 1938 - Sam Childs, infielder (b. 1861)
• 1947 - Dan Kennard, catcher (b. 1883)
• 1951 - Frank Olin, outfielder (b. 1860)
• 1958 - Otis Stucker, minor league infielder and manager (b. 1893)
• 1959 - Carter Elliott, infielder (b. 1893)
• 1960 - Leo Birdine, pitcher/outfielder (b. 1895)
• 1960 - George Cochran, infielder (b. 1889)
• 1961 - Ben Koehler, outfielder (b. 1877)
• 1969 - Everett Booe, outfielder (b. 1891)
• 1969 - Dennis Burns, pitcher (b. 1898)
• 1970 - Jack Farmer, infielder (b. 1892)
• 1970 - Les Fusselman, catcher (b. 1921)
• 1973 - Herm Wehmeier, pitcher (b. 1927)
• 1976 - John Karst, infielder (b. 1893)
• 1976 - Torbert MacDonald, minor league outfielder (b. 1917)
• 1980 - Frank Croucher, infielder (b. 1914)
• 1985 - Archie McKain, pitcher (b. 1911)
• 1985 - Grover Powell, pitcher (b. 1940)
• 1989 - Harry Cozart, pitcher (b. 1917)
• 1995 - Sylvester Snead, infielder (b. 1914)
• 1997 - Piper Davis, infielder, manager; All-Star (b. 1917)
• 2001 - Joe Campini, catcher (b. 1920)
• 2001 - Mel Hoderlein, infielder (b. 1923)
• 2002 - Bob Poser, pitcher (b. 1910)
• 2004 - Adolph Anderson, minor league pitcher (b. 1926)
• 2007 - Jiro Noguchi, NPB pitcher; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1920)
• 2009 - Dick Azar, minor league owner (b. 1921)
• 2011 - Jim Pyburn, outfielder (b. 1932)
• 2012 - Osmani Tamayo, Cuban league pitcher (b. 1981)
• 2013 - Cot Deal, pitcher (b. 1923)
• 2013 - Hank Kozloski, writer (b. 1927)
• 2014 - Johnny Gray, pitcher (b. 1926)
• 2015 - Fred Gladding, pitcher (b. 1936)
• 2019 - Freddie Velazquez, catcher (b. 1937)
• 2022 - Gordie Windhorn, outfielder (b. 1933)