Updated: July 23, 2009, 12:55 PM ET

This Date In Baseball

Print Share
Associated Press

Compiled by PAUL MONTELLA

By The Associated Press

July 26

1928 -- Bob Meusel of the New York Yankees hit for the cycle for the third time in his career. The Yankees scored 11 runs in the top of the 12th to beat the Detroit Tigers, 12-1, in 12 innings.

1939 -- The New York Yankees tied a major league record by scoring in every inning against the St. Louis Browns. Bill Dickey hit three home runs in the 14-1 win.

1962 -- Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves set the National League record for home runs by a pitcher when he hit his 31st off New York's Craig Anderson. Spahn dealt the Mets their 11th straight loss with a 6-1 victory.

1970 -- Johnny Bench of the Cincinnati Reds hit three straight homers off Steve Carlton of the St. Louis Cardinals. On the same day, Orlando Cepeda of the Atlanta Braves connected for three consecutive homers in an 8-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

1984 -- Pete Rose of the Montreal Expos tied Ty Cobb on the career singles list, No. 3,052, with a base hit in the eighth inning in a 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

1991 -- Montreal's Mark Gardner became the first to pitch nine no-hit innings against a Dodger home team since Johnny Vander Meer beat Brooklyn at Ebbets Field on June 15, 1938, for his second straight gem. But the Dodgers won in the 10th on two singles off Gardner and Darryl Strawberry's RBI single off Jeff Fassero.

1998 -- Trevor Hoffman's bid to set a major league record with 42 straight saves ended when the San Diego closer gave up a home run to Moises Alou on his first delivery in the ninth inning, tying the game. The Padres wound up beating Houston 5-4 in the 10th, but Hoffman blew his chance at history.

2005 -- Greg Maddux recorded his 3,000th career strikeout against San Francisco, striking out Omar Vizquel in the third inning of a 3-2, 11-inning victory for the Giants.

2008 -- Skip Schumaker went 6-for-7 to help St. Louis beat the New York Mets 10-8 in 14 innings. He became the first Cardinals player to have six hits in a game since Sept. 5, 1935, when Terry Moore did it against Boston.

2008 -- Trevor Hoffman recorded his record 544th save, retiring the only batter he faced after Jose Bautista hit a solo homer with two outs in the ninth inning of San Diego's 9-6 win at Pittsburgh. It also gave Hoffman his 14th season with at least 20 saves, the most in major league history. Lee Smith previously was the only other pitcher with at least 20 saves in 13 seasons.

Today's birthdays: Brandon Morrow 25; Kevin Jepsen 25; Joaquin Benoit 32.

July 27

1918 -- Brooklyn rookie Henry Heitman completed one of the shortest careers in major league history. Heitman appeared on the mound against the St. Louis Cardinals, gave up four consecutive hits and then left the game, never to play a major league game again.

1930 -- Ken Ash of Cincinnati got his last major league victory by throwing one pitch. Ash came into relieve in the fifth inning and got Chicago's Charlie Grimm to hit into a triple play. Ash was removed for a pinch hitter and the Reds beat the Cubs 6-5. 1946 -- Rudy York of Boston hit two grand slams and drove in 10 runs as the Red Sox beat the St. Louis Browns 13-6.

1950 -- Del Ennis of the Philadelphia Phillies drove in seven runs in the seventh and eighth innings of a 13-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Ennis doubled with the bases loaded in the seventh and hit a grand slam in the eighth.

1959 -- New York lawyer William Shea announced the formation of the Continental League. New York, Houston, Toronto, Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul were the five cities named and Branch Rickey was named league president.

1978 -- Duane Kuiper of Cleveland tied a major league record by becoming the third player in the 20th century to hit two triples in a game, Both came with the bases loaded as the Indians beat the New York Yankees 17-5.

1984 -- Montreal's Pete Rose passed Ty Cobb for the most singles in a career with No. 3,053, against the Philadelphia Phillies.

1986 -- Two 300-game winners faced each other as Don Sutton hurled six strong innings to outpitch Tom Seaver and give the California Angels a 3-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox.

1996 -- The San Diego Padres pounded the Florida Marlins, 20-12. Wally Joyner led the way with five RBIs, while John Flaherty hit a grand slam. The Padres were the sixth club to score 20 runs in a game this season. The last time that happened was 1929.

2008 -- Oakland reliever Brad Ziegler recorded six outs to set a major league record with 27 scoreless innings to begin his career. Ziegler broke the previous mark of 25 innings set by Philadelphia Phillies right-hander George McQuillan in 1907.

Today's birthdays: Max Scherzer 25; Alex Rodriguez 34.

July 28

1931 -- Bob Fothergill of Chicago hit a home run and a triple in an 11-run eighth inning. The White Sox set an American League record by recording 12 hits in the inning and beat the New York Yankees 14-12.

1940 -- King Kong Keller hit three homers to give the New York Yankees a 10-9 win over Chicago in the first game of a doubleheader split.

1951 -- Clyde Vollmer of Boston hit a grand slam in the 16th inning, the latest ever hit in a major league game. The Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 8-4, in 16.

1958 -- For the sixth time in his career, Mickey Mantle hit home runs from both sides of the plate. New York beat the Athletics 14-7.

1971 -- Sixteen-time Gold Glove winner Brooks Robinson committed three errors in the sixth inning against the Oakland A's. Frank Robinson's three-run homer in the ninth won the game for the Orioles.

1976 -- John Odom (five innings) and Francisco Barrios (four innings) combined on a no-hitter as the Chicago White Sox beat Oakland 2-1.

1979 -- Dave Kingman of the Chicago Cubs hit three home runs in a game for the second time in the season and became the sixth player in major league history to accomplish the feat. Kingman's homers weren't enough as the Cubs lost to the New York Mets 6-4.

1983 -- AL president Lee McPhail ruled that George Brett's "pine tar" home run against New York on July 24 should count. The umpires had disallowed the homer because the pine tar on Brett's bat exceeded the 18-inch limit. The rest of the game was played Aug. 18 with the Kansas City Royals beating the Yankees, 5-4.

1990 -- Shawon Dunston tied a major league record with three triples and led the Chicago Cubs to a 10-7 win over the Montreal Expos.

1991 -- Dennis Martinez pitched a perfect game as the Montreal Expos beat Los Angeles 2-0 at Dodger Stadium.

1993 -- Ken Griffey Jr. tied a major league record by homering in his eighth consecutive game, but it wasn't enough for the Seattle Mariners in a 5-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins.

1994 -- On the night the baseball players set an Aug. 12 strike date, Kenny Rogers of the Texas Rangers pitched a perfect game for a 4-0 victory over California.

1999 -- For the first time in 12 years, the U.S. baseball team beat the world champion Cubans, scoring five runs in the ninth inning for a 10-5 victory at the Pan American Games. Marcus Jensen's three-run homer broke a 5-5 tie.

2001 -- Vinny Castilla hit three homers and drove in five runs, but Houston still lost 9-8 to Pittsburgh. Down 8-2 with two outs in the ninth inning, the Pirates scored seven runs, including Brian Giles' game-winning grand slam.

2004 -- Troy Percival recorded his 300th save after John Lackey allowed three hits over 8 1-3 innings to help Anaheim beat Texas 2-0.

2006 -- Houston rookie Luke Scott hit for the cycle and drove in five runs, but the Astros lost to Arizona 8-7.

July 29

1908 -- Rube Waddell struck out 16 as the St. Louis Browns beat the Philadelphia A's 5-4.

1911 -- Joe Wood of the Boston Red Sox beat the St. Louis Browns with a 5-0 no-hitter in the first game of a doubleheader. Wood fanned 12 and allowed three baserunners on two walks and a hit batsman.

1915 -- Honus Wagner, 41, became the oldest player to hit a grand slam as Pittsburgh beat Brooklyn 8-2. The grand slam was an inside-the-park homer. Wagner remained the record holder until 1985, when Tony Perez hit one the day before his 43rd birthday.

1928 -- The Cleveland Indians scored eight runs in the first inning and nine more in the second and went on to beat the New York Yankees 24-6 at Dunn Field. Johnny Hodapp singled twice in the second and sixth innings.

1936 -- The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 22-7, in the first game of a doubleheader, then lost the second game 5-4.

1955 -- Smoky Burgess of the Cincinnati Reds hit three home runs and drove in nine runs in a 16-5 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates at Crosley Field.

1968 -- George Culver of the Cincinnati Reds pitched a 6-1 no-hitter against the Phillies in the second game of a doubleheader at Philadelphia.

1983 -- Steve Garvey of the San Diego Padres halted his NL record of 1,207 consecutive games. The streak ended when he dislocated his thumb in a collision with Atlanta pitcher Pascual Perez while trying to score.

2000 -- Eddie Taubensee hit a game-tying homer with two outs in the ninth and homered again in the 11th to lead Cincinnati to a 4-3 win over Montreal.

2001 -- Craig Monroe homered in his first major league at-bat as the Texas Rangers beat Tampa Bay 2-0.

2003 -- Boston's Bill Mueller became the first player in major league history to hit grand slams from both sides of the plate in a game and connected for three homers in a 14-7 win at Texas.

2006 -- Tomas Perez tied a major league record with four doubles, going 5-for-5 and leading the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to a 19-6 rout of the New York Yankees.

Today's birthdays: Chad Billingsley 25; Mike Adams 31.

July 30

1933 -- Dizzy Dean struck out 17 Cubs as the St. Louis Cardinals beat Chicago 8-2.

1947 -- The New York Giants beat Ewell Blackwell and the Cincinnati Reds 5-4 in 10 innings, ending Blackwell's 16-game winning streak.

1959 -- Willie McCovey had four hits in four at-bats in his major league debut, with the San Francisco Giants. His hits included two triples in a 7-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

1968 -- Washington shortstop Ron Hansen pulled off an unassisted triple play, but the Cleveland Indians still won the game 10-1.

1973 -- Jim Bibby of the Texas Rangers pitched a 6-0 no-hitter against the Oakland A's.

1980 -- Houston Astros pitcher J.R. Richard had a stroke during a workout at the Astrodome and underwent surgery to remove a blood clot behind his right collarbone.

1982 -- The Atlanta Braves returned Chief Noc-A-Homa and his teepee to left field after losing 19 of 21 games and blowing a 10½-game lead. The teepee was removed for more seats. The team recovered to regain first place.

1990 -- George Steinbrenner was forced to resign as general partner of the New York Yankees by baseball commissioner Fay Vincent.

2003 -- Chicago White Sox shortstop Jose Valentin hit three home runs by the fifth inning in a 15-4 win over Kansas City. It was the second three-homer game of his career, and the third time he has homered from both sides of the plate.

2005 -- Jonny Gomes had the first three-homer game in Tampa Bay franchise history in a 7-3 victory over Kansas City.

2006 -- New York Mets center fielder Carlos Beltran tied a major league record with his third grand slam this month in a 9-6 victory over Atlanta. Beltran became the ninth player in major league history to hit three grand slams in a calendar month.

2008 -- Kelly Shoppach of Cleveland tied a major league record with five extra-base hits, including a game-tying homer in the ninth, but Detroit beat the Indians 14-12 in 13 innings. Shoppach had two homers and three doubles.

July 31

1930 -- Lou Gehrig drove in eight runs with a grand slam and two doubles as the New York Yankees outlasted the Boston Red Sox 14-13.

1932 -- Cleveland's Municipal Stadium opened and Lefty Grove and the Philadelphia A's beat the Indians 1-0 before 76,979 fans.

1934 -- The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Cincinnati Reds 8-6 in 18 innings at Cincinnati as Dizzy Dean and Tony Freitas both went the distance.

1954 -- Joe Adcock set a major league record with 18 total bases in the Milwaukee Braves' 15-7 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers. Adcock hit four home runs and a double to lead.

1961 -- The All-Star game ended in a 1-1 tie at Fenway Park as heavy rain halted play.

1981 -- The second baseball strike ended after 42 days.

1990 -- Nolan Ryan, 43, won his 300th game, reaching the milestone in his second try, as the Texas Rangers beat the Milwaukee Brewers 11-3.

2002 -- Mike Mussina became the second pitcher in major league history to give up six doubles in one inning, during the New York Yankees' 17-6 loss to Texas. Hall of Famer Lefty Grove allowed that many with Boston in 1934 against Washington.

2003 -- John Smoltz broke his own record as the fastest pitcher to record 40 saves by pitching a scoreless ninth in Atlanta's 7-4 win over Houston. Last year, he got his 40th save on Aug. 8, en route to breaking the NL record with 55.

2006 -- Orlando Hudson hit home runs from both sides of the plate, including his first career grand slam, as Arizona beat the Chicago Cubs 15-4.

2007 -- The New York Yankees tied a franchise record by hitting eight home runs, including a pair by Hideki Matsui, in a 16-3 rout of the Chicago White Sox. New York last hit eight homers in a game in the opener of a doubleheader at the Philadelphia Athletics on June 28, 1939.

Aug. 1

1906 -- Harry McIntire of the Brooklyn Dodgers pitched 10 2-3 innings of no-hit ball before Claude Ritchey of Pittsburgh singled. McIntire weakened in the 13th and lost 1-0 to the Pirates on an unearned run, finishing with a four-hitter.

1941 -- New York Yankees pitcher Lefty Gomez walked 11 St. Louis batters in a 9-0 victory to set a major league record for walks in a shutout.

1962 -- Bill Monbouquette of the Boston Red Sox pitched a no-hitter to beat the White Sox 1-0 at Chicago.

1970 -- Willie Stargell of Pittsburgh hit three doubles and two home runs to power the Pirates to a 20-10 rout of the Braves in Atlanta.

1972 -- Nate Colbert of the San Diego Padres drove in 13 runs in a doubleheader with five home runs and two singles. San Diego beat the Atlanta Braves in both games, by scores of 9-0 and 11-7.

1977 -- Willie McCovey of the San Francisco Giants hit two home runs, including his 18th career grand slam, a total that still leads the National League.

1978 -- Pete Rose went 0-for-4 against Atlanta pitchers Larry McWilliams and Gene Garber to end his 44-game hitting streak as the Braves defeated the Cincinnati Reds 16-4.

1986 -- Bert Blyleven threw a two-hitter and struck out 15 to become the 10th major league pitcher with 3,000 career strikeouts as he led the Minnesota Twins to a 10-1 victory over the Oakland A's.

1994 -- Baltimore's Cal Ripken became the second major leaguer to play 2,000 straight games as the Orioles beat Minnesota 1-0.

1998 -- Switch-hitter Tony Clark set an AL record by homering from both sides of the plate for the third time this year as the Detroit Tigers defeated Tampa Bay 8-0.

2005 -- Rafael Palmeiro was suspended 10 days following a positive test for steroids, less than five months after the Baltimore Orioles' first baseman emphatically told Congress: "I have never used steroids. Period."

2006 -- Carlos Guillen hit for the cycle in Detroit's 10-4 victory over Tampa Bay.

Today's Birthday: Adam Jones 24.


Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press

This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire. Wire index