BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

1961 Roger Maris, hitting his 51st round-tripper of the season, has the most homers in major league history at this point in the season. The Yankees' right fielder goes deep off right-hander Jerry Walker in the sixth inning of the team's 5-1 victory over Kansas City at Municipal Stadium.

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1962 The Orioles complete a five-game sweep of the Yankees when right-hander Robin Roberts, released by New York during the first week of the season, beats Whitey Ford at Memorial Stadium, 2-1. Homers by Brooks Robinson and Jim Gentile account for Baltimore's only runs.

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1962 At Metropolitan Stadium, Twins' left-hander Jack Kralick throws the team's first no-hitter since the franchise moved to Minnesota last season and the fifth no-no hurled this season in the major leagues. The slight southpaw retires the first 25 A's batters he faces before issuing a walk to George Alusik, ending his bid for a perfect game, but retires the next two hitters to no-hit Kansas City, 1-0.

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1965 At Shea Stadium, the Mets beat the Dodgers, 5-2, making rookie southpaw Tug McGraw (2-2) the first Mets pitcher to defeat Sandy Koufax (21-7). Previously, New York had lost 13 consecutive times to the future Hall of Fame southpaw.

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1966 After seeing a caricature of himself on the scoreboard, an angry Leo Durocher calls the Astrodome's press box to have it removed. When nothing happens, the enraged Cubs manager rips the phone from the dugout wall and tosses it onto the infield.

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1966 Coming off the Orioles bench, Vic Roznovsky and Boog Powell hit consecutive pinch-hit homers, tying the game in the ninth in an eventual 12-inning, 3-2 victory over the Red Sox. The consecutive round-trippers mark only the third time back-to-back pinch-hit home runs have occurred in major league history.

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1968 After starting his career 0-5, Jim McAndrew gets his first major league victory when he goes the distance at Busch Stadium, blanking St. Louis on five hits, 1-0. In his first four major league starts, the Mets failed to score a run, resulting in two 2-0 and two 1-0 defeats for the 24-year-old rookie right-hander.

1972 Ron Santo's three-run home run off Ron Bryant is the difference in the Cubs' 10-9 victory over San Francisco at Wrigley Field. The third-inning round-tripper, the first of a pair he hits in the game, is the third baseman's 2,000th career hit and drives in his 1,200th run.


1973 Paul Blair hits a rare inside-the-park grand slam in the Orioles' 10-1 victory over the A's in Baltimore. The fleet-footed outfielder circles the bases when Amos Otis and Steve Hovley collide as they chase down his gapper in right-center field.


1975 Luis Tiant Sr, recently allowed by Fidel Castro to leave Cuba to travel to Boston, throws out the first pitch at Fenway Park as his proud son stands behind him on the mound. The former Negro League star, dissatisfied with his first effort, flutters a knuckleball over the plate with his second effort, much to the sold-out crowd's delight.​

 

1980 George Brett strokes four singles and a double in five at-bats when the Royals edge Milwaukee at County Stadium, 7-6. The Kansas City third baseman's 5-for-5 performance raises his league-leading batting average to .407.

1981 Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog fines Garry Templeton $5,000, suspending him indefinitely without pay for his rude behavior, including an obscene gesture directed toward fans after being booed for not hustling to first base. The St. Louis shortstop, eventually traded to the Padres in the offseason for Ozzie Smith, agrees to seek psychiatric help and will be reinstated to the lineup on September 15th.

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1985 In the Orioles' 17-3 rout of the Angels, Eddie Murray homers three times‚ including a grand slam in the fifth frame‚ and drives in nine runs, tying Jim Gentile's mark for RBIs in a game. Baltimore goes deep seven times in the Anaheim Stadium contest, matching a club record set on May 17, 1967.

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1987 Paul Molitor's 39-game hit streak ends as he waits in the on-deck circle, watching pinch-hitter Rick Manning single home the winning run in the tenth inning to give the Brewers a 1-0 walk-off victory over Cleveland at County Stadium. The Ignitor's accomplishment remains the longest consecutive hitting streak in franchise history.

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1989 The Trumbull (CT) All-Stars become the first American team to win the Little League World Series since 1983, snapping Asia's six-year hold on the title. The U.S. National team defeats Chinese Taipei, 5-2, behind the complete game, five-hitter thrown by 12-year-old Chris Drury, who goes on to win NHL's Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2001.

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1991 The Yankees reluctantly agree to a $1.55 million contract with 19-year-old high school southpaw Brien Taylor, the overall number one pick from the June amateur draft. George Steinbrenner is outraged by the record deal, but the suspended owner had driven up the price when he publicly made his wishes known to Newsday two days before the signing by saying, "If they (Gene Michael) let him go, they ought to be shot."

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1991 With the help of a questionable scorer's decision in the fifth inning, 27-year-old Bret Saberhagen fires a no-hitter, beating the White Sox at Royals Stadium, 7-0. When Royals' left fielder Kirk Gibson misses Dan Pasqua's slicing line drive, Del Black changes his ruling from a double to a two-base error after viewing several replays.

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1993 The Mets announce that Vince Coleman will remain on paid administrative leave until the end of the season, effectively ending his playing career with the team. Fred Wilpon's decision that the outfielder, who signed a four-year $11.95 million deal before the 1991 season, will never put on a Mets uniform again results from Coleman's admission of tossing an M-100 leaving a Dodger Stadium parking lot last month that injured three people.

1996 The Mets replaced Dallas Green as their manager with Bobby Valentine, a former coach who left the organization to manage Texas. During his stormy seven-year tenure in New York, Bobby 'V' will compile a 536-467 (.534) record and lead the team to an NL pennant in 2000.


1996 With a ten-year, $20 million deal, Pro Player, the sports apparel division of Fruit of the Loom, becomes the first sports marketing and products company to have its name used as the moniker for a stadium. The renaming of Joe Robbie Stadium, the home of the Florida Marlins, to Pro Player Stadium sparks controversy as many Miamians believe the benefactor's name should remain due to his generosity and efforts to fund the original project.

1998 Phil Garner earns his 500th victory at the Brewers helm, making him the only manager in team history to reach that milestone when Milwaukee beats Colorado at Coors Field, 6-5. 'Scrap Iron' will finish his eight-year stint with the Brew Crew with a 563-617 (.477) record.

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1999 Achieving the mark in his 29th start, Diamondback southpaw Randy Johnson reaches the 300-strikeout milestone in record time, surpassing Pedro Martinez, who accomplished the milestone in 31 starts in 1997. The 'Big Unit' reaches the plateau when he whiffs Kevin Millar to end the fifth inning in the team's 12-2 victory over the Marlins en route to finishing the season with 364 strikeouts.

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2001 Sammy Sosa becomes the third player in baseball history to hit 50 homers in a season four times when he blasts a two-run shot off Dustin Hermanson in the first inning of the Cubs' 6-1 victory over the Cardinals at Wrigley Field. Slammin' Sammy joins Babe Ruth (1920-21 and 1927-28) and Mark McGwire (1996-99) to accomplish the feat.

2001 In the 18th inning, second-string catcher Bill Haselman beats out a bases-loaded potential inning-ending double-play grounder, allowing Chad Curtis to score the winning run in the Rangers' 8-7 victory over the Red Sox.

The six-hour and 35-minute contest is the longest game ever played in Ranger history.​

2002 At Yankee Stadium, Alfonso Soriano, with a solo shot in the fourth inning in the team's 10-3 victory over the Rangers, sets a team record for home runs by a second baseman. The previous mark of 30 was established in 1940 by Joe Gordon.

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2002 Sixty-three years to the day after the first televised contest, the first video streaming coverage of a major league baseball game occurs online. Approximately 30,000 fans visit MLB.com to see the Yankees defeat the Rangers, 10-3, far less than the 42,000 watching the game at the Bronx ballpark.

2002 Derek Jeter becomes the third player to score at least 100 runs in his first seven major league seasons. The Yankees' shortstop joins Hall of Fame outfielders Ted Williams (Red Sox, 1939-49) and Earle Combs (Yankees, 1925-32) as the only big leaguers to accomplish the feat.

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2003 The Padres trade starting pitcher Oliver Perez and prospect Jason Bay to the Pirates for outfielder Brian Giles. The BBWAA will select the Canadian-born Bay as the National League's Rookie of the Year next season.


2004 Ichiro Suzuki becomes the only player to collect at least 200 hits in his first four seasons in the big leagues. The milestone hit is a ninth-inning homer in the Mariners' 7-3 loss to the Royals at Safeco Field.

2007 Warner Robins (GA) captures the Little League World Series when 12-year-old Dalton Carriker's extra-inning (8th) walk-off home run beats Tokyo, 3-2. The victory is the third consecutive LLWS championship for the United States, its longest streak since winning eight straight titles from 1959-1966.

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2007 At Comiskey Park, the Red Sox complete a four-game sweep of the White Sox, 11-1. Boston, tallying at least ten runs in every contest, outscores their Windy City opponents, 46-7.

2008 Driving in Damion Easley with a fourth-inning groundout at Citizens Bank Park, Mets third baseman David Wright becomes the first player in franchise history to have four 100-RBIs seasons. The 25-year-old infielder has reached the plateau every year since becoming the team's regular third baseman

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2008 Before the Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park, Kenny Campbell falls more than 15 feet from the stands onto the right-field warning track after catching a batting practice home run. The ten-year-old fan, shaken and bruised but unhurt, is comforted by Mike Pelfrey and other Mets until a medical unit arrives.

2008 Teddy Roosevelt gets off to a fast start, appearing finally to beat his Mount Rushmore teammates, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and George Washington, to win his first-ever President Race at Nationals Park. The big lead disappears when the blue do-rag-clad presidential character sporting dreadlocks stops to high-five fans sitting in the right-field stands, with the public address announcer explaining the mascot's behavior as 'Teddy being Teddy.'

2008 The Phillies, trailing 7-0 early in the game, rally to beat the Mets at Citizens Bank Park, 8-7. Chris Coste, who goes 4-for-4 after entering the game as a pinch-hitter in the 8th inning, delivers the walk-off single in the bottom of the 13th to put Philadelphia back into first place, a half a game ahead of New York.

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2018 Cardinal first baseman Matt Carpenter ties an 81-year-old franchise mark when he strokes four doubles in the team's 12-3 rout of the Rockies at Coors Field. Joe Medwick established the record, hitting four two-baggers against the Boston Bees on August 4, 1937.

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2020 "Our team and the Reds felt that with our community and our nation in such pain, tonight we wanted 100 percent of the focus to be on issues that are much more important than baseball," - BRENT SUTER, the team's MLB Players Association representative.
MLB postpones the Miller Park contest to respect the Brewers' decision not to participate against the Reds following the police shooting of a 29-year-old Wisconsin black man. Later in the day, the Mariners, who have more Black players than any team in the sport, and the Dodgers also choose not to play.
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August 27 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
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1917 Peanuts Lowrey Cubs infielder,


1931 Joe Cunningham utility (MLB All Star 1959, 59²; St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox, Washington Senators)


1935 Ernie Broglio Pitcher Cubs, Cards


1947 Ed Herrmann catcher (MLB All Star 1974 Chicago White Sox; caught Larry Dierker no-hitter 1975 Houston Astros)


1970 Jim Thome HOF infielder (5 x MLB All Star; Roberto Clemente Award 2002; NL HR leader 2003; Cleveland Indians, Chicago WS)


1974 José Vidro, infielder

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This Day in Baseball History
August 27th​

1897 Washington Senator (NL) 18-year-old right-hander Roger Bresnahan makes his major league debut, shutting out the St. Louis Browns, 3-0, en route to posting a perfect 4-0 record and a 3.95 ERA this season. The teenager's pitching time on the mound will be short-lived when the 'The Duke Of Tralee' switches to behind the plate to start a Hall of Fame career as a catcher.


1911 At Comiskey Park, Chicago hurler Ed Walsh, Sr. no-hits the Red Sox, 5-0. The future Hall of Famer's son, Edward Arthur, will also pitch for the White Sox from 1928-1932.

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1937 Dodger right-hander Fred Frankhouse holds the Reds hitless for 7.2 innings before a heavy downpour ends the Ebbets Field contest. The right-hander's 5-0 victory will be one of the 31 "no-no's" erased when MLB redefines a no-hitter in 1991 as a game in which a pitcher throws nine innings or more without giving up a hit.

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1938 In the first game of a twin bill at the Bronx ballpark, Joe DiMaggio hits three consecutive triples. The Yankee Clipper's offensive outburst helps the Bombers edge Cleveland, 8-7.

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1938 Monte Pearson becomes the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter in Yankee Stadium, beating the Indians, 13-0. Thanks to two double plays, the 29-year-old right-hander faces the minimum of 27 batters when he records his tenth consecutive victory.

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1939 With a 13-3 complete-game victory over the Tigers at Briggs Stadium, Yankee right-hander Red Ruffing wins his 20th game, a feat he has accomplished in four consecutive seasons. The 34-year-old American League All-Star starting pitcher, who will miss several weeks late in the season, finishes the season 21-7 for the eventual World Champs.

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1946 While traveling in a caravan to East Douglas (MA) for an exhibition game against the Indians, Ted Williams, his wife, and two friends are involved in an auto accident when his new Pontiac hits a car owned by George Doncaster. Although no one is seriously hurt, including Doncaster's wife and daughter, the media widely reports the Red Sox outfielder's crash in Holliston on Sherborn Road.

1946 A committee formed to study integration, Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey delivers its secretive report during an Owners' Meeting, defending the covert color barrier in professional baseball. The reasons cited include the black's lack of fundamentals and skills, the respect of Negro League contracts, the reluctance to lose rental revenues from the Negro League teams, and the fear of white fans not attending games if black players attracted more minorities to the ballpark.

 

1951 A prolonged delay occurs at Olean's (NY) Bradner Stadium when a skunk refuses to leave the infield during a Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York League game between Batavia and the hometown Oilers. The minor leaguers try to shoo the crepuscular (most active at dawn and dusk) mammal away but result in the players running off the field with the uninvited guest staying put for an hour before moving on, allowing the contest to resume, albeit with a lot fewer fans in the stands.

1951 Dodger right fielder Carl Furillo, in the top of the third inning in the team's 5-0 victory over Pittsburgh at Ebbets Field, throws out Mel Queen by two feet at first base, after the Pirates pitcher had apparently singled into right field. The 'Reading Rifle' will lead the NL in assists for the second consecutive season, with opponents becoming increasingly reluctant to challenge the Brooklyn outfielder's strong arm.

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1951 Del Wilber hits three solo home runs in the Phillies' victory over Cincinnati in the nightcap at Shibe Park, making it the first time a player has accounted for all the runs in a 3-0 game with round-trippers. The 32-year-old catcher will hit a total of only 19 homers during his major league career.

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1952 The Dodgers set the National League mark for consecutive games with a double play when they complete a twin killing in their twenty-third straight contest, a 10-5 loss to Chicago at Wrigley Field. The fifth inning 1-4-3 DP (Clyde King-Jackie Robinson-Gil Hodges) leaves Brooklyn two shy of the major league record.

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1955 In his second big league start, Sandy Koufax two-hits the Reds at Ebbets Field, 7-0. The 19-year-old bonus baby, displaying the dominance he will feature during the 1960s, goes the distance, striking out 14 Cincinnati batters.

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1960 Ernie Banks knocks in his 100th run of the season when he grounds out in the first inning of the Cubs' 5-4 victory over Philadelphia at Wrigley Field. The Chicago infielder, finishing the season with 117 RBIs, will be the last National League shortstop to reach the milestone until 1985, when Hubie Brooks accomplishes the feat with the Expos.

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1974 Benny Ayala becomes 40th major leaguer and the first player in National League in 13 years to homer in his first major league at-bat, going deep off Astros' hurler Tom Griffin in the second inning of New York's 4-2 win at Shea Stadium. In 1961, Cubs rookie Cuno Barragan also accomplished the feat in the Senior Circuit, hitting what proved to be his only big-league home run.

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1975 At Candlestick Park, nearly half the outs in the Giants' 9-1 victory over the Expos come via the strikeout. John Montefusco, who goes the distance to get the win, strikes out 14 Montreal batters, and the 'Count' and his teammates reciprocate by whiffing 11 times, including the three times he goes back to the dugout with a bat in his hands.

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1975 Craig Kusick gains the dubious distinction of being hit by a pitch three times in one game, tying a major league record. The 11th-inning plunking of the Twins' first baseman leads to the decisive run in the team's 1-0 victory over Milwaukee.

1977 In an 8-2 win at Yankee Stadium, Ranger teammates Bump Wills and Toby Harrah hit back-to-back inside-the-park home runs on consecutive pitches. The pair of IPHRs mark the first occurrence of the oddity in baseball history.

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1978 Joe Morgan hits his 200th home run when he goes deep off Mike Krukow in the third inning of the Reds' 5-1 loss to the Cubs at Riverfront Stadium. The Cincinnati second baseman becomes the first major leaguer to reach the milestone, having also stolen 500 bases.

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1982 Rickey Henderson breaks Lou Brock's 1974 single-season record of 118 stolen bases in the team's 5-4 loss to the Brewers. The A's outfielder, who will finish the season with 130, ends the day with 122 after swiping four bases in today's County Stadium contest

Rickey & Lou.
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1986 With one out in the bottom of the eleventh inning and the visiting Mets ahead of the Padres, 6-5, Lenny Dykstra's throw nails Gary Templeton at the plate when he tries to score from second base on Tim Flannery's single to center field. Knocked on his back by the runner, catcher John Gibbons throws a strike from a prone position to Howard Johnson, who tags out Flannery, trying to get to third base, ending the game with an unusual 8-2-5 double play.

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1988 Kansas City's right-hander Mark Gubicza strikes out 14 Twins in the team's 4-1 victory at Royals Stadium, establishing a franchise record that lasts for 21 years. The mark will be eclipsed in 2009 by Zack Greinke, who will fan 15 batters against the Indians.

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1994 Coquivacoa (Maracaibo, Venezuela) wins the Little League World Series in a rain-delayed contest, defeating Northridge City (CA), 4-3. Ten-year-old Yusmeiro Petit, the champs' backup second baseman, will become the first player to play on teams that win the Little League and Major League World Series when the Giants triumph in the 2012 and 2014 Fall Classics.

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1997 In honor of first baseman Jim Thome's birthday, the Indians pull up their socks just below the knees. The Tribe will win 17 of 27 games en route to clinching the American League East flag while sporting this new look.

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1999 In a 4-1 Expos loss to the Reds at Olympic Stadium, Vladimir Guerrero's hitting streak, the longest in the big leagues since 1987, ends at 31 consecutive games. The Montreal outfielder's accomplishment sets a franchise record.

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2000 The Angels become the first American League team to have four players hit 30 home runs in the same season when Tim Salmon goes deep in LA's 10-9 victory over Cleveland at Edison Field. The Halos' right-fielder joins Mo Vaughn, Garret Anderson, and Troy Glaus to reach the plateau.

2001 In the Nippon Ham Fighters-Fukuoka Daiei Hawks contest, Michihiro Ogasawara doubles and tallies on Yukio Tanaka's single, breaking a 51-year-old Japanese record by scoring a run in 17 consecutive games. Indian Kenny Lofton (2000) and Yankee Red Rolfe (1939) share the major league record of 18 straight games.

2001 Cubs' slugger Sammy Sosa, with his 17th dinger this month, ties the National League record for August homers, established by Willie Mays in 1965. Tiger first baseman Rudy York set the major league mark, going yard 18 times in the eighth month of 1937.

2005 Jeff Kent becomes the first player to hit 300 homers as a second baseman. The Dodger infielder, who surpassed Ryne Sandberg's total of 277 last September, is the major league leader at this position, with Joe Gordon holding the American League record with 246 round-trippers.
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2005 After losing a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning against the Yomiuri Giants earlier in the season, Fumiya Nishiguchi (16-4) sees his perfect game against the expansion Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles go into extra innings. The Seibu Lions right-hander gives up a hit and has to settle for a 10-inning complete-game shutout.

 

2007 Citing the need for a fresh start, Drayton McLane, owner of the last-place Astros, fires skipper Phil Garner and GM Tim Purpura. Bench coach Cecil Cooper is named interim manager, and long-time team executive Tal Smith is temporarily appointed Houston's general manager.

2007 Jake Peavy becomes the Padres' leader in career strikeouts when he whiffs Orlando Hudson looking at an inside fastball in the first inning of a 3-1 San Diego victory over the Diamondbacks at Petco Park. The right-handed fireballer, who fans 11 in the game, moves past Andy Benes, who had struck out 1036 batters, pitching for the Friars from 1989 to 1995.

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2010 Braves starter Tommy Hanson, who begins the game without giving up a homer in his last 47.2 innings on the mound, sees his streak end when Marlin leadoff hitter Cameron Maybin drills the first pitch of the game into the left-field seats at Turner Field. Logan Morrison, the next batter, then connects off the Atlanta right-hander for his first major league round-tripper, making it the first time in franchise history that Florida has led off a game with back-to-back homers.

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2010 The Nationals announce that 22-year-old right-hander Stephen Strasburg will undergo Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament, requiring about 12 to 18 months of rehabilitation. The rookie phenom, whose presence earlier in the season brought President Obama and his two daughters to Nationals Park to watch him pitch against the White Sox, finishes in his 12 starts with a 5-3 record en route to striking out 92 batters in 68 innings and compiling an ERA of 2.91.

 

2011 Justin Verlander becomes the first pitcher to win 20 games before September since the D-backs Curt Schilling reached the milestone in 2002. The right-hander (20-5) gives up four runs on eight hits, strikes out six, and walks three in six innings of work but gets the victory when the Tigers beat Minnesota at Target Field, 6-4.

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2013 Marlon Byrd is traded by the Mets, along with John Buck and cash, to the Pirates for a player to be named later (Vic Black) and minor leaguer Dilson Herrera. Although the outfielder is no longer on the roster, the team follows through on its planned promotion, giving away Marlon Byrd T-shirts before tonight's game.

2015 In their game against Seattle, the White Sox wear collared blue and white v-neck retro jerseys, reminding fans of the infamous look of the team during a few games in 1976 until the end of the 1981 season. The Throwback Thursday promotion at US Cellular Field features the unique uniforms designed by then-owner Bill Veeck, who believed his team, at the time, may not have been the greatest in baseball but could be the most stylish club in the major leagues.

2017 With his eighth-inning two-run shot off Padres' southpaw Clayton Richard in the Marlins' 6-2 victory, Giancarlo Stanton becomes the first National Leaguer to hit 50 home runs since Prince Fielder accomplished the feat playing for the Brewers in 2007. The Miami right fielder is the sixth player to reach 50 before September, but unlike the others, he doesn't finish with at least 60 homers.

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2017 The Mariners commit five errors in one inning in the team's 10-1 loss at Yankee Stadium, equaling a feat last accomplished in 1977 by the Cubs. Seattle's dubious defense, which includes three miscues by shortstop Jean Segura with contributions from third baseman Cory Seager and left-fielder Ben Gamel, opens the floodgates for a six-run first frame for the Bronx Bombers.

2017 En route to tying a franchise record by homering in five consecutive games, Phillies rookie Rhys Hoskins sets a major league record when he smashes his 11th home run in his first 18 games, going deep off Koji Uehara. In addition to his outstanding offense, the 24-year-old outfielder's diving catch of Javier Baez's sinking liner in left field initiates a 7-4-3 triple play in the team's 6-3 victory over the Cubs at Citizens Bank.

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