August 2

Events, births and deaths that occurred on August 2.

[edit] Events

• 1900 - Following a disputed call in a 7 - 6 loss to Chicago, New York manager George Davis leads the crowd in an assault on umpire William Terry. Clark Griffith emerges with the win for Chicago.
• 1901 - The Americans coast to a 16 - 0 win over the A's behind the pitching of Cy Young. It is Cy's 20th win of the year versus five losses.
• 1904 - Pitcher Frank Owen of the Chicago White Sox steals home against the Nats in the 3rd inning of a 5 - 1 win.
• 1905:
  • At Pittsburgh, the Giants win their 13th game in a row, beating the Pirates, 3 - 1, to take a 10 1/2 game lead over the Pirates. Christy Mathewson is the winner over Deacon Phillippe. Bucs star Honus Wagner is thrown out at first base in the 4th inning on a close play, then shows his displeasure by firing a ball near umpire George Bausewine during warmups the next inning. Bausewine responds by thumbing Honus out of the game. Wagner will be suspended for three games and fined $40.
  • The Athletics go into first place as Rube Waddell beats the White Sox, 4 - 3, fanning 14. He will lead the American League with 287 strikeouts, the 4th of 6 straight seasons when he tops the league.
• 1906 - Defeating the Americans, 3 - 0, the White Sox begin an American League record 19-game winning streak. In this century, the "Hitless Wonders'" streak will only be equaled by the 1947 New York Yankees.
• 1907:
  • Senators rookie Walter Johnson makes his major league debut, losing to the Tigers, 3 - 2. Ty Cobb gets the first hit off the future Hall of Famer with a bunt single.
  • Three Finger Brown tops Christy Mathewson for the third time this season, allowing just four hits in shutting out the Giants, 5 - 0. The first-place Cubs paste Matty for nine hits, and will take four out of five games in the series with New York.
• 1909 - Harry Pulliam is buried in Louisville. For the first time in history, both National League and American League games are postponed in tribute. After the funeral, a special meeting of the Board of Directors appoints John Heydler to succeed Pulliam as president of the NL.
• 1910 - At the Polo Grounds, the Giants score four runs in the 1st off Orval Overall, but Overall tightens his belt and allows no more scoring. The Cubs come back with five runs off Christy Mathewson to win, 5 - 4.
• 1911 - Christy Mathewson allows 15 singles, but his teammates help with four double plays and the Giants top the Pirates, 8 - 4. Babe Adams takes the loss.
• 1913:
  • It's Walter Johnson Day in Washington. President Wilson is on hand to help mark the Big Train's 6th anniversary in a Nationals uniform. Johnson is presented with a silver cup filled with 10-dollar bills ($674) and returns the favor with a 3 - 2 win over Detroit, his 24th win of the year.
  • The Federal League takes a big step toward another baseball war, voting to expand into the East.
• 1915 - On the 8th anniversary of Walter Johnson's debut, the Big Train tops the Browns, 5 - 1. The losing pitcher is George Sisler, who has a single off Johnson.
• 1916 - Phils star Grover Alexander wins his 20th of the season, pitching a 12-inning, 1 - 0 shutout over the Cubs. In the 12th, Alex intentionally walks two and then fans pitcher Mike Prendergast with the bases loaded. Bill Killefer strolls home with the winning run while the Cubs are arguing a call at third base. Alexander has now won more games than the cross-town A's (19).
• 1921 - With the jurors lifting the men onto their shoulders, the eight White Sox players accused of throwing the 1919 World Series are acquitted by the jury. The next day, Commissioner Kenesaw Landis will say the overwhelming evidence clearly shows the Black Sox fixed the games with gamblers and all involved will be banned from playing professional baseball again.
• 1922 - Ken Williams homers in his sixth straight game setting an American League record. The Browns left fielder's home run helps beat the Red Sox, 9 - 4.
• 1924 - A's 1B Joe Hauser sets an American League record when he hits 3 homers and a double for 14 total bases. It will be broken by Ty Cobb's 16 total bases on May 5, 1925.
• 1927 - Washington celebrates Walter Johnson Day on the 20th anniversary of his joining the team. He receives $14,764.05, a silver service, and a Distinguished Service Cross made of gold with 20 diamonds. But the Tigers kayo him in a 3-run 9th to win, 7 - 6.
• 1929:
  • In the 9th inning at Philadelphia, 1B Don Hurst cracks his 6th home run in as many games, a major league record up to this time. In the six games, Hurst has no other hits. The Phils win, 2 - 0, over Pittsburgh, with Les Sweetland allowing 11 hits in the shutout to beat Larry French.
  • After being shut out four straight times by Giants hurler Fred Fitzsimmons, the Reds score off him in the 1st inning, add two unearned runs in the 3rd to win, 3 - 2. Freddie allows just four hits in losing to Pete Donohue. Before the game, John McGraw issues a vehement denial that he has hurt morale by browbeating his players and issuing fines for errors. He says he has only fined Carl Hubbell $25 for failing to touch second base in a game, and Frank Hogan $50 for failing to show up at the team hotel in Boston one night. "These, plus a fine of $100 assessed against Jack Cummings for being absent without leave for ten days during which I had no idea where he was and could not even notify him of his transfer to the Braves constitutes the total fines I have ordered." He also states that he hasn't even been in the clubhouse since July 18th.
  • In St. Louis, the Cards bomb Dazzy Vance for 18 hits and 13 runs in his six-inning stint, before Uncle Robbie mercifully removes him. As the Dazzler leaves, the band plays, "the old grey mare ain't what she used to be." Six of the blows are for extra bases, including Jim Bottomley's 24th homer, as Sunny Jim knocks in five runs. Clarence Mitchell coasts home with the win for the Cards.
  • The A's spot the Tigers six runs in the 1st inning, then rally to win, 11 - 10. Harry Heilmann has four hits, including two homers, for the losers, as do Marty McManus and Dale Alexander. The Tigers outhit the A's, 13-10. The A's victory increases their American League lead to 11 1/2 games over the Yankees, losers today to the Indians, 9 - 8.
• 1930 - Playing under Kansas City's portable light system, the Pittsburgh Grays' 44-year-old hurler, Smokey Joe Williams (27 strikeouts), spins a one-hitter to defeat the Monarchs' Chet Brewer (19 strikeouts, including 10 in a row starting in the 7th), 1 - 0 in a fiercely contested 12-inning matchup. Oscar Charleston scores the only run.
• 1931:
  • The Red Sox and the third-place Yankees split a Sunday doubleheader before a record crowd of 40,000, played at Braves Field because of religious restrictions involving Fenway Park. Former Boston P Red Ruffing wins the first game, 4 - 1, and ex-New Yorker Wilcy Moore blanks his former mates, 1 - 0, in the nightcap. Moore allows just three singles in topping George Pipgras. The Yanks will go 308 games before being shut out again.
  • Washington beats the A's, 10 - 6, to knock Philadelphia's lead in the American League down to 14 games.
• 1932 - Rogers Hornsby is fired as manager of the Chicago Cubs and 1B Charlie Grimm is put in charge.
• 1933 - The A's Mickey Cochrane hits for the cycle for the second time in his career, against the Yankees in a 16 - 3 drubbing.
• 1934 - Walter Johnson is hospitalized with pleurisy, and Willie Kamm takes over as interim Cleveland manager.
• 1935 - Phillies 1B Dolph Camilli makes three errors in the 1st inning, a major-league record. He will lead the National League in fielding, however, in 1937.
• 1938 - As an experiment, bright yellow baseballs are used in the first game of a doubleheader. The teams go back to the traditional white ball in the nightcap as the Dodgers sweep the twin bill from the Cardinals, 6 - 2 and 9 - 3.
• 1940 - In Detroit, the Red Sox pound 14 hits in beating the Tigers, 12 - 9. Shortstop Joe Cronin is 4 for 5 and hits for the cycle, the 5th in Sox history. Cronin cycled in 1929, not the first player to cycle twice, but the first to do it a decade apart. His 8th-inning homer, off Archie McKain, follows a Doc Cramer triple and ices it for the Sox. Boston also gets homers from Dom DiMaggio and catcher Jimmie Foxx, his 23rd. Ted Williams, pinch-hitting in the 4th, draws a walk. Jack Wilson beats Tom Seats, with both pitching in relief.
• 1942:
  • Carl Hubbell wins his 5th straight, topping the Cardinals, 7 - 1. Mel Ott's two homers, one a grand slam eases the way for the veteran. In the nightcap, Dick Bartell's 9th-inning error paves the way for a squeeze bunt, and the Cards win, 3 - 2. Mort Cooper allows four hits in winning his 13th.
  • At Detroit, the Tigers sweep a pair from the Red Sox, 8 - 4 and 6 - 2, to knock Boston out of 2nd place. Dizzy Trout wins the opener, helping himself with a 3-run home run. Virgil Trucks wins the nitecap, giving up a 9th-inning home run to Ted Williams. Along with Jim Tabor, CF Dom DiMaggio has a homer in the opener, then adds an unassisted double play in the nitecap.
  • At Yankee Stadium, Satchel Paige and Hilton Smith combine to pitch a one-hit shutout over the New York Cubans (Negro League). The Monarchs win, 9 - 0. In the first game of the twinbill, the Philadelphia Stars conquer the Baltimore Elite Giants, 7 - 4. Henry Spearman's grand slam sparks the Philley attack.
• 1947:
  • At Wrigley Field, the Cubs pummel seven Dodgers hurlers to win a second straight from the Dodgers, 12 - 7. Peanuts Lowrey and Eddie Waitkus, the first two hitters for Chicago, have five hits apiece.
  • The Giants hit five homers and set a club record of 144 in a split with the Pirates. The Ottmen take the lidlifter, 10 - 2, then lose, 5 - 4. Bobby Thomson has a pair of homers. The Pirates also tie a club record for homers with 86 as Hank Greenberg and Frankie Gustine go deep.
• 1950:
  • Andy Pafko of the Cubs hits three home runs in the second game of a doubleheader, but the Cubs lose both to the Giants, 11 - 1 and 8 - 6.
  • Larry Doby hits three homers in a game as Cleveland beats Washington, 11 - 0. Besides tossing the shutout, Indians hurler Bob Lemon hits a home run. Lemon has now won nine in a row.
  • Elmer Valo hits for the cycle as the A's thrash the White Sox, 10 - 3.
• 1953 - Fireworks break out in the first game of a doubleheader between the Hollywood Stars and Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League. The first brawl takes place in the 6th inning when the Stars' Frankie Kelleher charges the mound after being plunked by Angels pitcher Joe Hatten. Both players are ejected, but pinch-runner Ted Beard goes sliding into third base with spikes high moments later, and a second brawl breaks out between him and 3B Murray Franklin, as both benches empty once again. Los Angeles Police Chief William Parker, watching the game on television, intervenes by sending a brigade of officers to restore order. Four more players are ejected, and all substitutes left have to remain in the dugout for the remainder of the game.
• 1955:
  • "Mr. Cub" Ernie Banks hits his 4th grand slam of the season, tying the major league record, as Bob Rush bests the Pirates, 12 - 4.
  • Johnny Klippstein and Joe Nuxhall of the Redlegs shut out the Phils, 2 - 0 and 4 - 0, in both ends of a doubleheader.
• 1956 - Boston's Jackie Jensen knocks in nine RBIs as the Red Sox bag the Tigers, 18 - 3.
• 1959:
  • Giants 1B Willie McCovey hits the first of his 521 major league home runs, off Ron Kline, as San Francisco downs the Pirates, 5 - 3. Johnny Antonelli wins his 15th game.
  • Billy Bruton of the Braves hits three triples in an 11 - 5 win over the Cardinals. Two of the triples are with the bases loaded, the only time it has happened in the National League in the 20th Century.
  • Jim Bunning of the Tigers pitches the only "perfect" inning of the last four decades, striking out three Red Sox on nine pitches. Bunning wins, 3 - 0. The last American League hurler to strike out the side on nine pitches was Lefty Grove, in 1928.
• 1960:
  • In an agreement with the major leagues, the Continental League abandons plans to join the American League and National League as a third major league. Walter O'Malley, chairman of the NL Expansion Committee, says, "We immediately will recommend expansion and that we would like to do it in 1961." Braves owner Lou Perini proposes a compromise that four of the CL territories be admitted to the current majors in orderly expansion. Branch Rickey's group quickly accepts. The Continental League ends without playing a game.
  • Pirates right fielder Roberto Clemente is robbed on a 430-to-450-foot putout. With two on, two out and no score in the 6th, Dodgers centerfielder Duke Snider goes to considerable lengths to frustrate his favorite right fielder. Frank Finch of the Los Angeles Times reports: "Clemente clouted an 'extra-baser' which Snider caught with one hand near the center-field wall." Clemente, however, has little cause for complaint. A mere two innings earlier, he himself performed a bit of "armed" robbery with Norm Larker playing the hapless victim though Larker, for his part, would claim it's the umpire who robbed him. Frank Finch continues: "Round Four started well enough for L.A. when Tom Davis got a bad-hop single and raced to third on Norm Larker's single to right. However, Bob Clemente's rifle peg to Rocky Nelson nipped Larker trying to get back to first base. Larker snorted and stomped like a Brahma bull, getting the bum's rush from umpire Ken Burkhart for throwing the tantrum. From the press box, it appeared that Larker had gotten back in time, but he had no excuse for the play even being close." Clemente's "lethal weapon" once again proves pivotal two innings later. George Lederer of the Long Beach Independent writes: "Stan Williams learned how costly his [7th-inning] error was when John Roseboro led off the 8th with a single. Roseboro, batting for Williams, lined Vern Law's first pitch into the right field corner and was held to a single only by Roberto Clemente's quick retrieve and bullet throw to second. Trailing by three runs instead of one, manager Walter Alston could not call for the bunt that otherwise would have been in order. Maury Wills, leading off in Alston's revised lineup, promptly grounded into a double play to wipe out the Dodgers' last serious bid."
• 1961:
  • New York beats Kansas City, 12 - 5, with Mickey Mantle walloping a 1st-inning homer off Art Ditmar. Mantle and Roger Maris are both at 40 homers.
  • Juan Marichal fires a one-hitter (a Tommy Davis single) at the Dodgers, winning, 6 - 0. Felipe Alou has three hits, including two home runs, to pace the Giants' win over the league leaders.
• 1962 - Phils P Art Mahaffey gives up two home runs to Frank Thomas and two more to Marv Throneberry, but negates those with a grand slam of his own in the 3rd inning. Mahaffey tops the Mets, 9 - 4 at New York.
• 1964:
  • Detroit P Larry Sherry suffers a fractured left foot when struck by a liner off the bat of Leon Wagner in Cleveland's doubleheader sweep, 6 - 1 and 2 - 1. Sherry will be out for rest of the year.
  • In Baltimore's 8 - 7 win over Kansas City, Brooks Robinson hits a ball that strikes the LF pole at KC and it is ruled in play by John Rice. Brooks is thrown out at third base. Later, Rice admits he made a mistake.
• 1965 - Harmon Killebrew suffers a dislocated left elbow in a collision with Baltimore's Russ Snyder. The Twins slugger will miss 48 games. Killebrew is leading the American League in homers with 22 and RBIs at 70.
• 1966 - Ozzie Virgil drives in three runs and Juan Marichal, making his first relief appearance of the year, picks up his 17th win, as the Giants edge the Mets, 5 - 4. The win moves the Giants (63-44) back ahead of the Dodgers and Pirates by a game.
• 1967 - With homers from both sides of the plate, Pete Rose leads the Reds to a 7 - 3 win over the Braves. It's a second time for Rose.
• 1968 - A day after he hit a grand slam against the Tigers, the Senators trade SS Ron Hansen to the White Sox for IF Tim Cullen.
• 1969 - In St. Louis, the Cards take a 7 - 1 lead over the Dodgers, and stagger to a 7 - 6 win. It's the Redbirds' 6th straight win and 13th in the last 15 games. Vada Pinson has a sacrifice fly but no hits for the Cards, ending his 22-game hitting streak.
• 1970 - Bobby Tolan celebrates his new son, born just before today's game, by driving in the winning run in the 11th inning to beat the visiting Cubs, 4 - 3.
• 1971:
  • Houston's Don Wilson allows just two hits in beating the Cubs and Fergie Jenkins, 2 - 1.
  • Bill Lee pitches tremendous relief, allowing just two hits in 8 1/3 innings, and the 2nd-place Red Sox come back to beat the American League East first place Orioles, 7 - 4. The Birds get all their runs off Luis Tiant in the 1st.
• 1972:
  • The Tigers purchase P Woodie Fryman from the Phillies. In two days, the Bengals will purchase C Duke Sims from the Dodgers. Fryman, just 4-10 for Philadelphia, will go 10-3 for Detroit, while Sims will hit .316 in 38 games. The two veterans will spark Detroit to the AL East title.
  • Houston's Cesar Cedeno hits for the cycle in a 10 - 1 win over the Reds.
• 1973 - The Reds score 9 in the 4th and roll by the Braves, 17 - 2, in Atlanta.
• 1975:
  • At game time at Fenway Park, the temperature is 103 degrees. The Red Sox then cook the Tigers, 7 - 2, behind Rick Wise.
  • In Los Angeles, George Foster's home run off Andy Messersmith is the only score as the Reds win, 1 - 0. The unrelated Carrolls - Tom Carroll and Clay Carroll - combine for the Reds.
  • Billy Martin becomes the new Yankee manager, replacing Bill Virdon. Named by The Sporting News as last year's Manager of the Year, Virdon won't be out of a job for long.
• 1978:
  • A day after his 44-game hitting streak ends, Pete Rose collects two singles, a double and home run in the Reds' 6 - 2 win over Atlanta.
  • The Yankees take a 5 - 0 lead over the Red Sox, but Boston ties it in the 8th on three wild pitches, two bases-loaded walks and a collection of bloop hits. The game ends in a 14-inning tie at five apiece.
• 1979 - Yankees C Thurman Munson, 32, perishes at Canton, Ohio, in a crash of the plane he was piloting. A crowd of 51,151 will attend the memorial tribute at Yankee Stadium tomorrow.
• 1982 - Oakland's Rickey Henderson steals his 100th base of the season in a 6 - 5 win over Seattle, tying the American League record he set last season and leaving him with 56 games to break Lou Brock's single-season record of 118. Henderson is the first player ever to steal 100 bases twice since the modern definition of a stolen base was put in place.
• 1985:
  • The last-place Pirates unload three of their veteran players, trading pitchers John Candelaria and Al Holland and OF George Hendrick to the Angels for OF Mike Brown and pitchers Pat Clements and Bob Kipper.
  • Frank Tanana of the Tigers allows one hit (a home run by Ben Oglivie in the 5th) in beating the Brewers, 4 - 1. Tanana (6-10) strikes out eight while walking one.
  • Ozzie Guillen scores from second base on an infield hit in the 11th to give the White Sox a 6 - 5 victory over the Yankees. Luis Salazar's slow roller down the first base line is fielded by pitcher Rich Bordi, and with no play at first, Guillen keeps running. In the 7th, the Yankees have two runners thrown out at home on the same play.
• 1986 - Dodgers Alejandro Pena and Tom Niedenfuer combine to one-hit the Reds, 7 - 1, allowing only Eddie Milner's leadoff home run off Pena in the 6th inning. It is the 5th time Milner has collected the only hit in a one-hitter, tying Cesar Tovar's major league record.
• 1987:
  • Royals rookie third baseman Kevin Seitzer goes 6 for 6, including 2 home runs and 7 RBIs, in a 13 - 5 victory over the Red Sox.
  • Rangers pitcher Bobby Witt ties the major-league record by striking out four consecutive Orioles in the 2nd inning of a 5 - 2 win. Witt finishes the game with 11 strikeouts.
  • Eric Davis becomes the 7th player in major league history to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in one season by drilling his 30th homer in the bottom of the 11th to give the Reds a 5 - 4 win over the Giants.
• 1990 - Yankees rookie Kevin Maas hits his 10th home run in just 77 at bats, the fastest any player has ever reached that mark. But the Yanks lose to Detroit, 6 - 5, in 11 innings.
• 1991:
  • Following the Reds' 7 - 3 loss to the Giants, Cincinnati manager Lou Piniella accuses umpire Gary Darling of being biased against the Reds. The eruption occurs when Darling overrules Dutch Rennert, who had called Bill Doran's ball a home run. The Major League Umpires Association will file a $5 million defamation suit against Piniella on the 4th.
  • Mike Jeffcoat of the Rangers gets an RBI double in the 9th inning of a 15 - 1 win over the Brewers. He becomes the first American League pitcher to drive in a run in a game since the designated hitter rule went into effect in 1973, and the first AL pitcher to get a hit since Ferguson Jenkins did so on October 2, 1974.
• 1992 - Rollie Fingers, Bill McGowan, Hal Newhouser and Tom Seaver are inducted in the Hall of Fame.
• 1993 - The Cubs defeat the Pirates, 12 - 10, in a game marked by seven home runs.
• 1994 - The Giants lose to the Reds, 9 - 7, despite three home runs from OF Barry Bonds. Bonds picks up four ribbies as the Giants fall two games behind the Dodgers in the Western Division race.
• 1995:
  • Long-time coach Jimmie Reese, whose 23 years in an Angels uniform equals the longest in club history, is inducted into the Angels' Hall of Fame. The former roommate of Babe Ruth began his career as a batboy for the Pacific Coast League's Los Angeles Angels in 1917.
  • Despite tossing a one-hitter, Toronto rookie P Paul Menhart loses to Baltimore, 1 - 0. The Orioles' only hit is a 2nd-inning homer by DH Harold Baines.
  • The Padres score all 11 of their runs in the 8th inning of their 11 - 3 win over San Francisco. It is the most runs scored in an inning in the National League this year. San Diego also had the highest-scoring inning in the league in 1994 and 1993.
• 1997 - Houston C Brad Ausmus becomes the first catcher to wear the Fox Sports "Catcher-Cam", a small camera on the top of his mask, in the Astros' 6 - 0 win over the Mets.
• 1998 - Welcome to the Bigs. The Phils' Mike Welch makes his first big league start and the Giants greet him with three consecutive homers in the 2nd inning. Newly-acquired Ellis Burks starts the fireworks, then Barry Bonds - who had tripled in the 1st inning - goes deep, then Jeff Kent drills his 15th. Welch takes the loss, allowing eight runs in three innings. Bonds is 4 for 4 with a stolen base to pace the Giants.
• 1999 - Commissioner Bud Selig announces that Darryl Strawberry's reinstatement has been moved up from August 11th to August 4th.
• 2001:
  • The A's make it easy for Mark Mulder, giving him an 11 - 0 lead after 4 innings. With Jermaine Dye, Miguel Tejada and Olmedo Saenz homering, they roll to a 17 - 4 pasting of Cleveland.
  • The Padres send P Woody Williams to the Cardinals for OF Ray Lankford, who has recently been benched. Williams will prove to be the real deal for the Cards, going 7-1 in 11 starts, with a 2.28 ERA during the remainder of the season.
• 2002 - Reds general manager Jim Bowden is fined by commissioner Bud Selig for the comments he made to reporters prior to yesterday's game against the Dodgers, comparing a baseball strike with the terrorist attacks of September 11. Quickly realizing the use of such analogy was inappropriate and insensitive, the Cincinnati GM issues an apology after the game.
• 2007 - Both Barry Bonds (1 for 2, 2 BB) and Alex Rodriguez (2 for 5) end long hitless slumps but neither goes deep, Bonds remaining one homer shy of Hank Aaron and A-Rod one shy of 500. In A-Rod's game, the White Sox top the Yankees, 13 - 9. Both teams score 8 times in the second to set a major league record for runs in that frame.
• 2009:
  • Melky Cabrera hits for the cycle and drives in four runs in the Yankees' 8 - 5 win over the White Sox. Cabrera is the first Yankee to have a cycle since Tony Fernandez in 1995.
  • Two days after being acquired from Cleveland, Victor Martinez makes his presence felt in the Red Sox line-up, banging out 5 hits and collecting 4 RBI in an 18 - 10 thrashing of Baltimore. For his part, Kevin Youkilis goes 10 for 12 in the BoSox three-game sweep of the Birds at Camden Yards.
• 2010:
  • Jeremy Hellickson, making his first major league start in a one-game stint in Tampa Bay, leads the club to a tie for 1st place in the AL East with a 4 - 2 win over the Twins. Making a spot start to give Tampa's starters a rest - none of the five starters had yet missed a turn on the mound this year - Hellickson retires the first 10 batters he faces and gives up only 2 runs in 7 innings to best Carl Pavano. After the game, the Rays purchase the contract of 1B Dan Johnson and option Hellickson back to AAA.
  • Meanwhile, in New York, the Blue Jays lash out a record-tying 6 doubles in the 5th inning, including 2 by Travis Snider, to beat the Yankees, 8 - 6. Brandon Morrow beats former Jay A.J. Burnett, while Kevin Gregg retires Alex Rodriguez after giving up a solo homer to Nick Swisher to end the game and earn his 24th save.
  • The Reds retake 1st place in the NL Central with a 4 - 0 win over Pittsburgh, combined with the Cardinals' 9 - 4 loss at home to Houston. Rookie Travis Wood pitches 7 shutout innings in Cincinnati's victory, but starting SS Orlando Cabrera strains a muscle on a 9th-inning swing and is headed for the disabled list.
  • The Brewers bang out 26 hits in beating the Cubs, 18 - 1, at Wrigley Field. Prince Fielder drives in 5 runs on 5 hits, Ryan Braun also collects 5 hits and Corey Hart has 4 in support of Yovani Gallardo's 12 strikeouts; Casey McGehee hits a three-run homer in the rout. "Nothing worked", comments Cubs acting manager Alan Trammell, filling in for Lou Piniella, who is in Florida to attend a funeral. It ties the Cubs' franchise record for hits allowed, set back in the 1950s.
• 2011:
  • The Cubs hit 6 homers, including 2 by Alfonso Soriano, as they beat the Pirates, 11 - 6, in Pittsburgh. Briefly in first place in the NL Central in late July, Pittsburgh has now lost 5 straight and 10 of 13 and risks falling out of the playoff race entirely. Also homering for the Cubbies are Aramis Ramirez, Geovany Soto, Marlon Byrd and Tyler Colvin; Garrett Jones goes deep twice for the Pirates, and Brandon Wood once.
  • The Cardinals stop a 7-game winning streak by the Brewers with a wild 8 - 7 win at Milwaukee. They score 5 runs in the 4th off Shaun Marcum, including a three-run homer by starting pitcher Jaime Garcia, to take a 6 - 3 lead, but blow it by giving up a 4-spot in the 5th. After the Cards tie the game in the 7th, tempers begin to flare. Both Albert Pujols and Ryan Braun are hit by pitches, almost causing a brawl, then in the 10th, Redbirds C Yadier Molina is ejected for arguing a third-strike call; he bumps and apparently spits at umpire Rob Drake during the altercation and will receive a five-game suspension. Matt Holliday reaches on a two-out infield single in the top of the 11th, then steals second and scores on a flare by Lance Berkman. Kyle McClellan, moved back to the bullpen after a series of trading deadline deals, is the winner, while the recently-acquired Octavio Dotel picks up his first save as a Redbird.
  • The Yankees' 6 - 0 win over the White Sox is shortened to 7 innings by rain at U.S. Cellular Field, but not before Mark Teixeira sets a record by hitting a homer from both sides of the plate for the 12th time of his career. He hits a long ball righthanded off starter John Danks in the 3rd, then one lefthanded in the pouring rain off reliever Jason Frasor in the 7th. Teixeira had been tied with Eddie Murray and Chili Davis with 11 such games. Phil Hughes is the winner in his best outing of the season.
• 2012 - Bouncing back from a terrible month of July when he hit .177, OF Josh Hamilton drives in 4 runs as the Rangers defeat the Angels, 15 - 9. Following a rough first start by newly-acquired Ranger P Ryan Dempster, the two teams are tied at 8 after 6 innings, but Texas scores 4 in the 7th and 3 in the 8th to secure the win. Roy Oswalt, who gave up his spot in the starting rotation to make room for Dempster, is the winner in relief.

[edit] Births

• 1873 - Dummy Kihm, minor league infielder (d. 1936)
• 1874 - Bill Hill, pitcher (d. 1938)
• 1875 - Pop Kelchner, scout (d. 1958)
• 1876 - Doc Nance, outfielder (d. 1958)
• 1877 - War Sanders, pitcher (d. 1962)
• 1878 - Ollie Chill, umpire (d. 1958)
• 1881 - Bucky Veil, pitcher (d. 1931)
• 1882 - Red Ames, pitcher (d. 1936)
• 1882 - Jim Holmes, pitcher (d. 1960)
• 1886 - Dwight Stone, pitcher (d. 1976)
• 1890 - Angel Aragon, infielder (d. 1952)
• 1892 - John F. Kieran, writer (d. 1981)
• 1896 - Alfonso Robinson Bours, minor league executive (d. 1974)
• 1898 - Emmett Bowles, pitcher (d. 1959)
• 1899 - Tink Riviere, pitcher (d. 1965)
• 1901 - Charlie Caldwell, pitcher (d. 1957)
• 1901 - Fuzzy Hufft, minor league player (d. 1973)
• 1902 - Joe Klinger, catcher/infielder (d. 1960)
• 1906 - Bill Posedel, pitcher (d. 1989)
• 1909 - Bill Phebus, pitcher (d. 1989)
• 1915 - Lonnie Summers, Negro League player (d. 1999)
• 1922 - Wilmer Fields, Negro League pitcher (d. 2004)
• 1922 - Marjorie Pieper, AAGPBL player (d. 2008)
• 1924 - Lloyd Merriman, outfielder (d. 2004)
• 1926 - Charles Einstein, author (d. 2007)
• 1926 - John Weisenburger, minor league infielder
• 1932 - John Pregenzer, pitcher
• 1938 - Jim Napier, minor league catcher and manager
• 1943 - Tom Burgmeier, pitcher; All-Star
• 1944 - Chris Coletta, outfielder
• 1951 - Dennis Holmberg, coach
• 1952 - Art James, outfielder
• 1952 - Bombo Rivera, outfielder
• 1954 - Roger Alexander, minor league pitcher
• 1955 - Jim Dorsey, pitcher
• 1955 - Kazuo Yamane, NPB pitcher
• 1956 - Derek Botelho, pitcher
• 1956 - Roger LaFrancois, catcher
• 1961 - Danny Sheaffer, catcher
• 1962 - Greg Guilliams, college coach
• 1964 - Cliff Young, pitcher (d. 1993)
• 1965 - Paul Marak, pitcher
• 1965 - Hiroyuki Sakaguchi, Japanese national team outfielder
• 1965 - Hisanobu Watanabe, NPB pitcher
• 1966 - Tim Wakefield, pitcher; All-Star
• 1967 - John Burgos, minor league pitcher
• 1967 - Nelson Silverio, coach
• 1967 - Scott Taylor, pitcher
• 1967 - Kuang-Shih Wang, CPBL infielder
• 1968 - Frank Cimorelli, pitcher
• 1968 - Dae-Sung Koo, pitcher
• 1970 - Michele Toriaco, Serie A1 pitcher
• 1971 - Steve Sinclair, pitcher
• 1971 - Yuichi Yanagisawa, NPB catcher
• 1973 - Mike Venafro, pitcher
• 1974 - J.D. Arteaga, minor league pitcher
• 1974 - Matt Miller, pitcher
• 1975 - Joe Dillon, infielder
• 1975 - Darryn Smith, South African national team pitcher
• 1977 - Julio Mateo, pitcher
• 1977 - Fabio Milano, Italian Baseball League pitcher
• 1978 - Claudio Almonte, minor league outfielder and manager
• 1978 - Dario Čusak, Croatian national team infielder
• 1978 - Matt Guerrier, pitcher
• 1979 - Colby Lewis, pitcher
• 1979 - Matt Riley, pitcher
• 1979 - Pedro Tun, minor league umpire
• 1981 - Wei-Ming Chu, CPBL pitcher
• 1982 - Jefferson Muzo, Hoofdklasse outfielder
• 1982 - Grady Sizemore, outfielder
• 1982 - Drew Taylor, minor league pitcher
• 1983 - Huston Street, pitcher; All-Star
• 1984 - Luke Hughes, infielder
• 1984 - Konrad Schmidt, catcher
• 1987 - Chengzhi Yang, China Baseball League catcher
• 1988 - Kaley Gilham, Canadian womens' national team pitcher
• 1988 - Brett Jackson, outfielder
• 1988 - Justin Schumer, minor league pitcher
• 1991 - Loren Smith, USA womens' national team pitcher

[edit] Deaths

• 1882 - Gene Kimball, infielder (b. 1850)
• 1896 - Val Robinson, outfielder (b. 1848)
• 1899 - Johnny Ward, pitcher (b. 1862)
• 1903 - Bill Sweeney, pitcher
• 1905 - George Snyder, pitcher (b. 1848)
• 1932 - Dan Brouthers, infielder; Hall of Famer (b. 1858)
• 1934 - Reggie Richter, pitcher (b. 1888)
• 1938 - Jim Curry, infielder (b. 1893)
• 1944 - Arthur Hauger, outfielder (b. 1891)
• 1951 - Guy Cooper, pitcher (b. 1893)
• 1955 - Peaches O'Neill, catcher (b. 1879)
• 1961 - Harry Gardner, pitcher (b. 1887)
• 1961 - Walter Morris, infielder (b. 1880)
• 1963 - Pete Standridge, pitcher (b. 1891)
• 1970 - Mike Cvengros, pitcher (b. 1901)
• 1974 - Ty Pickup, outfielder (b. 1897)
• 1975 - Jess Buckles, pitcher (b. 1890)
• 1979 - Thurman Munson, catcher; All-Star (b. 1947)
• 1988 - Bob Berman, catcher (b. 1899)
• 1993 - Joe Gantenbein, infielder (b. 1916)
• 1994 - Dick Jones, pitcher (b. 1902)
• 2004 - Teo Acosta, minor league outfielder (b. 1937)
• 2004 - Mike Schultz, pitcher (b. 1920)
• 2005 - Milt Graff, infielder (b. 1930)
• 2008 - Carl Greene, minor league pitcher, scout (b. 1931)
• 2011 - Al Federoff, infielder (b. 1924)