August 2

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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 August 2.

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 Adonis 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 fourth of six 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 sixth anniversary in a Nationals uniform. Johnson is presented with a silver cup filled with ten-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 eighth 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 three 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 three-run 9th to win, 7 - 6.
• 1929:
  • In the 9th inning at Philadelphia, 1B Don Hurst cracks his sixth 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 ten 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 fifth 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 fifth 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 second place. Dizzy Trout wins the opener, helping himself with a three-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 fourth 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.
• 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.
  • Team Canada gets its first official win, beating favorite Cuba, 10 - 9, in the 1967 Pan American Games. Maurice Oakes drives in four and Glennis Scott gets the win. Canada had won earlier in the event, but that win was removed due to its having four players with minor league experience in an amateur-only event.
• 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' sixth 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:
  • Tony Taylor blasts the first "Ultimate Grand Slam" in Phillies franchise history to rally the Fightin' Phils from a 6 - 3 deficit to a 7 - 6 walk-off win over the Giants at Connie Mack Stadium.
  • Bobby Tolan of the Reds 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 second-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 nine runs 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 as he will be hired to manage the Astros on August 19th.
• 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 pitchers 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 fifth time Milner has collected the only hit in a one-hitter, tying Billy Williams and César Tovar for the major league record. Milner also had the only hit for the Reds on April 28 and June 11, 1982; August 24, 1983; and June 14, 1984.
• 1987:
  • Royals rookie third baseman Kevin Seitzer goes 6 for 6, including two home runs and seven 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 seventh 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 tenth 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:
  • Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, the home of the Atlanta Braves from 1966 to 1996, is demolished by implosion.
  • 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, before 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 four 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 11th. 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 eight 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 five hits and collecting four 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 first 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 has yet missed a turn on the mound this year - Hellickson retires the first ten batters he faces and gives up only two runs in seven 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 six doubles in the 5th inning, including two 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 first 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 seven 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 five runs on five hits, Ryan Braun also collects five hits and Corey Hart has four 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 six homers, including two 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 five straight and ten 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 seven-game winning streak by the Brewers with a wild 8 - 7 win at Milwaukee. They score five 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 four-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 seven 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 four 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 six innings, but Texas scores four in the 7th and three 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.
  • The Huntsville Stars set a record with a five-pitcher no-hitter against the Chattanooga Lookouts. The 3 - 1 win is no cakewalk, though, as Jimmy Nelson, Dan Merklinger, R.J. Seidel, Darren Byrd and Brandon Kintzler combine to walk 11 batters.
• 2013 - Unipol Bologna repeats as champions of the European Cup, topping Telemarket Rimini, 2 - 1, in the finale of the 2013 European Cup. Matteo D'Angelo, Junior Oberto and Nick Pugliese combine to hold Rimini to one run. It's nearly not enough as Yorman Bazardo shuts out Bologna for eight innings before MVP Juan Carlos Infante homers. Raul Reyes, Claudio Liverziani and Luca Bischeri hit three straight two-out singles off Rimini's bullpen to complete the comeback.
• 2014 - The Tigers score in all eight innings in which they come to bat in defeating the Rockies, 11 - 5. The last major league team to do this was the Yankees in 2006. It's a first in Tigers history, at least since 1912, as inning-by-inning scores are not available for all games before that date.
• 2018 - The Red Sox begin a four-game series against the Yankees at home with an emphatic 15 - 7 win at Fenway Park. Steve Pearce homers three times and drives in six to lead the offense, as the Sox pound the Yankees' bullpen for 13 runs after CC Sabathia leaves with a 4 - 2 lead after battling through the first three innings. Jonathan Holder is the worst offender, as he retires none of the seven batters he faces and they all cross the plate as Boston scores eight times in the 4th.
• 2020 - The first major league doubleheader consisting of two seven-inning games is played today between the Reds and Tigers, with the Reds recording a sweep, 4 - 3 and 4 - 0. However, it's unheralded Tyler Alexander of the Tigers who grabs the headlines in the opener as he strikes out nine consecutive batters, setting a new major league record by a reliever, tying the American League record by any pitcher, and falling one shy of Tom Seaver's major league record. His is also the first ten-strikeout game by a reliever since Randy Johnson set the major league record with 16 back in 2001. In the second game, Trevor Bauer takes advantage of the shortened game length to record a complete game shutout.
• 2021:
  • In the Tokyo Olympics (though the baseball section is being played in Yokohama), the South Korean national team joins Japan and USA in the semifinals with the first mercy rule game of the tournament, an 11 - 1 win over Israel. South Korea's leadoff and number two batters, Hae-min Park and Baek-ho Kang, go a combined 6 for 6 with two walks to pace an 18-hit attack while Hyun-soo Kim has three extra-base hits. Israel's only run comes when Danny Valencia coaxes a bases-loaded walk to force in Mitch Glasser.
  • Japan beats the US in the other game today, 7 - 6, in ten innings. Takuya Kai singles off Edwin Jackson to bring in Ryosuke Kikuchi with the winner. Seiya Suzuki goes deep for Japan, while Triston Casas hits a three-run shot for the US.
• 2022:
  • Broadcaster Vin Scully, the voice of the Dodgers for six decades and considered by many to have been the greatest ever at his profession, dies at 94; he had described his last game at the end of the 2016 season.
  • Munetaka Murakami of the Yakult Swallows becomes the first player in Nippon Pro Baseball history to homer in five straight at-bats when he goes deep his first two times up in a 5 - 0 victory over the Chunichi Dragons; he had homered in his final three at-bats in his previous game, two days ago.
  • The trading deadline falls today, rather than the traditional July 31st, which was a Sunday this year, and the Padres snatch the biggest prize, obtaining OF Juan Soto, who has recently turned down a contract extension worth over $400 million, from the Nationals. They also get 1B Josh Bell in the deal, and send back six players including top prospects Mackenzie Gore, Robert Hassell and C.J. Abrams in addition to 1B Luke Voit. The deal almost falls through because 1B Eric Hosmer, who was originally in the deal instead of Voit, refuses to waive his no-trade clause to join a last-place team, but the substitution of Voit is acceptable to the Nats. Instead, the Padres send Hosmer to the Red Sox for a pair of minor leaguers and will pay the remainder of the salary due him on an eight-year contract.
  • There are numerous other deals that go through, with the Yankees sending SP Jordan Montgomery to St. Louis for OF Harrison Bader and sending away OF Joey Gallo to the Dodgers. The Blue Jays acquire RPs Anthony Bass and Zach Pop from Miami for SS Jordan Groshans and OF/IF Whit Merrifield from Kansas City; ironically, Merrifield missed his team's recent trip to Toronto because he is unvaccinated, a situation that will need to be addressed. The Angels are sellers, sending P Noah Syndergaard and OF Brandon Marsh to the Phillies in separate deals, and P Raisel Iglesias to the Braves. The Mets acquire 1B/OF Darin Ruf from the Giants for 3B/OF J.D. Davis and three others, the Twins get P Jorge Lopez from the Orioles for four prospects, while the Phillies also obtain RP David Robertson from the Cubs.
• 2024 - Blake Snell pitches the third no-hitter of the 2024 season, leading the Giants to a 3 - 0 win over the Cincinnati Reds. He strikes out 11 and walks three in recording his first win of the year in his 11th start.

Births

• 1849 - Andrew Jennings, umpire (d. 1923)
• 1871 - Joe Zoellers, minor league outfielder and manager (d. 1943)
• 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 - Jim Holmes, pitcher (d. 1960)
• 1881 - Bucky Veil, pitcher (d. 1931)
• 1882 - Red Ames, pitcher (d. 1936)
• 1886 - Dwight Stone, pitcher (d. 1976)
• 1887 - Jack Corbett, minor league infielder (d. 1973)
• 1890 - Angel Aragon, infielder (d. 1952)
• 1892 - John F. Kieran, writer (d. 1981)
• 1896 - Alfonso Robinson Bours, minor league executive (d. 1974)
• 1896 - Bill Reinhart, college coach (d. 1971)
• 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 - Jimmy Binder, infielder (d. 1979)
• 1902 - Darltie Cooper, pitcher (d. 1944)
• 1902 - Joe Klinger, catcher/infielder (d. 1960)
• 1903 - Bun Hayes, pitcher (d. 1969)
• 1906 - William Dyke, infielder (d. 1984)
• 1906 - Bill Posedel, pitcher (d. 1989)
• 1909 - Bill Phebus, pitcher (d. 1989)
• 1912 - Claude Hayslett, pitcher (d. 1978)
• 1913 - Art Hefner, outfielder (d. 1988)
• 1915 - Lonnie Summers, outfielder (d. 1999)
• 1918 - Bob Calihan, college coach (d. 1989)
• 1922 - Wilmer Fields, pitcher; All-Star (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 (d. 2019)
• 1927 - Frank Marchelli, minor league pitcher (d. 2018)
• 1932 - Norm Ellenberger, college coach (d. 2015)
• 1932 - John Pregenzer, pitcher (d. 2024)
• 1933 - Bernard Kelly, minor league infielder (d. 2017)
• 1938 - Jim Napier, minor league catcher and manager (d. 2018)
• 1939 - Bill Dixon, minor league outfielder (d. 2015)
• 1940 - Bob Cawley, college coach (d. 2022)
• 1940 - Larry Nichols, minor league outfielder
• 1940 - Takayuki Nishida, NPB outfielder
• 1943 - Tom Burgmeier, pitcher; All-Star
• 1944 - Chris Coletta, outfielder
• 1948 - James Street, drafted pitcher (d. 2013)
• 1951 - Dennis Holmberg, coach
• 1952 - Art James, outfielder
• 1952 - Chip Maxwell, minor league infielder (d. 2023)
• 1952 - Satoshi Niimi, NPB pitcher
• 1952 - Bombo Rivera, outfielder
• 1953 - Tony Barbone, minor league manager
• 1954 - Roger Alexander, minor league pitcher
• 1955 - Jim Dorsey, pitcher
• 1955 - Kazuo Yamane, NPB pitcher
• 1956 - Derek Botelho, pitcher
• 1956 - Roger LaFrancois, catcher
• 1958 - Al Avila, General Manager
• 1958 - Fu-Cheng Yu, CPBL infielder
• 1959 - Ming-Tang He, CPBL coach
• 1961 - Danny Sheaffer, catcher
• 1962 - Craig Conklin, minor league manager
• 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 - Wen-Ming Hsiao, TML infielder
• 1966 - Tim Wakefield, pitcher; All-Star (d. 2023)
• 1967 - Eddie Anderson, minor league pitcher
• 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
• 1969 - Chun-Hao Hsiao, CPBL catcher
• 1970 - Michele Toriaco, Serie A1 pitcher
• 1971 - Brad Gennaro, minor league outfielder
• 1971 - Steve Sinclair, pitcher
• 1971 - Yuichi Yanagisawa, NPB catcher
• 1972 - Yu-Liang Lai, CPBL pitcher
• 1972 - Sommer McCartney, minor league catcher
• 1973 - Kun-young Park, KBO catcher
• 1973 - Mike Venafro, pitcher
• 1974 - J.D. Arteaga, minor league pitcher
• 1974 - Jamie Emiliano, 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
• 1978 - Cesar Saba, minor league infielder
• 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; manager
• 1982 - Drew Taylor, minor league pitcher
• 1983 - Huston Street, pitcher; All-Star
• 1984 - Jordan Abruzzo, minor league catcher
• 1984 - Asma, Pakistani women's national team outfielder
• 1984 - Luke Hughes, infielder
• 1984 - Konrad Schmidt, catcher
• 1984 - Travis Webb, minor league pitcher
• 1985 - Matt Means, minor league pitcher
• 1986 - Nick Gaudi, minor league pitcher
• 1987 - Juan Jaime, pitcher
• 1987 - Tyrone Omar, Northern Mariana Islands national team outfielder
• 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
• 1988 - Golden Tate, drafted outfielder
• 1989 - Angel Araiza, minor league pitcher
• 1989 - Onelki Garcia, pitcher
• 1989 - Jon Jones, minor league outfielder
• 1989 - Muharom, Indonesian national team catcher
• 1990 - Masahiro Nishino, NPB infielder
• 1991 - Parker Bridwell, pitcher
• 1991 - Brad Gennaro, minor league outfielder
• 1991 - Florian Götze, Bundesliga outfielder
• 1991 - Loren Smith, USA women's national team pitcher
• 1991 - Min-seop Song, KBO outfielder
• 1992 - Dylan Moore, infielder
• 1993 - Paul DeJong, infielder; All-Star
• 1993 - Ella Matteucci, Canadian women's national team pitcher
• 1993 - Keury Mella, pitcher
• 1993 - Jose Ovalles, minor league catcher
• 1994 - Bogdan Leyton, Chilean national team pitcher
• 1994 - Mark Mathias, infielder
• 1994 - Jeferson Mejia, minor league pitcher
• 1994 - Matt Rose, minor league infielder
• 1994 - Norlando Valle, Nicaraguan national team outfielder
• 1995 - Daulton Jefferies, pitcher
• 1996 - Sitthichok Aunmueang, Thai national team infielder
• 1996 - Keston Hiura, infielder
• 1997 - Triston McKenzie, pitcher
• 1997 - Bailey Vuylsteke , minor league coach
• 1998 - Oliver Espinoza, Nicaraguan national team pitcher
• 1998 - Paul Peñafiel, Bolivian national team infielder
• 1998 - Regis Reinhard, Swiss national team outfielder
• 1999 - Jayce Easley, minor league infielder/outfielder
• 2000 - Michele Vassalotti, minor league pitcher
• 2002 - Mauro Van Mook, First Division pitcher
• 2005 - Elise Berger, USA women's national team pitcher

Deaths

• 1882 - Gene Kimball, infielder (b. 1850)
• 1896 - Val Robinson, outfielder (b. 1848)
• 1899 - Johnny Ward, pitcher (b. 1862)
• 1903 - Bill Sweeney, pitcher (b. 1858)
• 1905 - George Snyder, pitcher (b. 1848)
• 1932 - Dan Brouthers, infielder; Hall of Famer (b. 1858)
• 1934 - Reggie Richter, pitcher (b. 1888)
• 1935 - Robert Hudspeth, infielder (b. 1894)
• 1935 - Frank Moffett, college coach (b. 1873)
• 1938 - Jim Curry, infielder (b. 1893)
• 1944 - Arthur Hauger, outfielder (b. 1891)
• 1946 - Carl Lind, infielder (b. 1903)
• 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)
• 1978 - Ewing Russell, infielder (b. 1906)
• 1979 - Thurman Munson, catcher; All-Star (b. 1947)
• 1980 - Shiroku Ishido, NPB pitcher (b. 1941)
• 1986 - Hsiao-Chang Yen, Taiwanese executive; Taiwan Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1921)
• 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)
• 2008 - Bob Wakefield, minor league outfielder (b. 1923)
• 2011 - Al Federoff, infielder (b. 1924)
• 2014 - Dave Masser, minor league outfielder (b. 1953)
• 2014 - Pete Van Wieren, broadcaster (b. 1944)
• 2015 - Jack Spring, pitcher (b. 1933)
• 2015 - Chang-Shin Yang, CPBL outfielder (b. 1966)
• 2017 - Bill Herron, college coach (b. 1929)
• 2019 - Marvin Hecht, umpire (b. 1927)
• 2020 - Bobby Prescott, outfielder (b. 1931)
• 2021 - Rafael Carmona, pitcher (b. 1971)
• 2022 - Don Kohler, scout (b. 1929)
• 2022 - Vin Scully, broadcaster (b. 1927)
• 2023 - Willem Broertjes, Hoofdklasse umpire (b. 1945)
• 2023 - Goro Tsuchiya, NPB outfielder (b. 1924)