1968 – Jim Wynn becomes the first player in franchise history to reach 100 homers. He does so with a three-run blast in the eighth inning off Frank Linzy to drop San Francisco, 4-1. The other run is driven in by Dick Simpson who leads the Astros with three hits. Denny Lemaster picks up the win.
Leaving with a strained knee after five innings of pitching, Earl Wilson of the Tigers earns a 4 – 1 win in the opener of three games with the Orioles. Rookie Daryl Patterson provides spectacular relief coming in with the bases loaded in the 6th and striking out the side. Boog Powell’s homer in the 8th is the only tally for the O’s. The win increases the Tigers’ lead over the O’s to 6 1/2 games.
At Busch Stadium, St. Louis starter Bob Gibson blanks the Phillies, 5-0, recording his 11th straight victory to break the franchise record established in 1944 by Ted Wilks. The Cardinal right-hander, who has tossed twelve consecutive complete games, also surpasses William Doak’s mark when he shut outs his opponents for 33rd time in his career with the Redbirds.
1968 – Reds pitchers George Culver and Clay Carroll allow 13 hits between them but still shut out the Pirates, 2 – 0. Culver allows eight hits in six innings and Carroll gives up five hits in three innings.
Don Drysdale walks two batters in the 5th, hits Ron Brand with a pitch and then plunks opposing pitcher Don Wilson with an off-speed pitch to force in a run. Houston wins, 1 – 0.
On July 24, 1968, Hoyt Wilhelm of the Chicago White Sox appears in the 907th game of his career, breaking Cy Young’s record for most appearances. The future Hall of Famer pitches a scoreless inning of relief and picks up a no-decision in Chicago’s 1-0 loss to the Oakland A’s. he 45 year-old knuckleballer, who…
1968 – Al Lopez undergoes an emergency appendectomy. Les Moss will serve as White Sox manager during his 36-game absence.
After grounding out to first base unassisted in the seventh inning of the Yankees’ 7-6 loss to the Red Sox, Mickey Mantle’s lifetime batting average falls and stays below .300 (.29946). The future Hall of Fame slugger, who finishes his 18-year tenure in the major leagues with a .298 BA, often laments in later years that his greatest regret in baseball was not ending his career with a .300 average.
On July 22, 1968, at Busch Stadium the Atlanta Braves set a major league record by using five relief pitchers in the ninth inning of their game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Ken Johnson, Ramon Hernandez, Claude Raymond, Dick Kelley, and Cecil Upshaw all take part in the 3 run 9th that allows St Louis…
1968 – At San Francisco, aging speedster Willie Mays scores from first base on a Jim Ray Hart single. It’s the only tally as the Giants beat Houston, 1 – 0.
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