1961 – At New York, Roger Maris is held hitless in four at bats, as the Orioles win, 5 – 3, behind Jack Fisher’s 3-hitter. All the runs off him are unearned. Maris is the only Yankee regular to play the entire game.

1961 – The Giants clobber Warren Spahn for four home runs, one of them a grand slam by Willie Mays, and then rally in the 8th and 9th to top the Braves, 11 – 10. The two teams combine for eight home runs and 57 total bases, but the short ball wins it – Harvey Kuenn’s tie-breaking single in the 8th, and Ed Bailey’s sacks-full single in the 9th.

1961 – In Detroit, Roger Maris triples off Terry Fox in the 7th to put the Yanks ahead. Detroit ties it and, then in the 12th, Maris faces Fox again with Tony Kubek on second base. Maris steps out of the box to watch a long skein of Canadian geese fly over Tiger Stadium, then steps in a belts the first pitch for his 58th homer of the year.

The Senators acquire P Claude Osteen from the Reds for 1B Dave Sisler and cash.

With 10 strikeouts in an 11 – 2 win against the Braves, Sandy Koufax has 243 strikeouts, most ever for a National League lefty.

The Cardinals and Cubs set a National League record by using 72 players in a doubleheader (more than 18 innings). St. Louis leads the way with 37 players and wins twice, 8 – 7 and then 6 – 5 in 11 innings. Ken Boyer climaxes a 7 for 11 day by cycling in the nitecap, completing it by belting his 22nd home run of the year in the 11th inning. The Cards have won all 11 games with the Cubs at Busch Stadium this year.

At Milwaukee, the Reds’ Joey Jay beats his old team, 1 – 0, for his 20th victory of the year. He’s the Reds’ first 20-game winner since Ewell Blackwell in 1947.

The Phillies drive Sandy Koufax from the mound in a 9-run 2nd inning and go on to defeat the Dodgers, 19 – 10. The loss drops Los Angeles 4 1/2 games behind the Reds. The big gun for the Phils is ex-Dodger Don Demeter, who hits a 2-run homer in the 1st, singles in a run in the 2nd, adds a 3-run home run in the 7th and a solo in the 9th. Two other Phils homer while 4 Dodgers go deep.

Frank Lary wins his 20th game of the season, the second time he has accomplished the feat, when he goes the distance in the Tigers’ 3-1 victory over Kansas City. The 31 year-old right-hander will finish the season with a 23-9 record, which includes a league-leading 22 complete games.

At Chicago, the Phillies score seven in the 7th, including Don Demeter’s grand slam, and notch six more in the 8th to beat the Cubs, 14 – 6. There is some solace for the Cubs as they introduce a pair of gems: Ken Hubbsdebuts with two hits and two runs and Lou Brock has one hit, one run and a pair of errors.