After a 10-inning, 1 – 0, loss to Cardinals, the last-place Mets drop to 61-71. They’ll finish at 82-79 and make it to first place in the National League East.
Billy Martin orders his pitchers to throw spitballs, in an effort to show the umpiring crew that they don’t consistently enforce the rules when Indians right-hander Gaylord Perry is on the mound. The Tiger manager, suspended for three days by American League president Joe Cronin, doesn’t understand being punished for telling the truth about asking his pitchers to throw illegal pitches.
The Mets lose to the Cardinals, 1-0, thanks to a Jose Cruz tenth inning walk-off single off Tom Seaver at Busch Stadium. The defeat drops the eventual National League champs into last place, 6.5 games behind the first-place Redbirds.
On August 29, 1973, Thurman Munson of the New York Yankees collects the only hit of the game against Nolan Ryan. Munson’s first inning pop fly drops between two California Angels fielders. In a questionable scoring decision, Munson’s short outfield popup is ruled a base hit. Ryan allows no hits the rest of the way…
The Reds trade Jim McGlothlin to the White Sox for Steve Kealey. Kealey will do no pitching for the Reds, while McGlothlin will have just one decision in his last major league season.
1973 – The 1st-place Orioles beat the Rangers, 6 – 1, for their 14th consecutive victory. It is the longest winning streak in the American League since 1960, and in the major leagues since 1965. The streak began on August 12th.
1973 – In a 10 – 1 win over the Royals, Oriole Paul Blair hits an inside-the-park grand slam off Paul Splittorff. Amos Otis and Steve Hovley collide in midair while chasing Blair’s ball to help the O’s win their 13th straight.
1973 – Dan Driessen drives in five runs to pace the Reds to a 6 – 4 win over the visiting Cardinals. Ken Griffey debuts in the major leagues with a pair of hits.
Sitting in the top row of the bleachers at Cleveland Stadium, John Adams begins a tradition, that continues to this day, when he bangs on his drum to cheer on the Tribe. In 2011, the team paid tribute to the fan-favorite, in a pregame ceremony commemorating his 3000th game that included Adams taking a ceremonial swing with his drum at a pitch thrown by Joe Charboneau.
Trailing by a run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and a man on second, Felix Millan, Rusty Staub, and John Milner hit consecutive singles to give the Mets an improbable 3-2 decision at Shea Stadium. The victory, the first win for the 0-6 Tug McGraw, appears to ignite the “Ya Gotta Believe” reliever, who once again will become one of the best closers in the league.