Hanley Ramirez of the Florida Marlins hits his first major league home run, and later adds a second blast, collecting 4 RBI in Florida’s 12 – 6 victory over Cincinnati.

Luis González of the Arizona Diamondbacks doubles to become the 21st major leaguer with 300 home runs and 500 doubles, as the Diamondbacks defeat San Francisco, 7 – 4. Gonzalez joins a list led by Hank Aaron, who hit 755 homers and 624 doubles. The only other active player in the group is Barry Bonds, who hits his 567th double in the game.

The Kansas City Royals have lost nine games in a row following a 4 – 1 defeat to the Chicago White Sox, their longest skid since their team-record 19-game losing streak late last year. The Royals are a major league-worst 2-11.

In the bottom ninth inning, Mark Loretta hits a two-out, two-run home run over the left-field wall, giving the Red Sox a dramatic 7-6 victory over the Mariners at Fenway Park on Patriots’ Day. The only other player to end a game with a homer on Boston’s special day of celebration is Frank Malzone, who gave the team a 5-4 walk-off victory over the Yankees in 1959, the year the New England baseball tradition began. (Ed. Note: Mark H., a leading denizen of Red Sox Nation, inspired this entry. – LP)

Detroit’s Chris Shelton and St. Louis’ Albert Pujols hit their major league-leading ninth home runs, joining Mike Schmidt (1976), Larry Walker (1997) and Luis Gonzalez (2001) as the only players in major league history with at least nine home runs in their team’s first 13 games. Pujols also ties a major league record by homering in four consecutive at-bats when he connects in the 1st inning in St. Louis’ 2 – 1 win at Pittsburgh.

Chris Shelton of the Detroit Tigers becomes the first player in American League history to hit eight home runs in his team’s first 12 games.

Albert Pujols belts three home runs, including a game-winning two-run blast, to power the St Louis Cardinals to an 8 – 7 decision over the Cincinnati Reds at Busch Stadium.