Aaron Harang pitches 7 no-hit innings for the Braves against the Mets, but has to leave the game after having thrown 121 pitches. David Wright hits a two-out single off Luis Avilan in the 8th for the Mets’ only hit as three pitchers combine on a one-hitter in a 6 – 0 win.

In the 6th inning of the Brewers’ game at Pittsburgh, Martin Maldonado literally knocks the cover off the ball. He smacks a ground ball to 3B Pedro Alvarez, but the stitches on the baseball come apart and Alvarez is left attempting to throw a ball with a chunk of leather flapping off. Maldonado easily beats the fluttering throw for an infield single. The Brewers win the game, 5 – 3.

The Yankees sweep a doubleheader from the Cubs behind strong performances from two newcomers. In the opener, Masahiro Tanaka strikes out 10 and allows only two singles on bunts in 8 innings in a 3 – 0 win, and in the nitecap, Michael Pineda gives up four hits over 6 innings for a 2 – 0 win that completes the double blanking. It is the first time a team has two shutouts in one day since June 26, 1988.

The Pirates and Reds go on a homer binge at Great American Ballpark, hitting 10 long balls into the rain before the game is suspended after 6 innings with the score tied at 7. The 10 homers are the most ever hit in a single game at the ballpark, and the most in any big league game since 2006. Neil Walker and Gaby Sanchez go back-to-back twice for Pittsburgh, only the second time this has happened in team history, and Starling Marte and Travis Snider also pull the trick, making it only the third time that a team has hit three pairs of consecutive home runs in one game. When the game resumes a day later, no more homers are hit, as Pittsburgh wins, 8 – 7, with Russell Martin’s 7th-inning single driving home Andrew McCutchen for the winning run.

Dan Uggla hits two homers, including a 9th-inning grand slam, to lead the Braves to a 9 – 6 win over the Phillies. In the 8th, Uggla combines with Evan Gattis and Andrelton Simmons for three consecutive homers to put the Braves ahead, 5 – 1, but the Phillies score 5 runs in the bottom of the inning, capped by a three-run blast by Domonic Brown, to set the stage for Uggla’s game-deciding blast.

The Brewers are the hottest team in baseball, completing their third straight series sweep with a 4 -1 win over the Pirates. Kyle Lohse fans 9 over 8 2/3 innings to get the win; Will Smith then gets the last out by striking out Pedro Alvarez on three pitches.

Twenty-four year-old sophomore hurler Danny Salazar strikes out ten White Sox batters in 3.2 innings during the Indians’ loss at U.S. Cellular Field, marking the first time since 1914 that a starting pitcher whiffed ten batters without finishing the fourth frame. The right-hander gives up five earned runs and six hits and gets all his outs via the strikeout, except for Adam Eaton, who is thrown out at second base, trying to stretch a single into a double for the first out in the third inning.

2014 – As usual, sparks fly in the first meeting of the season between the Yankees and Red Sox. New York defeats Boston, 4 – 1, behind the pitching of Michael Pineda, but Boston’s broadcasters claim they have detected pine tar on Pineda’s pitching hand. The Yankees’ hurler dismisses the claim, saying it is just sweat mixed with dirt, while umpire Brian O’Nora states that nothing of concern was brought to his attention.

Major League Baseball’s Diversity Task Force, created exactly a year ago, issues three recommendations to increase the number of African-Americans players: expanding MLB support for existing programs aimed at developing baseball in inner cities; launching programs to improve the quality of coaching available to young African-American players; and raising its profile in inner cities by engaging current and past stars in outreach programs directed at the African-American community. Former manager Jerry Manuel will head the task force on a day-to-day basis, to ensure the implementation of the three initiatives, while Detroit Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski will continue as its chairman.

Garrett Richards allows only one hit in seven innings and Albert Pujols, closing in on 500 career homers, hits a two-run long ball as the Angels blank the Mariners, 2 – 0. Joe Smith and Ernesto Frieri compete the one-hitter with a scoreless inning each.