The Rangers turn an extremely rare triple play in their 8 – 6 win over the Angels. It goes 5-4, i.e. from 3B Jurickson Profar to 2B Rougned Odor, and all three outs are baserunners – not the batter – something not seen since 1912. With the bases loaded, David Fletcher smokes a liner to Profar, who fields it on a short hop, steps on the bag then tags Taylor Ward, who is returning to the bag, thinking the ball has been caught on the fly. Profar then throws to Odor to force Kole Calhoun and complete the triple killing.

2018 – Jose Urena of the Marlins decides that the only way to stop Ronald Acuna, who has led off his last three games with a homer and has homered in five straight, is to hit him with his first pitch of the game. He plunks the Braves’ 20-year-old budding superstar on the elbow, prompting a bench-clearing brawl. Urena is immediately ejected, as is Braves manager Brian Snitker. Most commentators call for exemplary punishment for a stupid gesture that even manager Don Mattingly refuses to defend. The Braves go on to win again, 5 – 2, but Acuna has to leave in the 2nd inning with a bad bruise. Urena will be suspended six games and fined an undisclosed amount for his antics.

2018 – Rookie Ronald Acuna of the Braves achieves a very rare feat as he homers to lead off both games of a doubleheader against the Marlins. In the opener, he starts the game with a home run off Pablo Lopez as the Braves cruise to a 9 – 1 win, then in the nitecap, he victimizes Merandy Gonzalez, making his first big league start, as Atlanta completes a sweep with a 6 – 1 win. Only three other players had done this before him: Hall of Famers Harry Hooper (in 1913) and Rickey Henderson (in 1993), and most recently Brady Anderson on August 21, 1999.

2018 – After another great performance by Max Scherzer, the Nationals go into the bottom of the 9th with a 3 – 0 lead in a Sunday night game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, only to see rookie David Bote hit a two-out pinch-hit walk-off grand slam off Ryan Madson for a 4 – 3 win.

Barry Bonds gets a measure of redemption, 11 years after breaking Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record amidst rumors of steroid use. Before today’s game, his number 25 is officially retired by the Giants and he is met with thundering cheers, in contrast with the almost indifference which greeted his record-breaking feat. At 87, all-time great Willie Mays, who has known Bonds since he was a small child, steals the show by calling for a statue of him to be erected alongside his outside AT&T Park and for Bonds’s election to the Hall of Fame.

2018 – The Orioles’ awful season continues as they blow an early 8 – 3 lead against Boston to lose, 19 – 12. This puts them 46 1/2 games back of the division-leading Red Sox, with 46 games remaining, meaning they are mathematically eliminated. It matches the earliest date this has happened in baseball history, set by the 1932 Red Sox and copied by the 1962 Mets, two notoriously awful teams, and the 46 games left to play at the time of elimination is a new record in the divisional era.

2018 – P Brett Kennedy of the Padres gets a rough introduction to the big leagues in his debut as he surrenders consecutive home runs to Jesus Aguilar, Travis Shaw and Eric Thames in the 1st inning, the first of these coming with two men on base. He allows one more run before departing after 4 innings as Milwaukee cruises to an 8 – 4 win.

45-year-old Bartolo Colon sets a new record for wins by a pitcher from Latin America as the Rangers defeat the Mariners for his 246th career victory, moving him past Dennis Martinez.

The Indianapolis Indians have two players hit for the cycle in a 12 – 5 win over Lehigh Valley in the International League. In the 8th inning, Kevin Newman completes a 5-for-5 day with a homer. Three batters later, Jacob Stallings hits his first triple in three years to complete his own cycle.