April 28

The White Sox become just the 7th team to record 20 strikeouts in a nine-inning game as Reynaldo Lopez and three relievers combine in the effort. Lopez fans 14 in 6 innings in the 4 – 1 win over the Tigers, and his three successors on the mound, Jace Fry, Kelvin Herrera and Alex Colome, each strike out two batters in one inning of work.

The Nationals do something unprecedented as three players all 21 or younger – Juan Soto, Victor Robles and Carter Kieboom – all homer against the Padres. However, it’s a seasoned veteran, Matt Adams, who decided the game with a homer in the 11th inning that gives Washington a 7 – 6 win.

2018 – By defeating the Blue Jays, 7 – 4, Bartolo Colon records a victory for his 11th different team, the Rangers. That ties the all-time record he now shares with three other pitching nomads: LaTroy Hawkins, Mike Morgan and Ron Villone.

2017 – Trailing 9 – 1 against the Orioles in the 6th, the Yankees mount a tremendous comeback to pull off a 14 – 11 win. Matt Holliday ends the game with a three-run walk-off homer off Jayson Aquino in the 10th, the eighth long ball of the game. The Yankees had tied the score in the 9th on Starlin Castro’s two-run blast off Brad Brach. Each team hits a grand slam, with Mark Trumbo doing so for the O’s and Jacoby Ellsbury for the Yanks. For his part, Aaron Judge goes deep twice for New York, while Manny Machado and Welington Castillo reply for Baltimore. The two teams are now tied for the lead in the AL East at 14-7, but Baltimore will quickly sink in the standings to finish in last place.

2016 – Marlins 2B Dee Gordon, the defending National League batting champion, is suspended for 80 games for testing positive for PEDs. He is the third major leaguer to be handed such a suspension since the start of the season, following Chris Colabello and Daniel Stumpf.

While rioting continues in Baltimore, MD, the Orioles once again cancel today’s game against the White Sox, and in an unprecedented move, decide that tomorrow’s will be played without any spectators present. A week-end series against the Rays will be moved to St. Petersburg, FL, with the O’s playing as the home team.

The Nationals come back from 8 runs down to defeat the Braves, 13 – 12. Dan Uggla is at the center of things against his former team as he drives in 5 runs, including a three-run homer in the 9th. It is the biggest comeback in Nationals history, and the first time they have won a game in which they have allowed 11 or more runs.

Another rookie, Reds starter Tony Cingrani, has a big day, collecting 11 strikeouts, including four in the 4th inning, in six scoreless innings. He also gets his first career hit – a single off Ross Detwiler in the 2nd – as Cincinnati defeats the Nationals, 5 – 2. The four-strikeout inning is made possible when leadoff hitter Denard Span reaches first base on a dropped third strike by C Corky Miller.

The Yankees complete a four-game sweep of Toronto with a 3 – 2 win at home. All four wins are come-from-behind, today’s being highlighted by a two-run homer by Lyle Overbay in the 7th. Jays ace R.A. Dickey, still complaining of a stiff neck and back, falls to 2-4 on the year and will undergo an MRI to find the source of the persisting discomfort.

The Pirates take the NL Central lead behind rookie Jeff Locke, who gives up only 3 hits and no runs over 7 innings, beating the Cardinals, 9 – 0. It is Pittsburgh’s 15th win in April, their best total since 1992. C Russell Martin hits a pair of homers to back up Locke’s pitching, while Clint Hurdle celebrates his 700th win as a big league manager.