April 4, 1924 – Infielder, manager and All-Star Gil Hodges was born in Princeton, Indiana. During an 18-year baseball career, he played in 1943 and from 1947–63, spending most of his career with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers. He was the major leagues’ outstanding first baseman in the 1950s, with teammate Duke Snider being…
2019 – Trevor Bauer of the Indians pitches 7 no-hit innings before being removed from a start against the Blue Jays, having thrown 117 pitches. Jon Edwards and Brad Hand succeed him and keep the no-no going until the 9th, when Freddy Galvis singles to lead off the inning. Cleveland wins 4 – 1. It is already the third time this season that the Blue Jays have gone hitless into the 7th inning of a game.
2018 – Major League Baseball experiments with a new medium as today’s game between the Phillies and Mets is broadcast live exclusively on “Facebook Watch”, a new application recently launched by the social media giant. Reviews are mixed, as viewers complain about the size of the graphics relative to that of most laptop or tablet screens and the invasive nature of streaming comments by users (which can be turned off, although this possibility is not readily apparent to many viewers, it seems). This is clearly an attempt to interest some younger viewers who have tuned out traditional media in watching a live game. But some of the kinks will need to be worked out before it can dethrone the well-regarded MLB.TV, which already provides live and delayed game coverage on a huge variety of connected devices.
2017 – OF Stephen Piscotty has a painful run around the bases in the 5th inning of the Cardinals’ game against the Cubs. First, he reaches base when plunked of the left elbow by Jake Arrieta, then gets hit on the other elbow by C Willson Contreras when he advances to second on a wild pitch. He comes in to score when the Cubs misplay a ground ball near first base, but in the process is whacked in the head by 2B Javier Baez’s throw home and has to leave the game with a possible concussion. His is the only run in a 2 – 1 loss by the Cards.
SS Trevor Story becomes the first player to hit two homers in his debut on Opening Day as the Rockies spoil Zack Greinke’s first start in a Diamondbacks uniform. Greinke allows 7 runs, the most for him in four years, and three homers, something he had not done since 2009. Story is also the first National Leaguer to hit a pair of homers in his debut game; four players have done so in the American League.
Two teams pull off lopsided wins in their opening game. The Dodgers romp over the Padres, 16 – 0, behind the pitching of Clayton Kershaw, for the biggest opening day shutout in major league history. The Dodgers rack up 17 hits as Adrian Gonzalez and A.J. Ellis both drive in three runs. The Cubs also get off to a good start as they shut out the Angels, 9 – 0. Jake Arrieta is the winner while Miguel Montero homers and drives in three.
Although he limits the Rangers to just one hit, Mariner right-hander Felix Hernandez loses for the first time on Opening Day, snapping a streak of six victories to start his team’s season. Seattle had the opportunity to become the first franchise in modern baseball history to win ten consecutive season openers, but sloppy defense allows three runs in the fifth inning of the club’s 3-2 defeat to Texas at Globe Life Park.
At the opposite end of the scale, the Rangers manage just one hit against Felix Hernandez and the Mariners, but three walks and two errors, combined with Prince Fielder’s bloop single, lead to three runs in the 5th inning and a 3 – 2 win for Cole Hamels, negating a pair of solo homers by Robinson Cano and Kyle Seager.
Former C Mike Sandlock, the Oldest Living MLB Player, passes away at the age of 100.
Charlie Blackmon ties a team record established by Andres Galarraga in 1995, collecting six hits in the Rockies’ 12-2 rout of Arizona in the team’s home opener at Coors Field. The 27 year-old platoon outfielder is the first major leaguer to collect three doubles, two singles, and a home run in a major league game.