The Cubs jump to a 14 – 0 lead after two innings in crushing the Pirates, 17 – 2. The Cubs send 15 batters to the plate and score 10 runs in the 2nd inning in support of Randy Wells’ pitching. Derrek Lee drives in seven runs.
For the first time in franchise history, the Tampa Bay Rays are 26 games over .500 as they beat the A’s, 7 – 6. B.J. Upton drives in a run off Brad Ziegler, ending Ziegler’s record scoreless streak to start a career at 39 innings. Carlos Pena leads off the 12th inning with the winning homer for the Rays.
Andy LaRoche and Adam LaRoche appear together for the Pirates in a 3 – 1 loss to the Reds, going 1 for 6 with a walk between them. They become the 8th pair of brothers to play together in franchise history but the first in 50 years.
At Progressive Field, the longest current consecutive games streak in the big leagues comes to an end at 382 when Grady Sizemore does not appear in Cleveland’s 1-0 loss to the Yankees due to a sprained right ankle he sustained yesterday. The center fielder’s streak is the longest by an Indians player since Toby Harrah played in 473 straight contests from 1979-83.
In the sixth inning of a 9-2 rout of the Royals, the White Sox become the sixth team in major league history to hit four consecutive home runs in an inning. Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, and Alexei Ramirez all go deep off K.C. reliever Joel Peralta, with Juan Uribe completing the record-tying feat by taking Robinson Tejeda yard at Chicago’s U.S. Cellular Field.
With his 5-for-5 performance, including a single, double, triple, and homer, Mark Kotsay joins Albert Hall as the only Atlanta players to hit for the cycle. The outfielder’s offensive outburst isn’t enough, as the Cubs beat the Braves, 11-7, giving Chicago their first season sweep of the Braves in franchise history, which dates back to 1876.
Jose Offerman is arrested on two counts of second-degree assault. Offerman, playing for the Long Island Ducks, is hit by a pitch from Matt Beech. He hits Beech and catcher John Nathans with his bat, breaking Beech’s finger and giving Nathans a serious concussion. He posts a $10,000 bond.
For the 132nd time in his career, Atlanta skipper Bobby Cox is ejected from a major league game, breaking John McGraw’s all-time ejections record. It took the Braves manager only 28 seasons to set the new mark, compared to the 42 years in which Mugsy compiled his tosses, including 14 as a player.
After being arrested for hitting two players with a bat, one-time big leaguer Jose Offerman is suspended indefinitely by the independent Atlantic League for the assault that occurred during a Bluefish and Long Island Ducks game. As a result of the incident, triggered when the former All-Star is drilled by a pitch after hitting a homer in his first at bat, Bridgeport backstop John Nathans sustains a concussion, and starter Matt Beech suffers a broken finger.
Phil Rizzuto, the oldest-living Hall of Famer, dies in his sleep at a New Jersey nursing home from complications of pneumonia at the age of 89. Scooter, who was enshrined at Cooperstown for outstanding play as a shortstop during the Yankee dynasty years of the 1940’s and 50’s, became a popular icon in New York as a result of his unique broadcasting style of Bronx Bomber games, his appearance in numerous commercials, as well as lending his voice on Meat Loaf’s “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” rock hit which won a Grammy.