August 29

With Bobby Abreu at bat and Derek Jeter on second base during the bottom of the second inning at Yankee Stadium, visiting Red Sox manager Terry Francona is told to go to the dugout tunnel to show compliance with baseball’s dress code. The Boston skipper, who is known not to wear his uniform jersey underneath his pullover, is upset with the timing of ‘Shirtgate’ because the inspection takes place as the game is being played.

In a pregame ceremony at Coors Field, the Rockies unveil a five-sided commemorative plaque which will be placed in the parking lot at the exact spot where home plate was located at Mile High Stadium. Although the team played just two seasons at the old ballpark before it was torn down to make room to park cars, the structure, built in 1948, served as the home for the popular minor league Denver Bears, the precursor to a major league team arriving in 1993.

With his two homers (726, 727) in a 13-8 losing effort to the Braves at Miller Park, Giants slugger Barry Bonds passes Sammy Sosa into second place with 69 career multi-homer games. Babe Ruth hit two or more homers on 72 occasions during his 22-year career in the majors.

The Astros center fielder Willy Taveras’ consecutive game hitting streak is stopped at 30, establishing a new franchise record. The 24 year-old Houston leadoff hitter, who is plunked twice by Brewer starter Tomo Ohka, goes 0-for-3 in the team’s 10-3 victory at Minute Maid Park.

Roy Oswalt and the Astros reach agreement on a $73 million contract extension, keeping the two-time 20-game winner in Houston for the next five years. The deal, the largest multi-season deal in franchise history, is signed on the right-hander’s 29th birthday.

At Toronto’s SkyDome, Blue Jays broadcaster Tom Cheek joins former players George Bell, Joe Carter, Tony Fernandez, Dave Stieb, and former manager Cito Gaston and former general manager Pat Gillick as the seventh member of the club’s Level of Excellence. The recipient of the team’s highest award for individual achievement, which comes as an emotional surprise for the play-by-play announcer, called 4,306 consecutive regular season games, and another 41 during the postseason during the first 27 1/2 seasons of the franchise’s existence.

In the eighth inning of the Cardinals’ 4-0 victory over the Bucs, Albert Pujols drives in a run with a solo shot at PNC Park, his 40th home run this season, to become only the fourth player to start a major league career with four consecutive seasons with at least 100 RBIs. The 24 year-old St. Louis first baseman joins Hall of Famers Al Simmons, Joe DiMaggio, and Ted Williams in accomplishing the feat.

The International Olympic Committee votes to drop baseball from the Olympics and replace it with golf. The reason is that the competition does not draw the best players, since Major League Baseball does not release its players to play.

Mark Bellhorn becomes the first National Leaguer and joins Carlos Baerga as the only other switch-hitter to homer from both sides of the plate in the same inning. The Cub infielder connects off southpaw Andrew Lorraine to start Chicago’s 10-run fourth-frame and then goes deep again with a three-run homer with two outs off Jose Cabrera in the team’s eventual 13-10 victory over the Brewers at Milwaukee’s Miller Park.