August 5

Darla Harlow, a big fan of the Mississippi Braves, is given the honor of throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at Trustmark Park in Pearl. After tossing the ball to home plate, the military wife is totally surprised when the catcher takes off his mask, revealing the ‘player’ is really her husband, Michael, an Army major who has been away from home, serving in Afghanistan for the past nine months.

The Yankees and Red Sox, tied atop the AL East standings, meet for a three-game series at Fenway Park. New York takes the opener, 3 – 2, thanks a to a big performance by its bullpen. After starter Bartolo Coloncomes out in the 5th, with his team trailing, 2 – 0, five relievers pitch 4 1/3 scoreless innings and the Yanks score three runs in the top of the 6th off Jon Lester for the win. Nick Swisher drives in the winning run with a double, Boone Logan is the winner and Mariano Rivera picks up the save.

In the early hours of the morning, the group led by Nolan Ryan and Chuck Greenberg is confirmed as the winning bidder in the court-ordered auction of the Texas Rangers, part of the bankruptcy proceedings for owner Tom Hicks’s sports properties group. The winning bid, valued at $385 million in cash, beats one from Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association; its total value reaches $593 million when the portion of Hicks’s debts assumed by the new owners is taken into account.

A routine pop-up by Jason Kubel with two outs in the 9th hits a catwalk high above Tropicana Field and lands safely behind the pitcher’s mound to give Minnesota the lead on its way to an 8 – 6 win. The freak hit negates a six-run comeback by the Rays in the 8th, capped by Jason Bartlett’s pinch grand slam. After the loss, manager Joe Maddon lets out his frustration with his home ballpark: “There’s a crying need for a real baseball field to be built”, he tells the St. Petersburg Times.

In the top of the ninth, the Twins recover from blowing a 6-0 lead, when Jason Kubel’s two-out pop up lands behind the pitcher’s mound untouched by the Rays’ middle infielders for the go-ahead single in the team’s eventual 8-6 victory. The odd play, a result of the ball ricocheting off a catwalk and changing direction 190 feet above Tropicana Field, will prompt a change of the ground rules for postseason games played in Tampa Bay.

Mets rookie P Jonathon Niese sustains a season-ending groin injury covering first base in the 2nd inning of a start against St. Louis. His replacement, Nelson Figueroa, pitches 4 2/3 scoreless innings and hits a two-run triple in a 9 – 0 win.

Jim Thome hits two homers, including a three-run blast off Darren Oliver in the 6th, to pace the White Sox to a 6 – 2 win over the Angels. It is the 44th multi-homer game of Thome’s career; with 561 round-trippers, he is only two behind Reggie Jackson for 12th place on the all-time list.

Ryan Braun hits his 20th home run in the majors; it comes in his 64th game. This makes him the quickest Milwaukee Brewers player to 20 career homers. Bill Schroeder, with 94 games, held the old record.

With his 246th career victory, an 8-5 win over Kansas City, Yankees right-hander Mike Mussina becomes the winningest pitcher in baseball history without a 20-win season. ‘Moose’ will reach the elusive milestone with a 20-9 record next season, his last in the majors.