The Minnesota Twins retire Bert Blyleven’s uniform number 28, a week before the pitcher is to be inducted into the Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, NY.

The Phillies do it with the long ball in beating Florida, 4 – 0. Raul Ibanez homers twice and Ryan Howard once. For Howard, it is the 200th home run of his career, in his 658th game; he is fastest to reach that mark, beating Ralph Kiner who took 706 games to hit 200 dingers. Jamie Moyer allows one hit over seven innings for the win.

Ryan Howard, playing in his 658th game, becomes the fastest player to hit 200 home runs when he goes deep off Chris Volstad with his solo shot in the sixth inning in the team’s 4-0 victory in Miami. The previous mark was held by Hall of Fame slugger Ralph Kiner, who played in 48 more contests than the 29 year-old Phillies first baseman to reach the plateau.

Chipper Jones ties a major league record by collecting an extra-base hit in his 14th straight game. The Braves third baseman’s fourth-inning home run equals the mark established in 1927 by Pirates outfielder Paul Waner.

Mariano Rivera records his 400th career save, pitching two innings in New York’s 6-4 victory over the White Sox. The Yankee closer becomes the fourth major league reliever to reach the milestone, joining Lee Smith (478), Trevor Hoffman (460), and John Franco (424).

The Reds honor perfect game hurler Tom Browning and slugging first baseman Lee May with induction into the team’s Hall of Fame. Tom Seaver, who spent five-plus seasons and hurled a no-hitter with Cincinnati and who is presently enshrined in Cooperstown as well as a member of the Mets Hall of Fame, is also included as an inductee.

The idea of having fans watch the 16-by-24-foot video stadium monitor, along with the Kansas City T-Bones and Schaumburg Flyers players looking on from their respective dugouts, as two kids determine the outcome of the first two innings by using an X-Box and the MVP Baseball 2005 software is initially approved by the Northern League for tonight’s scheduled game. The individual player statistics generated by the video game would not have counted, but league officials later decided against the promotion, with the final two innings of the game being replayed on the game system instead.

In an effort to bolster their injured pitching rotation, the Yankees acquire recently released Al Leiter, formerly of the Marlins. The 39-year-old, $8-million, southpaw, who posted a disappointing 3-7 record and a 6.64 ERA with the Fish, will quickly pay dividends limiting the Red Sox to one run and three hits in his first start back as a Bronx Bomber.

The Northern League initially approves the idea of having fans watch the 16-by-24-foot video stadium monitor, alongside the Kansas City T-Bones and Schaumburg Flyers players looking on from their respective dugouts, as two kids using an X-Box and the MVP Baseball 2005 software determine the outcome of the first two innings of tonight’s scheduled game. The individual player statistics generated by the video game would not have counted, but league officials later decide against the promotion, and instead replay the final two innings of the game on the game system.

The Yankees send pitching prospects Jason Anderson, Anderson Garcia and Ryan Bicondoa to the Mets for hard-throwing embattled closer, Armando Benitez. The 30-year-old All-Star reliever, who is slated to be the set-up man for closer Mariano Rivera, has blown 7 of 28 save opportunities this year and has been object of much booing at Shea Stadium.