July 23

Teams get an early start on the trading deadline, as a number of deals are consumated today. Most stunning is the Mariners sending OF Ichiro Suzuki to the Yankees in return for minor league Ps D.J. Mitchell and Danny Farquhar. In other trades, the Marlins send P Anibal Sanchez and IF Omar Infante to the Tigers in return for P Jacob Turner and minor-leaguers Rob Brantly and Brian Flynn; in a major league first, the teams also swap picks in next season’s amateur draft. The Angels acquire P Barry Enright from the Diamondbacks for future considerations, while the Cubs send P Ryan Dempster to the Braves, although that deal is pending Dempster’s approval, which will not come.

Hours after being acquired in a trade, Ichiro Suzuki singles off Kevin Millwood in his first at-bat as a Yankee in a 4 – 1 win over his former team, the Mariners. Hiroki Kuroda is the winner while Alex Rodriguez hits his 15th homer of the season.

For the first time in the 50-year history of the franchise, the Mets compile a 50-50 won-loss record after playing one hundred games. New York achieves the dubious distinction when they lose in Florida, 8-5.

The Red Sox extend Seattle’s losing streak to 14 games, tied for the longest in team history, with a 3 – 1 win at Fenway Park which is also Terry Francona’s 1000th as Sox manager. Josh Beckett is the winner.

Pittsburgh’s stay on top of the NL Central is short-lived as they fall into second place with a 9 – 1 loss to the Cardinals, having lost three games in a row while the Redbirds won as many. Jaime Garcia is the winner over Kevin Correia while Lance Berkman and Yadier Molina hit home runs.

With a bases-empty homer in the first, a ground-rule double in the fifth, a two-run triple in the sixth, and a single in the eighth inning of the Diamondbacks’ 7-4 loss to San Francisco at Chase Field, Kelly Johnson becomes the fourth player in franchise history to complete a cycle. The Arizona second baseman joins Luis Gonzalez (2000), Greg Colbrunn (2002), and Stephen Drew (2008) to accomplish the feat with the D-Backs.

Thanks to a spectacular grab by defensive replacement DeWayne Wise of Gabe Kapler’s bid for a leadoff home run in the ninth inning, Mark Buehrle tosses the 18th perfect game in major league history, a 5-0 gem over the Rays at U.S. Cellular Field. The 30 year-old southpaw, who received a congratulatory call from President Obama, a big White Sox fan, becomes the second pitcher in franchise history to throw two hitless games for the team, matching Frank Smith’s accomplishment when the right-hander did it against the 1905 Tigers and the 1908 A’s.

2009 – Mark Buehrle of the White Sox pitches the 18th perfect game in major league history in shutting down the Rays, 5 – 0. Dewayne Wise, inserted as a defensive substitute in the 9th, saves the gem by reaching over the left-center field fence to deprive Gabe Kapler of a home run. It is the second career no-hitter for Buehrle, who threw one on April 18, 2007. After the game, he receives a congratulatory phone call from President Barack Obama, a staunch White Sox fan.

In a slugfest at Angel Stadium, Los Angeles collects a season-high 19 hits, beating the Indians, 14-11. The hit parade is led by Howie Kendrick (4), Jeff Mathis (4), and Casey Kotchman (5), making it the first time in franchise history three different players have had four or more hits in the same game.

2007 – Just back from bereavement leave following the death of his grandfather, Aaron Harang fans 10 Brewers in 10 innings. He gets a no-decision. It is the first 10+ inning performance by a Cincinnati Reds hurler since Rick Mahler in 1989.