During a 7 – 4 loss to the Expos, the Cubs’ Bill Bonham strikes out four batters in the 2nd inning, tying the major league record.
At Houston, the Reds’ Don Gullett twirls a 2-hit, 4 – 0, shutout over the Astros. Roger Metzger has both Astro hits.
Ron Cey drives in eight runs to lead the host Dodgers to a 15 – 4 victory over the Padres.
The Reds sweep a pair from the Braves, winning, 9 – 5, in the opener, then scoring five runs in the 9th to take the nitecap, 13 – 11. Joe Morgan totals three homers and seven RBIs for the afternoon. The Reds set a club record with 24 wins in the month of July.
The Tigers win a pair from the Brewers, 6 – 5 and 9 – 4, and end Dave May’s American League season-best hitting streak at 24 games.
On July 31, 1972, At Metropolitan Stadium, Dick Allen of the Chicago White Sox becomes only the seventh player in major league history to hit two inside-the-park home runs in a game and the first since 1939. Allen’s two circuit clouts, which come against Bert Blyleven of the Minnesota Twins, in the first…
1972 – Houston edges San Diego, 3-2, on a gift run in the bottom of the ninth inning. It starts when Cesar Cedeno swings at a Steve Arlin pitch in the dirt for strike three. The catcher can’t hang on and Cedeno is safe at first. Next, Cesar steals second and moves to third when the throw sails into center field. Two outs and two intentional walks later, Johnny Edwards takes ball four to bring Cedeno home.
Royals OF Amos Otis scores the game’s only run, swiping home in the 4th inning with a surprised John Mayberry at bat. Otis reached 3B when Angels pitcher Nolan Ryan makes two of his three errors trying to pick his former teammate off base. This is only the second time in the post-war years that a steal of home accounts for a game’s only run.
Vida Blue retires the first 17 batters before Texas pitcher Rich Hand beats out a surprise bunt in the 6th. Blue allows one other hit to win, 2 – 0 for Oakland. Hand allows just two hits in 7 1/3 innings, but two errors and a mental boner by LF Ted Ford allows two runs. With a runner on third base, Ford catches Joe Rudi’s fly and trots in thinking it is the third out. It is the second. Rudi adds another sac fly for the other run.
In a game that sees at least one team score in every inning until the ninth, the Giants beat Pittsburgh at Candlestick Park, 15-11. San Francisco’s rookie first baseman Dave Kingman’s seventh-inning grand slam proves to be the difference.
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