Tampa Bay Devil Rays minor league pitcher Nick Bierbrodt is shot three times while sitting in a taxi at a fast food drive-in in Charleston, SC. He is listed in serious but stable condition.
In a Northern League game with the visiting Gary SouthShore RailCats at Midway Stadium, St. Paul Saints owner Mike Veeck gives away seat cushions that feature the likeness of Commissioner Bud Selig on one side and that of Players Association Executive Director Donald Fehr on the other. During the seventh-inning stretch, an informal poll shows that about 90 percent of the fans on the cushions “were sitting on Bud”.
The Boston Red Sox lose catcher Jason Varitek for the rest of the season when he breaks his right elbow diving for a pop bunt in a game against the Detroit Tigers.
The Chicago Cubs complete a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals, winning 4 – 3 and posting their 15th victory in 16 games. Cubs fans haven’t seen that since 1945. Matt Morris pitches a no-hitter into the 7th inning before Matt Stairs’ two-out double opens the door for Chicago. Rondell White’s single in the 10th drives home Sammy Sosa with the winning run. After the victory, the Cubs take a five-game lead over St. Louis in the NL Central Division.
The San Diego Padres pound pitcher Russ Ortiz and beat the San Francisco Giants, 10 – 7, to snap their eight-game losing streak. Cesar Crespo hits his first major league home run for San Diego, while his brother Felipe, playing first base for the Giants in J.T. Snow’s absence, hits a pair of homers. It is the ninth time that brothers on opposing teams have homered in the same game. The last time was when Bret and Aaron Boone did it last year. Meanwhile, San Francisco outfielder Barry Bonds hits his 32nd homer of the season, his 13th in 18 games, and Mike Darr has four hits and four RBI for the Padres.
In interleague play, the Oakland Athletics defeat the San Diego Padres, 10 – 4, as Jason Giambi collects seven runs batted in with a single, double, and two home runs.
At Atlanta, Blue Jays rookie pitcher Clayton Andrews hits an apparent single to right field for his first major league hit, but Brian Jordan, playing very shallow, throws him out at first base. Jordan will throw out three runners at first base this year.
1999 – Jose Lima runs his record to 10-2 with a complete-game victory over the White Sox, 8-2. Every Astro in the lineup gets at least one of Houston’s 17 hits except, of course, for Lima who never bats. Daryle Ward is the Designated Hitter, which is used in American League parks.
The Atlanta Braves defeat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 9 – 5, as pitcher John Smoltz records his 2,000th strikeout. Smoltz becomes the 53rd major league pitcher – and third Brave – to reach that level.
In a Chicago interleague match, the hot Cubs pound the White Sox, 13 – 7, as Sammy Sosa and Jose Hernandez each hit three-run home runs and collect five RBI. The Cubs sweep their South Side rivals completing their third consecutive three-game sweep, something the Cubs have not done since 1918.