1971 – Doug Rader belts a grand slam and drives in six to pace a 12-4 thumping of the Cardinals. His two-run double in the third follows the first-inning slam. Jack Hiatt and Roger Metzger add three hits apiece in the 17-hit performance.
On May 16, 1970, At Three Rivers Stadium, the hitting streak of Atlanta Braves star Rico Carty comes to an end at 31 games. The Braves’ outfielder is stopped by Cincinnati Reds pitcher Jim McGlothlin, who earns a 2-0 victory. Carty’s streak started on April 8th. batted .451 during the streak, will go on to…
At Fenway Park, Carl Yastrzemski belts a Dean Chance pitch out of the park to the right of the flag pole. Only Jimmie Foxx (twice) and Bill Skowron had previously done it. Ray Culp is the 6 – 2 winner over Cleveland.
Bill Mazeroski’s 9th-inning pinch-single paves the way for a Pirate win, 4 – 3, over the Expos. It is Maz’s first pinch-hit in his career, which began 14 years earlier.
In the highest-scoring 11th inning ever, Seattle scores six runs, then allows 5, but hangs on for a 10 – 9 win at Boston. Jim Bouton gets the win with three shutout innings. Wayne Comer has a pair of homers, including one in the 11th. John Kennedy adds a homer in the 11th and Rico Petrocelli goes deep in the same inning for the Sox.
Despite five home runs – three by Mike Epstein – the Senators lose to the White Sox, 7 – 6. Carlos May’s 10th homer of the year breaks a 6 – 6 deadlock.
With his third two-homer game in four games, Senators LF Frank Howard ties the American League record for most home runs (7) in a four-game stretch (at least one in each). Washington wins, 4 – 1, at Cleveland.
In Los Angeles, the Cubs’ Rich Nye tops Don Sutton, 1 – 0, in a “Year of the Pitcher” special.
Roberto Clemente adds an encore to the previous night’s 3-home run, 7-RBI performance. Les Biederman writes in The Sporting News: “The night Clemente put on his show, only 5,222 fans showed up in Cincinnati. The next night, the attendance jumped to 13,389 and Clemente put on a display during batting practice. He lofted five of six balls out of the park in all directions and when he left the batting cage, the fans applauded. ‘It’s the first time I’ve seen that since Ted Williams’ days with the Red Sox,’ coach Johnny Pesky remarked. Clemente left Cincinnati, trailed by admiring remarks from the Reds.”
Reliever Phil Regan loses his first game in 77 appearances. The “Vulture” gets pinned with his first defeat in over a year when Astros third baseman Bob Aspromonte hits a two-run triple in the 10th to beat the Dodgers, 5 – 3.
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