Going wire-to-wire in first place, the Mariners become the first team to clinch a playoff berth this season by downing the Angels, 5 – 0, for their 106th win of the year.
Tampa Bay defeats Boston, 12 – 2, scoring a season-high eight runs in the 6th inning. Aubrey Huff has a career-high five RBIs for the Devil Rays.
Major League Baseball and the Players Association announce the creation of the MLB-MLBPA Disaster Relief Fund. The organizations will each donate $10 million to aid the victims of the September 11th terrorist attacks.
In the Cardinals’ 8-2 victory over Milwaukee at Busch Stadium, Albert Pujols drives in three runs in his first two at-bats with a first-inning groundout and a two-run double in the fourth, breaking the National League rookie-record with his 120th run batted in this season. The 21 year-old first baseman, who will finish the year with 130 RBIs, surpasses the mark established in 1930 by Wally Berger, who played for the Boston Braves.
Roger Clemens becomes the first major league pitcher to start a season with a 20-1 record when he goes 6.1 innings in the Yankees’ 6-3 victory over the White Sox at Comiskey Park. The eventual Cy Young Award winner, who has previously copped the award five times, has won his last 16 decisions for the Bronx Bombers but will drop next two decisions, finishing the season, 20-3 (.870).
The Pirates bash the Phillies, 12 – 8, scoring nine runs in the 6th inning.
After a 16 – 3 loss to Toronto, New York manager Joe Torre has a team meeting, and blisters the Yankees for poor play. It won’t help as they lose their next seven games – 15 – 4, 2 – 1, 11 – 1, 11 – 3, 13 – 2, 9 – 1 and 7 – 3.
In the Reds’ 7 – 3 loss to the Giants, Ken Griffey Jr. pinch-hits his 400th home run. He is the first to reach the mark with a pinch hit. Livan Hernandez is the winner as Barry Bonds knocks in a run and Jeff Kent adds three hits.
A Dodger fan, in addition to other court-ordered restrictions, has been banned from attending home games in Los Angeles for 18 months. The angry patron threw coffee in the face of a Mets fan who was cheering a grand slam hit by New York’s catcher Todd Pratt.
1999 – Jeff Bagwell slugs a two-run bomb off Rick Croushore to nip the Cardinals, 4-3. Chris Holt holds St. Louis in check except for Mark McGwire, who drills his 57th and 58th homers of the season. Billy Wagner earns his 37th save, breaking the club record set by Doug Jones in 1992.
Enjoy our free trial and start listening to games, interviews and shows! Ruth, Mantle, Aaron, and Seaver!