The Pirates beat the Cubs, 13 – 3. Brian Giles scores five runs for Pittsburgh and drives home six with a double and a pair of home runs. Giles will hit a pinch 2-run home run tomorrow to finish the year with 103 RBIs.
2001 – While the division-leading Braves, behind Greg Maddux, are succumbing quietly to 4th-place Florida, the red hot Mets, led by super sub Desi Relaford and Mike Piazza, abuse Expo pitching for 10 runs in the final four frames, erasing an early 6 – 0 deficit. The 12- 6 triumph is New York’s 18th in 21 tries and their 25th out of 31. Having started that stretch at 13 1/2 games out, New York has now pulled to within three games of first place. This leaves nine games just before NY’s final face-off against Atlanta. In tonight’s game, Piazza’s pinch-hit, bases-clearing, 9th-inning exclamation point notwithstanding, it’s Relaford who provides the game’s biggest hit as, one inning earlier, with one out, one on and the Mets down by one, the diminutive Desi makes like Mike, turning around a 2-and-2 Scott Strickland fastball and depositing it in Olympic Stadium’s right field seats, just beyond the Avis ad.
The United States Olympic team, managed by former Dodger skipper Tommy Lasorda, stuns the world, beating the much-favored Cuban team to win the country’s first gold medal in its national pastime. Ben Sheets ends Cuba’s 21-game Olympic winning streak with a 4-0 shutout.
Darin Erstad breaks the major league record for RBIs in a season by a leadoff batter. The Angels’ outfielder collects his 99th RBI in a 9-7 loss to the A’s, surpassing Nomar Garciaparra’s total of 98 batting first for the Red Sox in 1997.
The Mets beat the Braves, 6 – 2, to clinch the National League wild card berth for the second year in a row.
The A’s defeat the Angels, 9 – 7. Anaheim’s Darin Erstad hits a home run in the 2nd inning for his 99th RBI of the year from the leadoff spot to set a new record. Nomar Garciaparra drove home 98 in 1997 for the previous mark.
With each of the Tigers wearing the uniform numbers of all-time great Detroit players at their position (OF Gabe Kapler, standing in for Ty Cobb, wears no number) the Tigers defeat the Royals, 8 – 2, in the last game ever played at Tiger Stadium. Robert Fick’s grand slam in the 8th brings the capacity crowd of 43,356 to its feet. Luis Polonia and Karim Garcia also homer as Brian Moehler beats Jeff Suppan.
1998 – Carl Everett triples off Rod Beck in the 11th inning and scores on a sacrifice fly by Richard Hidalgo to drop the Cubs, 4-3. It ends a 102-60 regular season for the Astros (a .629 percentage), most wins in team history.
Padres reliever Trevor Hoffman ties the National League saves record as he gets three straight outs in a 3 – 2 victory over Arizona. His 53rd save (out of 54 chances) matches the standard set by current teammate Randy Myers, who did it for the Cubs in 1993.
In the Blue Jays’ 2-1 victory over the Tigers, Detroit pinch-hitter Bobby Higginson homers with two outs off of Blue Jay Roy Halladay to spoil the rookie’s bid for a no-hitter. The Denver, Colorado native comes within one out of allowing no hits in only his second major league start.
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