This Day In Baseball May 10

Debuts, Milestones, No Hitters, Rule Changes, Events, Birthdays, Deaths, and more on This Day In Baseball.  

Events for May 10

Jim “Pud” Galvin wires the Buffalo club from San Francisco, accepting terms to play for the Bisons despite his contract to play in the California League.

Brooklyn’s joy over beating the New York Giants in the bottom of the last inning for the second straight day is partially dashed as youngster Willie Keeler fractures a bone while sliding. Keeler will miss nearly two months of action.

For the first time in major league history, teammates combine for three straight home runs, as Frank Shugart, George “Doggie” Miller and Heinie Peitz of St. Louis hit consecutive roundtrippers in the 7th inning. In all, Shugart hits three home runs and Peitz two, giving St. Louis a total of six. However, their heroics are to no avail as their club falls to Cincinnati, 18 – 9.

During the course of a 14 – 4 win over St. Louis, Philadelphia slugger Sam Thompson becomes the third man in National League history to hit 100 home runs in a career.

Nap Lajoie slugs two home runs and a double to lead the Phillies to a 13 – 1 rout of St. Louis. Lajoie continues the hitting streak he started on May 8th and will not go hitless until May 31st, a string of twenty games.

Jack Doyle hits an unusual home run for Baltimore, but Washington defeats the Orioles, 13 – 5. The home run is noteworthy in that the ball rolls to the fence where a ladder had been placed. It rolls up the ladder and disappears over the fence.

Amos Rusie of the Giants sets down Brooklyn on one hit and wins, 5 – 0.

The Cards beat up Christy Mathewson, scoring five runs and knocking him out after the first inning. St. Louis continues the shelling to win, 14 – 1. Matty, now 4-2, will not lose to St. Louis in his next 24 decisions.

Pitching for the Waco Tigers, John Lower gives up a hit in the 1st inning, then allows no hits over the last 14 innings of the game.

Minor league pitcher Fred Toney hurls a 17-inning no-hitter for Winchester of the Blue Grass League

The White Sox edge the Senators, 1 – 0, in 11 innings, handing Walter Johnson his second straight 1 – 0 loss on his way to a 20th century record ten losses by shutouts. For the Nationals, it is their third straight 1 – 0 loss, tying a mark set by the Browns two weeks ago.

Church bells ring when Fred Toney completes the longest no-hitter in organized baseball history, a 1-0 victory over the Lexington Colts of the Blue Grass League. As word spread around town about the Class D Winchester Hustlers right-hander’s performance on the mound, fans continued to stream into the ballpark before the lone run of the contest scored on a squeeze play in the bottom of the 17th.

The White Sox tally seven runs in five innings against Walter Johnson to coast to a 10 – 3 win. Johnson’s record is now 2 – 5, and the Washington Post suggests that the Nats “trade this phenom for a couple of good fielders.”

The Cubs’ Heinie Zimmerman makes four errors and collects four hits in a 9 – 5 win over the Giants. Red Ames, in relief of Christy Mathewson, is hammered for the loss.

1911 – The Detroit Tigers lose their first home game of the year, 6 – 2, as New York hands George Mullin his first loss. The Tigers have a 21 – 2 record and will lead the pack until July 4th.

The Yankees commit eight errors, but still end up beating the Tigers, 10 – 9, in 10 innings. Three of the miscues are by SS Claud Derrick, who will field just .872 for the year. In a move 10 days later that is perhaps related, the Yanks deal for SS Roger Peckinpaugh.

Walter Johnson two-hits the White Sox to run his consecutive string of scoreless innings pitched to 52 2/3.

1916 – Led by Tris Speaker’s two hits and three runs, Cleveland tops the Red Sox and Babe Ruth, 6 – 2.

1918 – Pittsburgh’s lefty Earl Hamilton is 6-0 with an 0.83 ERA after beating the Giants. He then enlists in the Navy.

1926 – At Yankee Stadium, Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth hit back-to-back homers off Tiger starter Sam Gibson, and the Yankees outscore the Tigers, 13 – 9. Herb Pennock is the winner.

1928 – The Giants send OF George Harper to the Cardinals for C Bob O’Farrell. O’Farrell, who managed the Birds in 1927, will never regain his effectiveness behind the plate after an arm injury. The trade makes room for 18-year-old Mel Ott to take over the RF position, a spot he will hold for 18 years.

1929 – The visiting Reds beat the Braves, 5 – 2, behind Red Lucas. Joe Stripp homers for Cincy, which scores another 3 unearned runs on Rabbit Maranville’s first error of the year. Boston’s Les Bell homers and teammate CF Earl Clark sets two National League records that will last the century: most putouts in a game (12) and most chances (13).

1930 – The A’s conquer the Indians, 6 – 4 at Philadelphia. Jimmie Foxx’s 7th-inning triple with two on breaks the tie.

Lou Gehrig removes himself from the New York Yankees’ lineup after five innings

Lou Gehrig removes himself from the New York Yankees’ lineup after five innings

1934 – Lou Gehrig hits two home runs (one a grand slam) and a pair of doubles, tying the record with four long hits, and drives in seven runs, but leaves the game after five innings with a severe cold. The Yanks top the White Sox, 13 – 3. During the game Ben Chapman shouts racial remarks at a Jewish fan. In 1947, he will lead the dugout bigots in protest of Jackie Robinson.

Ben Chapman, who will lead the protest against Jackie Robinson in 1947, harasses a Jewish fan during a Yankees’ 13-3 victory of the White Sox at the Bronx ballpark. The New York left fielder shouts disparaging epithets and taunts the team’s supporter with Nazi salutes.

By beating the A’s, 7 – 2, at home the Yankees move into first place and will remain there the rest of the season. Rookie Joe DiMaggio makes his belated home debut and hits his first home run, off George Turbeville. Lou Gehrig has four hits and two RBIs and Johnny Murphy, in his first start of the season, picks up the win.

In Washington, the Senators top the A’s and Lefty Grove, 4 – 0. Grove had come into the game having allowed just one earned run in his previous 48 innings.

Joe Sullivan, Detroit pitcher, weakens after 12 innings of scoreless relief and Cleveland edges Detroit, 9 – 7. Sullivan takes over for Elden Auker in the 2nd and is splendid before losing in the 15th.

1937 – Monte Pearson pitches a one-hitter in stopping the White Sox, 6 – 0. Joe DiMaggio hits his first two homers of the year and George Selkirk his fifth for New York. Chicago’s only hit is a one-out first inning single by Larry Rosenthal, who is erased on a double play.

Phillies backstop Dave Coble catches a ball thrown from the top of Philadelphia’s City Hall. The rookie catcher handles the 521-foot dropped ball cleanly.

Bill Klem, behind the plate at the Reds game in Cincinnati, celebrates his 35th anniversary as a National League umpire. He then calls the 10 – 5 Reds loss to Brooklyn.

Phillies’ backstop Dave Coble catches a ball thrown from the top of Philadelphia’s City Hall. The rookie catcher handles the 521-foot dropped ball cleanly but likens the experience of a man jumping into his arms.

1942 – The Reds’ Ray Starr and Bucky Walters both pitch shutouts over the Cardinals. Starr wins the opener, 1 – 0, allowing nine hits, and Bucky coasts, 3 – 0, on a 4-hitter.

Mel Harder

Mel Harder becomes 50th pitcher to win 200 games

Cardinal ace Mort Cooper picks up his first win of the season as the Cards beat the Dodgers, 4 – 2.

1946 – Before a Friday Ladies’ Day crowd at Yankee Stadium of 64,183, the first-place Red Sox take their 15th straight game, a 5 – 4 win over the Yankees. Earl Johnson gets the win with four innings of scoreless relief. A Joe DiMaggio grand slam accounts for all the Bombers’ scoring.

1947 – At Cincinnati, Ewell Blackwell whips the Cubs, 5 – 1, to start a 16-game winning streak. He won’t lose until July 25.

Doby has a big day leading tribe a win at Fenway

Doby has a big day leading tribe a win at Fenway

1949 – Longtime Cardinal owner Sam Breadon dies. Robert Hannegan, the man to whom he sold the club, will die October 6.

1950 – The Reds trade veteran C Walker Cooper to the Braves for 2B Connie Ryan.

1952 – Hank Bauer of the Yankees goes 5 for 6 in an 18 – 3 romp over Boston. The Sox come away with a record-tying 10 assists in the 5th inning.

Vic Raschi makes his first relief appearance in two years, limiting the Red Sox to three hits in four innings, as the Yankees win, 7 – 4. Billy Goodman sustains a freak rib accident, which will keep him out of action for three weeks, when Jim Piersall picks him up and lugs him from the field to break up Goody’s argument with umpire Jim Duffy. Del Wilber hits his second consecutive pinch homer in the 8th; his first came on May 6th.

Behind Billy Loes and Roy Campanella, the Dodgers move into first place with 5 – 0 win over the Phillies. Loes tosses his only shutout of the year, while Campy drives in all five runs with a double and homer. Campanella collects 44 RBIs in his first 30 games. Not until Tino Martinez in 1997, will anyone else reach 40 in the first 30.

With a double and home run, Roy Campanella drives in all the runs in the Dodgers’ 5-0 victory over the Phillies at Ebbets Field. Campy’s total of 40+ RBIs in the first 30 games will not be matched until Tino Martinez accomplishes the feat in 1997 with the Yankees.

obrien twins

Eddie and Johnny O’Brien became the first pair of twins to play for the same team in the same game

1955 – Dodger ace Don Newcombe one-hits the Cubs, 3 – 0. Gene Baker, who singles in the 4th and is caught stealing, is the only baserunner.

Dodger right-hander Don Newcombe faces only 27 batters when he one-hits Chicago at Wrigley Field, 3-0. Gene Baker, who will be thrown out trying to steal second base, ruins Newk’s bid for perfection, with a fourth-inning single.

1956 – At Yankee Stadium, Bob Lemon gives Cleveland a 7 – 2 win over the Yankees. Mickey Mantle has a solo homer in the 6th for New York. By the end of the month, Mantle will have hit his 20th homer and will be batting .425 with 50 RBIs.

1957 – Mayor George Christopher of San Francisco confers with Horace Stoneham on a possible shift of the Giants franchise to the West Coast.

The Tigers name Bill Norman, their field boss of Charleston in the American Association, as the team’s manager, replacing Jack Tighe, who compiled a 99-104 record during his two seasons in Detroit. The second division club will finish in fifth place, posting a 56-49 record for the rest of the season, under the tutelage of their new skipper.

In the first game of a doubleheader, Cubs reliever Elmer Singleton defeats reliever Lindy McDaniel of the Cardinals, 10 – 9. In the nightcap, McDaniel is the winner and Singleton the loser, 8 – 7.

The Phils’ Jim Hearn comes on in relief to pitch 1 1/3 innings against the Pirates. He allows two earned runs before the game is suspended with the Pirates ahead, 6 – 4. Hearn is released before the game is completed in July and will be charged with the loss two months after his retirement.

The Yanks sweep two from the Senators at Yankee Stadium, winning 6 – 3 and 3 – 2 in 10 innings. Mickey Mantle’s homer in the 3rd inning of the opener starts the Yanks scoring as they beat Chuck Stobbs. Mantle singles and scores the winning run in the 10th inning of the nitecap. Yogi Berra has a home run in the nitecap and sets a new major-league record for consecutive errorless games by a catcher with 148.

Baltimore Orioles catcher Joe Ginsberg ties a major league record set only six days earlier by allowing three passed balls in one inning

Baltimore Orioles catcher Joe Ginsberg ties a major league record set only six days earlier by allowing three passed balls in one inning

Grand slams by Red Sox teammates Vic Wertz and Rip Repulski at Fenway Park give Boston a 9 – 7 win over Chicago. The National League veteran Repulski’s 8th-inning shot off Don Ferrarese comes in his first American League at bat.

Mike McCormick fires his second 3-hit shutout of the year, stopping the Pirates, 3 – 0. The Giants are 3-up, 3-down in eight of the nine innings, but score three in the 5th, two on McCormick’s single.

The Cardinals tie a major-league record when three pinch hitters – Charlie James, Don Taussig and Alex Grammas – strike out in the 9th inning against the Reds. Cincinnati’s Bill Henry pitches just the 9th to save the 3 – 2 win, the Reds’ 9th in a row.

The White Sox purchase Wes Covington from the Braves. Covington will play for four teams this season, before settling in with a number of solid years for the Phillies.

Minnesota’s Lenny Green and Vic Power hit back-to-back home runs off Cleveland’s Jim Perry to start the game, tying a major league record. Cleveland comes back to win, 9 – 4. It will be another nine years before two leadoff batters in the American League belt homers, and it will be Perry teeing up those as well.

At Fenway Park, the 9th-place Yankees lose again, 3 – 2, when Carl Yastrzemski outhits a hobbling Mickey Mantle. Yaz hits a pair of homers and a sacrifice fly, while Mantle is 3 for 4 with a homer. After Mantle doubles with two outs in the 9th, starter Jim Lonborg is lifted and Dick Radatz gets the final out. It is Lonborg’s first major league win.

Atlanta Braves superstar Hank Aaron belts the only inside-the-park home run of his career

Atlanta Braves superstar Hank Aaron belts the only inside-the-park home run of his career

Adolfo Phillips steals home to help the Cubs edge the Giants, 5 – 4.

The Mets acquire 3B Ed Charles from the Athletics for infielder Bob Johnson. At age 34, Charles will be the oldest starter for the Mets.

In the 8th inning against Jim Bunning of the Phillies, Hank Aaron drives a ball to deep center field and scores ahead of the relay. It will be the only inside-the-park home run among his 755.

Denny McLain wins 12 – 1 at Washington, as the Tigers pass the first-place Orioles. Detroit will remain in the lead for the rest of the season.

Hoyt Wilhelm of the Atlanta Braves becomes the first pitcher in major league history to appear in 1,000 games

Hoyt Wilhelm of the Atlanta Braves becomes the first pitcher in major league history to appear in 1,000 games

At Wrigley Field, Pete Rose clubs a 2-run homer off Fergie Jenkins in the 9th inning, as the Reds overcome the Cubs, 7 – 6.

Hoyt Wilhelm becomes the first major league pitcher to appear in 1000 games. The 47 year-old Braves’ knuckleballer will end his 21-year career in 1972 with 1070 appearances.

At New York, Bud Harrelson’s 2-run single in the 7th beats Houston and Wade Blasingame, 2 – 1. It is Blasingame’s first loss to the Mets after nine wins.

Orioles lefty Dave McNally hurls his fourth shutout of the season, blanking the Rangers, 1 – 0. Pete Broberg, who allows just two hits, takes the loss.

Will McEnaney provides 3 1/3 innings of hitless relief to seal the Reds’ 7 – 1 win over the Mets. Clay Kirby gets the win.

The Braves lose a doubleheader to the Pirates, 3 – 0 and 2 – 1, to run their loss streak to 16. Jim Rooker is the winner in game 1, with Larry Demery the victor in game 2.

Montreal Expos right-hander Charlie Lea pitches the first no-hitter in the history of Olympic Stadium

Montreal Expos right-hander Charlie Lea pitches the first no-hitter in the history of Olympic Stadium

In the Giants’ 4 – 2 loss at Pittsburgh, Giants CF Chili Davis throws out two runners in one inning. Dale Berra drives in three runs for the winners. Don Robinson, relieving in the 8th with the bases loaded and no outs, stops SF on no runs.

Mark Langston strikes out 16 batters in a 4 – 2 win over Toronto, equaling this season’s high set the day before by Boston’s Roger Clemens in a 2 – 0 three-hitter over the Royals.

The Cubs lose to the Giants, 4 – 3 when a rally falls short. Jerome Walton is tagged for the last out as he is crawling to 3B. Walton injures his hamstring on the play and will miss a month, then come back to win the Rookie of the Year Award.

Mark Langston no-hits Toronto for eight innings before Tom Lawless singles and the Blue Jays rally for three runs to beat Seattle, 3 – 2. It is the third time this season that the Blue Jays have broken up a no-hit bid in the 9th inning.

Oakland OF Jose Canseco is photographed leaving the West Side apartment of singer Madonna. He then goes 0 for 3 in Oakland’s 5 – 3 loss to the Yankees.

The Braves score seven runs in the bottom of the 9th to come back from an 8 – 1 deficit to tie the Phillies. Atlanta goes on to win the game, 9 – 8 in 15 innings.

David Cone

David Cone goes under career threatening surgery

Yankees P David Cone undergoes surgery to remove an aneurysm in his pitching arm.

For his second straight start, Braves P John Smoltz is backed by 18 hits and he coasts to his 7th straight win, 11 – 0 over the Phils. Javy Lopez leads the Braves with four hits. Smoltz beat the Phils, 11 – 9, on May 5th, when the Braves also collected 18 hits.

The Red Sox edge the Blue Jays, 6 – 5, in 11 innings. John Valentin ties the score with a 2-out homer in the 9th and Troy O’Leary homers in the 11th to win it. Heathcliff Slocumb, Tom Gordon and Mike Stanton combine to strike out 17 Jays.

Montreal’s Henry Rodriguez hits his second homer of the game, a 3-run shot in the 8th, to send the Expos to a 5 – 2 win over the Astros. Starter Jeff Fassero is the winner. Following Rodriguez’s home run, the game is delayed when fans in the LF bleachers shower the field with “Oh, Henry” candy bars.

The Athletics defeat the Twins by a score of 15 – 5. Oakland CF Ernie Young gets four safeties, including three home runs, and drives home 6. Young entered the game with three career homers in 164 major league at-bats. He is believed to have had the fewest career home runs of any player ever to hit three in a game.

A streak of 19 straight steals by Twins baserunners is stopped when Denny Hocking is caught stealing. The Twins fall to the Blue Jays, 6 – 4.

After missing April due to a hand injury, Juan Gonzalez shows his old clout, hitting a grand slam and knocking in six runs in the Rangers’ 11 – 5 win over the Red Sox.

In San Francisco, the Cubs pull off the first triple play in the majors this year, taking advantage of the infield fly rule and the wind to turn an odd one against the Giants. With two on, Stan Javier lofts a fly ball into shallow center field and umpire Bob Davidson waits before calling an infield fly. Three Cubs lunge for the ball before it bounces off center fielder Brian McRae’s glove and hits the ground for the first out. Kirk Rueter tries for third, but McRae’s throw beats him. Darryl Hamilton tries for second, but 3B Jose Hernandez’s throw to Ryne Sandberg nabs him to complete the triple play. The Giants will win the game, however, 4 – 2.

Pete Rose, banned from all aspects of the game by Commissioner Giamatti in 1989, appears as a special instructor for the newly created Sacramento Steelheads. The team plays in the Western Baseball League which is independent, and therefore not governed by Major League Baseball.

In a 12 – 4 rout of the Mariners, Boston shortstop Nomar Garciaparra hits two grand slams as well as a two-run homer, becoming the first American League player to drive in 10 runs in a game since 1975. Garciaparra clouts a bases-loaded homer in the 1st, a 2-run shot in the 3rd, and another grand slam in the 8th. Nomar is the first Bosox member since Jim Tabor, in 1939, to slam two slams in a game, and just the 9th in major league history. Robin Ventura last did it, in 1995.

The Pirates defeat the Mets, 13 – 9, as Wil Cordero goes 5 for 5 with a double, home run, and four RBIs. The Mets’ Rickey Henderson becomes the 21st major-leaguer to garner 10,000 at bats in his career. Henderson finishes the night with 10,002 at-bats and trails only Cal Ripken Jr., among active players.

The Twins defeat the Indians, 10 – 9, overcoming an 8 – 1 deficit. It is the biggest comeback in Minnesota’s 40-year history.

Richard Ankiel, father of Cardinals rookie P Rick Ankiel, is arrested for allegedly throwing a loaded handgun from his car. The elder Ankiel is soon to begin serving an almost 6-year sentence for participating in a cocaine and marijuana trafficking operation.

Marlins P Ricky Bones is scratched from his start after injuring his lower back watching television. The injury occurs while Bones is relaxing in a clubhouse recliner.

At the SkyDome, the A’s outslug the Blue Jays, 14 – 8, as seven homers leave the park. Miguel Tejada hits a 3-run home run, the 6th game in a row he’s homered at the SkyDome. Jason Giambi and Carlos Delgado match homers, and Brian Simmons and Darrin Fletcher go back-to-back.

The Giants score eight runs in the 6th inning and roll by the Expos, 13 – 0. Kirk Rueter goes eight innings for the win. Britt Reames loses his 4th in a row. The Giants, led by four by Armando Rios, collect 18 hits.

The Royals defeat the Indians, 8 – 3, ending Cleveland’s 10-game winning streak. Brian Meadows goes 6 2/3 innings for the win over Bartolo Colon. Mike Sweeney and Mark Quinn each have three hits.

A MRI reveals White Sox first baseman and two-time Most Valuable Player Frank Thomas has a right tricep tear which will require surgery. The injury, caused by diving for a ground ball, will keep the “Big Hurt” out of action for the rest of the season.

The Brewers defeat the Cubs, 11 – 1, as OF Jeromy Burnitz hits three home runs and drives in six runs. Devon White adds a grand slam, while Sammy Sosa does the only Cubs damage with his 398th career home run. The Brewers, 8 – 0 in their new ballpark, are just three games back of Chicago in the NL Central.

The Angels score 8 runs in the 3rd inning on their way to a 19 – 0 rout of the White Sox. The Haloes join the 1923 Indians, 1939 Yankees and 1950 Red Sox as the only teams to beat two opponents by 19 or more runs in the same season. Earlier this year, the Angels beat the Indians, 21 – 2. The Anaheim destruction of Chicago is just the 11th since 1901 in which a team scored 19 or more runs while shutting out its opponent, and the first such shutout in the American League since 1955, when Cleveland beat Boston, 19 – 0.

The Phillies’ Vicente Padilla holds Arizona hitless until Chris Donnels doubles with two outs in the 8th inning. He surrenders another hit in tossing a 4 – 0 victory.

Tony Peña, the American League Manager of the Year in 2003, resigns as manager of the Royals. Bob Schaefer, the team’s bench coach, will try to improve the worst record in the big leagues (8-25) as he becomes Kansas City’s interim skipper.

Tony Pena, the 2003 American League Manager of the Year, resigns when the Royals get off to a slow. Bob Schaeffer, the team’s bench coach, will try to improve the worst record in the big leagues (8-25) when he becomes Kansas City’s skipper on an interim basis.

At Safeco Field, the Devil Rays beat the Mariners, 1-0, with the lone run crossing the plate as the result of a fifth-inning balk committed by Jamie Moyer. The Seattle southpaw’s body sways when he tries to adjust his grip on the ball without removing his foot from the rubber, allowing Toby Hall to cross the plate on the miscue.

The KIA Tigers sign Hee-Seop Choi, the first Korean position player to have played in the majors. Choi spent 2006 in AAA and on the disabled list. He is the fourth South Korean player to move from the USA to the Korea Baseball Organization this year, following Seung Song, Jung Bong and Hyang-nam Choi

The Brewers drop their 7th game in their past 8 contests, 5 – 3, to the Cardinals. One bright spot is Ben Sheets’s 1,082nd strikeout, breaking Teddy Higuera’s franchise record.

The Cincinnati Reds hit five homers, including a pinch-hit blast with two outs in the bottom of the 9th by pitcher Micah Owings, but lose, 8 – 7, to the Cardinals in 10 inning. Colby Rasmus doubles in the winning run for St. Louis, while Paul Janish fouls out with the bases loaded against Chris Perez to end the game.

On the night they pay tribute to long-time broadcaster Ernie Harwell, who passed away last week, the Tigers beat New York, 5 – 4, with key contributions from three former Yankees. Johnny Damon, signed as a free agent in the off-season, hits a home run in his first game against his former team, while Austin Jackson drives in a run and Phil Coke gets two key outs late in the game. Jackson and Coke were both obtained in a trade for OF Curtis Granderson, who is on the disabled list.

The Nationals move to second place in the NL East with a 3 – 2 win over the Mets. Adam Kennedy and Ryan Zimmerman hit back-to-back homers in support of rookie Luis Atilano’s pitching. The Nats are now 4 games above .500 for the first time since September of 2005. After the game, the struggling Mets designate veteran Frank Catalanotto for assignment and call up OF Chris Carter from AAA Buffalo.

The Blue Jays and the Red Sox play a thriller in Toronto. The Jays take an early lead with three runs off struggling starter Jon Lester in the 1st, but Boston comes back with 4 runs off Kyle Drabek, highlighted by homers by David Ortiz and Adrian Gonzalez. The Jays take back a 5 – 4 lead on homers by Jose Bautista and J.P. Arencibia, but the Sox tie it again. In the bottom of the 8th, David Cooper, who came into the game in the 6th inning as a pinch-runner after Yunel Escobar was hit by a pitch, belts his first major league homer off Daniel Bard to put Toronto back ahead, but Boston ties the game right back when Gonzalez hits his second homer of the game off Frank Francisco. Toronto finally wins the game in the 10th when Rajai Davis hits a single off Matt Albers, steals second and third base on consecutive pitches, and comes in to score on Cooper’s sacrifice fly. The Jays win 7 – 6, although being outhit 16 to 9.

It’s a battle of aces in Miami as Josh Johnson outpitches his idol Roy Halladay for a 2 – 1 Marlins win over the Phillies. Johnson gives up a solo homer to Ryan Howard over 7 innings, but Halladay gets in trouble in the 3rd by walking Josh, who comes in to score on Emilio Bonifacio’s sacrifice fly. The Fish score an unearned run off Halladay in the 8th for the win.

Bill Gallo, the creator of colorful characters such as General Von Steingrabber, a caricature of the late George Steinbrenner, and Basement Bertha, who radiated good-humored optimism for the fans of the fledgling Mets, dies from complications of pneumonia at the age of 88. The cartoonist’s last drawing, which was published in mid-April in the Daily News, his employer for seven decades, featured Bertha window shopping with the hope of being invited to the royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine.

The Baltimore Orioles become the first team in American League history to lead off the game with three consecutive homers, as Ryan Flaherty, J.J. Hardy and Nick Markakis go deep to open the bottom of the 1st; it has been done three times in the National League. The last team to homer in its first three at-bats was the Milwaukee Brewers on September 9, 2007. Hardy also was the middle man in that spree. Colby Lewis, who surrenders the three longs balls, exits with an unusual pitching line: 7 innings pitched, 5 hits – all home runs – one walk and 12 strikeouts. Adam Jones and Wilson Betemit also homer off Lewis, the latter following the lone walk, issued to Matt Wieters. Baltimore wins, 6 – 5, with Wei-Yin Chen getting the win over Lewis.

The Blue Jays sign veteran Vladimir Guerrero to a minor league contract. GM Alex Anthopoulos tones down expectations, explaining that Vlad must first prove in extended spring training that he is in condition, then play in some minor league contests before the Jays consider adding him to their roster. Indeed, Guerrero will not make it all the way back to the bigs.

Boston’s Jon Lester pitches a one-hit shutout in a 5 – 0 win over the Blue Jays at Fenway Park. It is the 9,000th regular season victory in Sox history.

Rookie Shelby Miller of the Cardinals also pitches a one-hitter, shutting out the Rockies, 3 – 0. He allows a single to lead-off hitter Eric Young Jr., then retires 27 straight batters for his first career complete game.

Alex Cobb of the Rays goes on a strikeout binge, piling up 13 Ks in only 4 2/3 innings. This includes 4 strikeouts in the 3rd, when Will Venable reaches on a wild pitch after striking out. However, all the strikeouts mean a high pitch count, and Cobb can’t get out of the 5th inning, leaving with a 3 – 2 deficit. The Rays come back to beat the Padres, 6 – 3, as four relievers add five more whiffs for a total of 18.

Tampa Bay starter Alex Cobb strikes out 13 San Diego hitters, but doesn’t make it out of the fourth inning in the Rays’ 6-3 victory at the Trop. The right-hander records 12 of his 14 outs with K’s, including four in the third frame, when a wild pitch on strike three allows the batter to reach first.

Felix Hernandez records his 2,000th career strikeout in leading the Mariners to a 4 – 3 win over the Athletics; at 29, he is the fourth-youngest to the mark.

For his part, Michael Pineda of the Yankees strikes out a career-high 16 Orioles batters in 7 innings in picking up a 6 – 2 win. The 16 K’s are tied for second-most in Yankees history, the team record being 18 by Ron Guidry, while the Orioles set team records for most strikeouts against one pitcher, and most in a game, as they whiff two more times in the final two innings to end up with 18.

On Mother’s Day, 29 year-old Felix Hernandez becomes the fourth youngest player to strike out 2,000 batters when he whiffs A’s outfielder Sam Fuld in the Mariners’ 4-3 victory at Safeco Field. Only Walter Johnson, Bert Blyleven, and Sam McDowell have accomplished the feat at a younger age than the Seattle right-hander known as King Felix.

Rick van den Hurk throws a perfect game through 5 1/3 IP before a single by Tatsuhiro Tamura in a 4-hit, 10-whiff, no-walk, one-run gem over 8 to beat the Chiba Lotte Marines, 2-1. Van den Hurk improves to 5-0 this year and 14-0 over two seasons with the Softbank Hawks. This marks two records – the longest winning streak by a foreign hurler in NPB history (topping Tai-Yuan Kuo’s 13 in 1987-1988) and the longest winning streak to start a NPB career (topping Tsuneo Horiuchi’s 50-year-old record).

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1993 – Ken Caminiti spanks a two-run double that caps a four-run eighth as Houston stuns the Braves, 5-2. Jose Uribe scores the game-winner. Xavier Hernandez picks up the win in relief. 

1992 – Jeff Bagwell comes off the bench to club a solo homer in the eighth that ties the Pirates at 4-4. He then tags Roger Mason in the tenth with another blast to cap a 6-4 victory. 

1986 – Glenn Davis swats two home runs and a double in leading a 6-3 triumph at Pittsburgh. Rick Rhoden and Bob Walk are his victims. Kevin Bass adds a solo shot to the winning effort. 

1979 – Dr. John McMullen purchases the Astros from the Ford Motor Credit Corporation. The shipping magnate, a former partner of New York Yankee boss George Steinbrenner, jokes that nothing is more limited than being Steinbrenner’s limited partner. 

1972 – Pencil-thin shortstop Roger Metzger belts his first major-league homer to spark a six-run eighth-inning rally that shocks the Cardinals, 10-7. The shot comes off Hall-Of-Famer Bob Gibson. Pinch-hitter Jimmy Stewart’s two-run triple gives Houston the lead. Lee May caps a four-hit night with a ninth-inning blast. Houston leads the NL West by a game over Los Angeles.

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