Aug. 6
1908 - John Lush threw a six-inning no-hitter as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 2-0. It was Lush’s second no-hitter against the Dodgers.
1952 - Satchel Paige, 46, became the oldest pitcher in major-league history to pitch a complete game or a shutout when he beat Virgil Trucks and the Detroit Tigers 1-0 in 12 innings.
1972 - Atlanta’s Hank Aaron hit his 660th and 661st career home runs to break Babe Ruth’s record for most home runs with one club. The 661st came in the 10th inning to give the Braves a 4-3 triumph over the Cincinnati Reds.
1981 - As a result of a seven-week strike, major league baseball players approved a split-season format. The New York Yankees, Oakland A’s, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers were declared the first-half champions and automatically qualified for the divisional series.
1985 - The Major League Baseball Players’ Association went on strike.
1986 - The Texas Rangers beat the Baltimore Orioles 13-11 in a record-setting battle of grand slams. Texas’ Toby Harrah hit a grand slam in the second inning before Larry Sheets and Jim Dwyer connected for grand slams in Baltimore’s nine-run fourth.
1988 - Oakland Athletics outfielder Jose Canseco became the 11th player in major league history to hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases in a season. Canseco, with 31 homers, stole second base with one out in the ninth inning for his 30th as the A’s edged the Seattle Mariners 5-4.
1988 - Rich Gossage registered his 300th career save as the Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-4.
1999 - Tony Gwynn went 4-for-5, singling in his first at-bat to become the 22nd major leaguer to reach 3,000 hits, as the San Diego Padres beat the Montreal Expos 12-10.
2001 - Boston’s Scott Hatteberg performed the ultimate baseball opposite. Hatteberg hit a grand slam one at-bat after lining into a triple play as the Red Sox defeated the Texas Rangers 10-7. Hatteberg lined into a triple play in the fourth inning and in the sixth he hit his second career grand slam to move Boston ahead for good.
2002 - At 32, Robb Nen became the youngest player to record 300 saves, as San Francisco beat the Chicago Cubs 11-10. Nen became the 16th member of the 300-save club.
2007 - St. Louis tied a major league record with 10 straight hits in a 10-run fifth inning, with pitcher Braden Looper and Aaron Miles getting two apiece in a 10-5 victory over San Diego.
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Aug. 7
1907 - Walter Johnson won the first of his 417 victories leading the Washington Senators to a 7-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians.
1922 - Ken Williams of the St. Louis Browns hit two home runs in the sixth inning of rout over the Washington Senators.
1923 - Cleveland’s Frank Bower went 6-for-6 with a double and five singles as the Indians routed the Washington Senators 22-2.
1956 - The largest crowd in minor-league history, 57,000, saw 50-year-old Satchel Paige of Miami beat Columbus in an International League game played in the Orange Bowl.
1968 - Joe Keough of the Oakland A’s hit a pinch home run in his first major league at-bat in the eighth inning of the second game of a doubleheader against the New York Yankees. The A’s won the nightcap 4-3 in 10 innings after dropping the first game 3-0.
1971 - The New York Mets beat the Braves at Atlanta Stadium, 20-6. Ken Boswell led the Met attack with four hits and five RBIs including a grand slam off Mike McQueen.
1985 - Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth ended the strike by the Major League Baseball Players Association with the announcement of a tentative agreement. The season resumed Aug. 8.
1999 - Wade Boggs became the first player to homer for his 3,000th hit, with a two-run shot in Tampa Bay’s 15-10 loss to Cleveland. Boggs already had a pair of RBI singles when he homered off Chris Haney in the sixth inning.
2004 - Greg Maddux became the 22nd pitcher in major league history to reach 300 victories, leading the Chicago Cubs to an 8-4 victory over San Francisco.
2007 - San Francisco’s Barry Bonds hit home run No. 756 to break Hank Aaron’s storied record with one out in the fifth inning, hitting a full-count, 84 mph fastball from Washington’s Mike Bacsik. Noticeably absent were commissioner Bud Selig and Aaron. The Nationals won the game, 8-6.
2010 - The Toronto Blue Jays became the first team to hit eight homers in a game in three years, getting two apiece from Aaron Hill and J.P. Arencibia in a 17-11 victory over Tampa Bay. Jose Bautista, Adam Lind, Edwin Encarnacion and Lyle Overbay also connected for the Blue Jays.
Today’s birthdays: Mike Trout 25; Jose Dominguez 26; Tony Zych 26; Carter Capps 25; Tommy Kahnle 27; Josh Smith 29; Kirk Nieuwenhuis 29; Wade LeBlanc 32.
Aug. 8
1903 - A week after pitching his first doubleheader triumph, Joe “Iron Man” McGinnity of the New York Giants scored a double victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers 6-1 and 4-3. In the second game, he stole home.
1915 - Philadelphia’s Gavvy Cravath hit four doubles and drove in eight runs in a 14-7 victory over the Reds at Cincinnati.
1920 - Howard Ehmke of the Detroit Tigers pitched the fastest 1-0 game in American League history - 1 hour, 13 minutes, for a victory against the New York Yankees.
1931 - Bob Burke of the Washington Senators pitched a 5-0 no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox.
1954 - The Brooklyn Dodgers pounded the Cincinnati Reds 20-7 at Ebbets Field. The Dodgers scored 13 runs in the eighth inning after two were out.
1973 - Designated hitter Orlando Cepeda hit four doubles as the Boston Red Sox posted a 9-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals.
1982 - California’s Doug DeCinces hit three home runs in a game for the second time in less than a week. DeCinces hit solo homers in the first and third innings and connected for a two-run shot in the eighth of a 9-5 victory over the Seattle Mariners. DeCinces hit three against Minnesota on Aug. 3.
1985 - Baseball, after a two-day walkout, resumed playing with 18 games scheduled, including five doubleheaders.
1988 - The first night game scheduled in the 74-year history of Chicago’s Wrigley Field’s was postponed with the Cubs leading the Philadelphia Phillies 3-1 after heavy rains started in the bottom of the fourth inning. Philadelphia’s Phil Bradley led off the game with a home run, but all numbers were wiped out when the rain came.
1992 - Oakland’s Dennis Eckersley had his consecutive save record snapped at 40. His consecutive save records - 36 straight to start a season, and 40 straight over two seasons - ended trying to protect a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning against the Kansas City Royals. Eckersley gave up a two-out, two-run single to Gregg Jefferies to give the Royals a 3-2 lead. But the Athletics came back to win the game in the ninth, 5-3.
1997 - Randy Johnson struck out 19, matching the major league record for left-handers he had tied earlier this season, as the Seattle Mariners defeated the Chicago White Sox 5-0.
1998 - Paul Molitor stole his 500th base in Minnesota’s 6-3 loss to Baltimore become the fifth player with 3,000 hits and 500 steals. Molitor joined Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Eddie Collins and Lou Brock.
2000 - Darren Dreifort of the Los Angeles Dodgers hit two homers and was the winning pitcher in a 7-5 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
2001 - Damion Easley went 6-for-6 with a home run and three RBIs as Detroit pounded Texas 19-6. The Tigers tied a modern major league record by scoring 13 runs in the ninth inning.
2010 - Derek Jeter passed Babe Ruth on the career hits list and Mark Teixeira hit his 25th homer, becoming the fourth player to hit at least 25 in each of his first eight big league seasons leading the New York Yankees to a 7-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox. Jeter broke a tie with The Babe for 39th place on the career hits list with an RBI single in the second inning, his 2,874th hit. The three other players to hit at least 25 homers in first eight seasons are Eddie Mathews, Darryl Strawberry and Albert Pujols.
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