1869 The Forest Citys, a team that includes unpaid amateur players who do not want compensation to remain 'pure,' play the first professional baseball game in Cleveland, losing to the Cincinnati Red Stockings, 25-6, in front of 2,000 spectators at Case Commons. The club will continue to play next season and become a charter member of the National Association Professional Baseball Players in 1871.
1903 Delahanty, who once hit four homers in one game, goes over a Niagara Falls railroad bridge and drowns. The circumstances concerning the Senator outfielder's death will remain a mystery, but rumors persist he was kicked off a train by a conductor for being drunk and disorderly.
1930 Carl Reynolds becomes only the second player in big-league history to homer in three consecutive innings when he goes deep in the first three frames of the 15-4 White Sox victory over the hometown Yankees. The Chicago outfielder's power surge includes two inside-the-park round-trippers.
1941 On a sweltering day in front of 52,832 fans at Yankee Stadium, Joe DiMaggio hits a three-run homer off Red Sox hurler D!ck Newsome to extend his consecutive game hitting streak to 45 games. The 'Yankee Clipper' surpasses Wee Willie Keeler's 1897 major league mark of 44 straight games with a hit accomplished when the diminutive outfielder played with the Orioles.
1962 Johnny Podres ties a major league mark record, striking out eight consecutive batters in LA's 5-1 victory over Philadelphia. The 29 year-old southpaw's streak begins with the third out in the top of the fourth frame and ends after the first out in the seventh inning of the Dodger Stadium contest.
1963 In one of baseball's most memorable pitching duels, Giants' right-hander Juan Marichal and the Braves' southpaw Warren Spahn both hurl 15 scoreless innings before Willie Mays ends the marathon contest with a homer off Spahnie in the bottom of the 16th giving San Francisco a 1-0 win.
1970 Joe Niekro keeps the Yankees hitless until Horace Clarke legs out an infield single with one out in the ninth inning of the team’s 5-0 victory at Tiger Stadium. The hit marks the third time the Bronx Bomber second baseman has broken up a no-hitter in the past four weeks, having spoiled no-no bids by Royals left-hander Jim Rooker (June 4th) and Red Sox righty Sonny Siebert (June 19th)
1970 Tony Horton hits for the cycle against Baltimore in the Indians' 10-9 victory at Memorial Stadium. The Cleveland first baseman completes the feat with a leadoff home run in the top of the ninth inning off Pete Richert.
1975 Don Baylor goes deep in his first three plate appearances in the Orioles' 13-5 victory over Detroit at Tiger Stadium. The trio of home runs today gives the Baltimore left fielder four consecutive round-trippers, having hit one off Reggie Cleveland in his last at-bat yesterday in the team's 10-6 loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
1977 For the second time this season, White Sox first baseman Jim Spencer ties the club record set by Shoeless Joe Jackson in 1920, when he collects eight RBIs, duplicating a feat he first accomplished in May against the Indians. The 29 year-old infielder's home runs help to beat the Twins at Comiskey Park, 13-8.
1978 Ron Guidry improves his record to 13-0 with a 3-2 Yankee victory over the Tigers at the Bronx ballpark. The 27 year-old southpaw, known as Louisiana Lightning, establishes the best start is the best in franchise history en route to finishing the season with a 25-3 record.
1985 Astros' hurler Joe Niekro notches his 200th career victory. The Niekro brothers (Joe & Phil) will join the Perrys (Jim & Gaylord) as the only brothers to win at least 200 games per pitcher.
1986 The Blue Jays score three runs in the eighth inning to beat the Red Sox and Roger Clemens, 4-2. The loss prevents the 'Rocket' from getting a record-tying 15th consecutive winning decision.
1993 At Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium, the latest game in major league history ends at 4:40 am when relief pitcher Mitch Williams, in his first at-bat of the season, singles home the winning run in the tenth inning, giving the Phillies a 6-5 victory over the Padres. The game, which started at 1:26 am due to the three rain delays in Game 1 of the twin bill, eclipses the 3:35 am mark established in Atlanta on July 4, 1985, in a game that ended with fireworks after the Mets beat the Braves in 19 innings, 16-13.
1995 Dodger right-hander Hideo Nomo, who is leading the National League in strikeouts, becomes the first player from Japan to be selected for the major league All-Star game. As the starter for the Senior Circuit, the 26 year-old rookie tosses two scoreless innings in National League's 3-2 victory over their American League rivals at The Ballpark in Arlington.
2000 After hitting two home runs in a 2-1 victory over the Expos, Marlins' outfielder Mark Smith becomes a hero for the second time this day when he pulls a man from a smoke-filled car minutes before the car explodes.
2007 With skipper Joe Torre watching from the Yankee dugout, Roger Clemens, throwing eight innings of a two-hit ball of a 5-1 win over the Twins, becomes the eighth pitcher to record 350 career victories. The New York manager was the catcher for Warren Spahn's 350th win, making him a participant of the only two occasions that a pitcher has reached the milestone since 1928.
2013 At Great American Ball Park, Homer Bailey becomes the first pitcher since Nolan Ryan to throw two no-hitters before another hurler accomplishes the feat when he gives up just a walk in the Reds' 3-0 victory over the Giants. Last September, the 27 year-old Cincinnati right-hander, the youngest pitcher to have pitched two no-hitters in his career, hurled the first no-hitter in PNC Park history, a dramatic 1-0 victory over the hometown Pirates.
