This Date in Baseball-Week Ahead

April 18

1899 — John McGraw made his managerial debut at age 26 with the Orioles. He led them to a 5-3 victory over the New York Giants, a team he later managed for more than 30 years.

1916 — Philadelphia’s Grover Alexander pitched his first of 16 shutouts of the season with a win over the Boston Braves.

1923 — In the first game played in Yankee Stadium, a record crowd of 72,400 watched Babe Ruth lead the Yankees past the Red Sox with a home run.

1945 — In his major league debut, one-armed outfielder Pete Gray had one hit in four at-bats in the St. Louis Browns’ 7-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

1942 — Due to the fear of a Japanese attack, west coast military leaders ask the Pacific Coast League to limit crowds to 3,000 fans.

1946 — Jackie Robinson makes his minor league debut for the Montreal Royals, the International League affiliate club of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

1950 — The first opening night game was held in St. Louis. The Cardinals, behind a complete game by Gerry Staley and home runs from Red Schoendienst and Stan Musial, beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2.

1955 — Roberto Clemente’s first major league home run, an inside-the-parker.

1958 — The LA Dodgers play their first game at the Los Angeles Coliseum in front of a crowd of 78,672.

1964 — Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers strikes out the side on nine pitches, becoming the first pitcher in major league history to achieve the feat twice.

1970 — Nolan Ryan of the New York Mets allowed one hit — a leadoff single by Denny Doyle — and struck out 15 in a 7-0 win over Philadelphia.

1982 — The Atlanta Braves defeated the Astros 6-5 in Houston for their 11th straight win to start the season, a National League record.

1987 — Philadelphia’s Mike Schmidt hit his 500th home run with two outs in the ninth to rally the Phillies to an 8-6 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium.

1997 — Roger Pavlik of the Rangers became the first AL pitcher to walk the first four batters of the game in a 6-5 loss to Toronto.

2000 — Adam Kennedy tied a club record with eight RBIs and came within a double of the cycle as the Anaheim Angels defeated Toronto 16-10. A hot dog promotion at the SkyDome went awry as fans got splattered with bits of wiener when they fell apart in mid air after being shot from the “Hot Dog Blaster.” Although the hot dogs repeatedly disintegrated, promoters continued shooting them into the stands.

2005 — The New York Yankees scored 13 runs in the second inning of a 19-8 win over Tampa Bay. The last time New York scored 13 runs in an inning was June 21, 1945, in the fifth inning of a 14-4 victory at Boston.

2006 — Luis González of the Arizona Diamondbacks doubles to become the 21st major leaguer with 300 home runs and 500 doubles.

2007 — Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox faced the minimum 27 batters in a 6-0 no-hit victory over the Texas Rangers. Buehrle walked Sammy Sosa with one out in the fifth, then promptly picked him off first base.

2009 — Asdrubal Cabrera and Mark DeRosa went a combined 8-for-13, with 11 RBIs in Cleveland’s 22-4 victory against New York at Yankee Stadium. The Indians put together the first record-setting performance in the new Yankee Stadium, scoring 14 runs in the second inning — the most allowed by New York in an inning.

2017 — Pirates All-Star CF Starling Marte is handed an 80-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.

2018 — Owners of the worst record in the majors at 3-15, the Reds fire manager Bryan Price following a 2-0 loss to the Brewers.

2023 — Clayton Kershaw records the 200th win of his career with a typical performance, holding the Mets scoreless over seven innings while racking up nine strikeouts in a 5 - 0 Dodgers win. At 200-88, Kershaw is just the fourth pitcher of the modern era to record his 200th win before having 100 losses, following Whitey Ford, Lefty Grove and Pedro Martinez.

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April 19

1900 — The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Boston Braves 19-17 in 10 innings to set a major league record for most runs scored by two clubs on opening day. The Braves scored nine runs in the ninth inning to put the game into extra innings.

1920 — Al Schacht, who later became the “Clown Prince of Baseball,” was all business in pitching the Senators to a 7-0 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics.

1938 — Emmett Mueller of the Phillies and Ernie Koy of the visiting Dodgers each homered in their first major league at-bats as Brooklyn defeated Philadelphia 12-5.

1949 — The New York Yankees unveil a granite monument to Babe Ruth.

1956 — The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 in 10 innings at Jersey City’s Roosevelt Stadium, the first major league game held in New Jersey.

1960 — Roger Maris makes his New York Yankees debut.

1981 — In an International League night game, the Rochester Red Wings and Pawtucket Red Sox played to a 2-2 tie through 32 innings before play was suspended at 4:07 a.m. The game was completed later in the season with Pawtucket scoring the winning run in the 33rd inning of the longest game in professional baseball history.

1987 — Rob Deer hit a three-run homer to tie the score and Dale Sveum won the game with a two-run shot as the Milwaukee Brewers rallied for five runs in the ninth inning to beat the Texas Rangers 6-4 and set an American League record with their 12th straight victory to start the season.

1996 — Juan Gonzalez homered and drove in six runs as Texas beat Baltimore 26-7. The Rangers scored 16 runs in the eighth inning — one short of the modern major league mark — and scored the most runs by an AL team in 41 years.

1997 — A major league game is played in Hawaii for the first time.

2002 — Jeff Cirillo of the Seattle Mariners ties a major league record with 99 consecutive errorless games played at third base.

2004 — Seattle became the third team since 1974 to win a game on a balk in extra innings, edging Oakland 2-1. With runners on first and third and two out in the bottom of the 14th inning A’s reliever Justin Duchscherer was called for a balk to score Quentin McCracken from third.

2012 — Curtis Granderson hit three home runs in the first four innings and matched a career high with five hits, sending the New York Yankees to a 7-6 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

2012 — The Houston Astros set a franchise record by hitting three triples in a five-run first inning on the way to an 11-4 victory over Washington. Jose Altuve, Brian Bogusevic and Matt Downs had the triples off Edwin Jackson.

2022 — The Padres are the first team to announce a deal to have advertisements on their uniforms, as they will sport the logo of Motorola on their jersey sleeves starting next season.

2023 — The Oakland Athletics sign a binding agreement to buy a plot of land near the famous strip in Las Vegas, NV, with the plan of building a $1.5 billion ballpark with a partially retractable roof there. The A’s lease with the city of Oakland, CA for the aging Oakland Coliseum expires after the 2024 season, and negotiations to find a new site for a ballpark in the East Bay area over the past decade have proved futile. The new digs could be ready by 2027.

2024 — Travis d’Arnaud hits three homers including a grand slam to lead the Braves over the Rangers, 8 - 3. He is the first catcher with a three-homer game for the Braves since Dale Murphy in 1979.

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April 20

1910 — Addie Joss of Cleveland pitched the second no-hitter of his career, a 1-0 win over the White Sox in Chicago.

1912 — Fenway Park was opened in Boston and the Red Sox defeated the visiting New York Highlanders, later known as the Yankees, 7-6 in 11 innings. Tiger Stadium in Detroit also opened its doors as the Tigers defeated the Cleveland Indians 6-5.

1916 — The Chicago Cubs played their first game at Weeghman Park — renamed Wrigley Field in 1926 — defeating the Cincinnati Reds 7-6 in 11 innings.

1920 — Manager Gavvy Cravath of the Philadelphia Phillies inserted himself as a pinch hitter and beat the New York Giants with a three-run homer, 3-0. It was his last home run in the majors.

1937 — Gee Walker hit for the cycle on opening day to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 4-3 win over Cleveland. Walker hit the cycle in reverse order: home run, triple, double, single.

1938 — Cleveland’s Bob Feller pitched the first of 12 career one-hitters, beating the St. Louis Browns 9-0.

1939 — In his first major league game, Ted Williams hit a 400-foot double in four at-bats as the Boston Red Sox lost 2-0 to New York at Yankee Stadium.

1941 — The Brooklyn Dodgers become the first major league team to wear protective headgear.

1967 — Tom Seaver of the New York Mets recorded his first major league victory with a 6-1 triumph over the Chicago Cubs. Seaver went 7 2-3 innings and gave up eight hits and one run.

1982 — The Atlanta Braves recorded their 12th consecutive victory from the beginning of the season — a 4-2 decision over Cincinnati in Atlanta — and eclipsed the major league record set a year earlier by the Oakland A’s.

1988 — The Baltimore Orioles set a major league record with their 14th straight defeat at the start of the season, losing to the Milwaukee Brewers 8-6.

1990 — Seattle’s Brian Holman lost his bid for baseball’s 13th perfect game with two outs in the ninth inning on Ken Phelps’ pinch-hit home run in the Mariners’ 6-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics.

1997 — The Chicago Cubs stopped their season-opening losing streak at 14 games, rallying in the sixth inning to beat the New York Mets 4-3 in the second game of a doubleheader. The Mets won the opener 8-2. Chicago’s 0-14 start set a National League record and was the second worst behind the 1988 Baltimore Orioles, who began 0-21.

1999 — Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott agrees to sell her controlling interest in the Reds to a group headed by Carl H. Lindner, ending her 14-year tenure.

2001 — Carlos Delgado of the Blue Jays hit three homers for the second time this season, as Toronto beat the Kansas City Royals 12-4.

2006 — Julio Franco became the oldest player in major league history to hit a home run when he hit a two-run, pinch-hit shot in the eighth inning to help the New York Mets rally for a 7-2 win over San Diego. Franco, 47, replaced Athletics pitcher Jack Quinn in the record book who was 46 years, 357 days old when he homered on June 27, 1930.

2007 — Alex Rodriguez went 3-for-5 with two home runs in a 7-6 loss to Boston and joined Mike Schmidt, who hit 12 homers in the first 15 games in 1976, as the fastest to reach a dozen in baseball history.

2008 — The Blue Jays release former superstar Frank Thomas, who has 516 major league home runs.

2010 — Pitcher Edinson Volquez of the Reds is suspended for 50 games for failing a PED test during spring training.

2011 — Commissioner Bud Selig steps in and takes control of the day-to-day operations of the Los Angeles Dodgers from owner Frank McCourt.

2012 — Drew Stubbs had three hits and drove in three runs to lead the Cincinnati Reds to a 9-4 win over the Chicago Cubs — the 10,000th victory in franchise history.

2021 — Corbin Burnes strikes out 10 batters and walks none in 6 innings in a 6-0 Brewers win over the Padres.

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April 21

1910 — The Cleveland Indians played their first game at League Park and lost to the Detroit Tigers 5-0, in front of 19,867.

1955 — The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 14-4 at Ebbets Field for their 10th consecutive victory from the start of the season — a major league record that lasted until 1981.

1957 — A power failure stops a major league game for the first time in history. The night game between the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Senators at Griffith Stadium is halted after five innings.

1961 — The Minnesota Twins, formerly known as the Washington Senators, play their first home game in Minnesota at Metropolitan Stadium, losing to the expansion “new” Washington Senators, 5-3.

1967 — After 737 consecutive games, the Dodgers were rained out for the first time since moving to Los Angeles. The St. Louis Cardinals were scheduled.

1982 — The Atlanta Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-3 for their 13th straight victory.

1984 — In his second start since August 1982, Montreal pitcher David Palmer threw five perfect innings against the St. Louis Cardinals in a 4-0 victory stopped by rain.

1987 — The Milwaukee Brewers’ 13-game winning streak from the start of the season ended with a 7-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox. Milwaukee shared the major league streak of 13 straight, set by the Atlanta Braves in 1982.

1994 — Eddie Murray set a major league record with his 11th switch-hit home run game, helping the Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins 10-6.

1996 — Brady Anderson led off the first inning with a home run for the fourth straight game for Baltimore. The Texas Rangers overcame that homer, beating the Orioles 9-6.

2002 — Randy Johnson struck out 17 batters while giving up two hits in Arizona’s 7-1 win over Colorado.

2002 — Atlanta’s Rafael Furcal tied a modern major league record and became the first Braves player in 46 years to hit three triples in a game, as Atlanta beat Florida 4-2.

2006 — Manny Ramirez of the Boston Red Sox hits two home runs in the 12-inning, 7 - 6 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. Ramirez’s first homer is his 200th with the Red Sox and 436th for his career. He also hit 236 homers with the Cleveland Indians, becoming the fourth major leaguer to hit 200 homers with two different teams, after Jimmie Foxx, Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro.

2006 — Albert Pujols hit his major league leading 11th homer of the season and drove in four RBIs in St. Louis’ 9-3 win over Chicago. Pujols’ first inning two-run blast was his 1,000th career hit. He became the fastest player in major league history to reach that milestone with 200 homers.

2012 — Phil Humber threw the first perfect game in the majors in almost two years, leading the Chicago White Sox to a 4-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners. It was baseball’s 21st perfect game and first since Philadelphia’s Roy Halladay threw one against the Florida Marlins on May 29, 2010.

2012 — Nick Swisher hit a grand slam to help the New York Yankees erase a nine-run deficit, then he added a two-run double to give them the lead as they posted back-to-back seven-run innings to beat Boston 15-9 at Fenway Park.

2014 — Ike Davis became the first player to hit grand slams for different teams in the same April, and Neil Walker had a game-winning single with two outs in the ninth inning for Pittsburgh. The Pirates twice overcame deficits to beat the Cincinnati 6-5.

2015 — Jay Bruce and Todd Frazier each hit two-out grand slams, powering the Cincinnati Reds past the Milwaukee Brewers 16-10. Elian Herrera hit a grand slam for the Brewers. It was the fourth time in major league history two teams combined for three grand slams.

2016 — Jake Arrieta of the Chicago Cubs pitched his second no-hitter in a span of 11 regular-season starts, shutting down the Cincinnati Reds in a 16-0 rout.

2019 — Rangers slugger Joey Gallo ends a bizarre streak when he drives in a run on a sacrifice fly in the 4th inning, as part of a wild 11 - 10 win over the Astros. Gallo had gone 1,145 at-bats in his career without recording a sac fly, the longest such streak since it was introduced as an official statistic in 1954. In the game.

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