April 29
1902 — Baltimore Orioles infielder John McGraw is hit by pitches five times, but home plate umpire Jack Sheridan refuses to allow him to take first base. In the 9th inning, McGraw is hit for the last time and sits down in the batter’s box in protest. American League president Ban Johnson will suspend McGraw for five games.
1918 — Center fielder Tris Speaker executed the fourth unassisted double play of his career in the Cleveland Indians’ 8-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox.
1922 — The New York Giants hit four inside-the-park home runs in a 15-4 win at Braves Field in Boston. George Kelly hit two and Ross Youngs and Dave Bancroft hit the others. Youngs also hit for the cycle and added a double while going 5-for-5 and driving in five runs.
1931 — Wes Ferrell of the Cleveland Indians pitched a 7-0 no-hitter over the St. Louis Browns, including his brother Rick. Wes also knocked in four runs with a homer and a double.
1933 — In a strange play at home plate, catcher Luke Sewell of the Washington Senators tagged out two Yankees runners on the same play. Lou Gehrig had held up, thinking a fly ball would be caught. Dixie Walker closed up on him, and both were tagged out trying to score.
1958 — Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox becomes the tenth major league player to get 1,000 extra-base hits.
1981 — Steve Carlton struck out Montreal’s Tim Wallach in the first inning of the Philadelphia Phillies’ 6-2 victory over the visiting Expos to become the sixth major league pitcher — and first left-hander — to strike out 3,000 batters.
1986 — Roger Clemens set a major league record by striking out 20 batters as the Boston Red Sox defeated the Seattle Mariners 3-1.
1987 — Andre Dawson had five hits and hit for the cycle to lead the Chicago Cubs to an 8-4 victory the San Francisco Giants.
1988 — The Baltimore Orioles ended their 21-game losing streak by winning their first game of the season, 9-0 over the Chicago White Sox on a combined four-hitter by Mark Williamson and Dave Schmidt.
1994 — Kirk Rueter of the Montreal Expos becomes the first major league pitcher since Fernando Valenzuela in 1981 to start his career with a 10-0 record.
1996 — New York Mets closer John Franco becomes the first left-hander in major league history to record 300 saves.
1997 — Chili Davis of the Kansas City Royals becomes the 75th major leaguer to hit 300 home runs.
2005 — In the first matchup between 300-game winners in almost 18 years, the Cubs’ Greg Maddux outdueled the Astros’ Roger Clemens in Chicago’s 3-2 win over Houston. Maddux earned his first win of season and 306th of his career, allowing two runs on seven hits over six innings.
2006 — Albert Pujols sets a major league record with his 14th home run in April.
2007 — Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki had an unassisted triple play in the seventh inning of the Rockies’ 9-7 win over Atlanta.
2015 — In what was believed to be the first major league game played without fans in attendance, Chris Davis hit a three-run homer in a six-run first inning and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox 8-2. After a pair of postponements caused by rioting in Baltimore, the Orioles and Chicago White Sox played at Camden Yards. The gates at Camden Yards were locked because of concern for fan safety following recent rioting in Baltimore after a 25-year-old black man died in police custody.
2017 — Carlos Gomez hit for the cycle for the second time and Rougned Odor hit a tiebreaking two-run homer to help the Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-3.
2017 — Yasiel Puig, Cody Bellinger and Justin Turner hit consecutive homers off Hector Neris in the ninth, helping the Los Angeles Dodgers rally for a 6-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Los Angeles trailed 5-2 before the three straight homers.
2020 — The Hall of Fame announces the cancellation of its annual induction ceremony in Cooperstown, NY, scheduled for the last week-end of July, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Instead, the ceremony will be combined one year later with the one for the Class of 2021.
_____
