Atlanta’s legendary third baseman adds another page to his long legacy.
Braves Franchise History
1943: Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Schoolboy Rowe pinch hits with the bases loaded in the 6th inning and cracks a grand slam off the Boston Braves’ Al Javery to break a tie. The Phillies win, 6-5, but it takes them 12 innings. For Rowe, it is his second career grand slam. He hit one in 1939 while with Detroit, as he is the only pitcher in major league history to hit a grand slam in each league. Rowe will finish the season with a .306 batting average as a pinch hitter.
1955: At Ebbets Field, Carl Furillo hits his sixth home run of the season with Jackie Robinson on base in the 12th inning to give the Brooklyn Dodgers a 2-0 victory over the Milwaukee Braves. Carl Erskine wins his fourth game in a row, beating Gene Conley, as both pitchers post complete games.
1987: Graig Nettles and Dion James each hit grand slams to lead the Atlanta Braves to a 12-4 rout of the Houston Astros. It is the first time since July 3, 1966 (when pitcher Tony Cloninger did it by himself), that the Braves have hit two grand slams in one game.
2000: The Atlanta Braves become the first National League team in 49 years to win 15 straight games by defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-3. The last team to do so was the 1951 New York Giants. The Braves’ streak will end tomorrow.
2001: The Braves beat the Brewers, 1-0, as Greg Maddux hurls a two-hitter and strikes out a career-high 14, including eight of the last ten batters he faces. It is his 100th complete game, as B.J. Surhoff’s solo home run in the 3rd inning off Paul Rigdon is the only run he needs.
2007: Jarrod Saltalamacchia of the Braves sets the record for the longest name in major league history. 15 prior players have had 13 letters in their last names, with the record having stood since the 19th Century. Saltalamacchia debuts on his 22nd birthday and gets the appearance due to injuries to Brian McCann and Brayan Pena a day earlier, both hit by bats.
Photo by: Diamond Images/Getty Images
2012: Chipper Jones hits a two-run walk-off homer in the 11th inning to give the Braves a wild 15-13 win over the Phillies. The Braves come back twice, down 6-0 against ace Roy Halladay, and down by four runs in the 8th, only to see their closer, Craig Kimbrel, blow a 13-12 lead in the 9th. Carlos Ruiz drives in seven runs in a losing cause for Philadelphia.
MLB History
1951: For the first time in major league history, a Jewish batter faces a Jewish pitcher while a Jewish catcher is behind the plate; such an instance has yet to reoccur.
2002: Mike Cameron hits four home runs and comes close to a record-setting fifth in leading the Seattle Mariners to a 15-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Cameron is only the 13th player in major league history to homer four times in a game. He connects in his first four at-bats in just five innings as he joins Bret Boone as the first teammates to hit two home runs in the same inning. They connect back-to-back twice in a ten-run 1st.
2012: Jered Weaver throws the tenth no-hitter in franchise history for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, disposing of Minnesota, 9-0. He gives up a single walk in the game, while one batter reaches on a dropped third strike. The no-no comes less than a year after teammate Ervin Santana threw one against the Indians in July of 2011.
Information for this article was found via Baseball Reference, NationalPastime.com and Today in Baseball History.