What happened today in team history?
1976 – Joe Niekro takes his brother deep
In Joe Niekro’s 21-years of being in the MLB, he only hit one home run. That came as part of the Houston Astros 4-3 win over the Atlanta Braves where he took his brother, Phil Niekro, deep on a seventh-inning knuckleball.
1985 – Slam breaks the tie
Knotted at three head into the seventh, Astros infielder Jim Pankovits finally breaks the tie with a grand slam, leading to an 8-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Thanks to this blast, starter Nolan Ryan gets the win.
2017 – Comeback for the ages
Down 8-2 in the eighth inning, the Astros offence explodes for 11 runs over the next two innings to beat the Minnesota Twins 16-8. Carlos Beltran led the way in hits with four, adding to the team’s 18-hits total.
2019 – Injuries stack up
Already with Jose Altuve and George Springer on the IL, the Astros place their third All-Star there when Carlos Correa bruises a rib during a message and is forced to miss between four to six weeks.
What else happened on this day?
1922
The US Supreme Court officially declares that baseball is a sport, rather than a business. Because of this, the game is no longer subject to any anti-trust laws and standard interstate commerce regulations.
1962
Buck O’Neil of the Chicago Cubs became the first African American coach in the history of the MLB.
1990
Oakland A’s speedster Rickie Henderson broke the stolen base record for the American League, passing Ty Cobb with his 893rd stolen base.
1994
The Atlanta Braves trade outfielder Deion Sanders to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for two players.
2002
In a Sports Illustrated article, former NL MVP and Astro Ken Caminiti made the claim that roughly 50% of players in baseball are using some sort of steroids.
2010
Needing someone to fill in at first base, the San Francisco Giants call up 23-year-old Buster Posey, who responds with a three-hit game in his debut. It wouldn’t be until June that he was able to get behind the plate for the Giants.