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Happy birthday to Mordecai Brown*, and a mighty host of others.
Today in baseball history, in 2016 – The Cubs tie the NLCS at two wins apiece with a 10-2 beating of the Dodgers as they tee off on two rookie pitchers, Julio Urias and Ross Stripling. Addison Russell and Anthony Rizzo both end long hitting droughts with homers,and other stories as well.
Today in baseball history:
- 1946 – The New York Yankees acquire pitcher Allie Reynolds from the Cleveland Indians for former American League MVPJoe Gordon and third baseman Eddie Bockman. Reynolds has struggled with Cleveland, losing 15 of 16 decisions during the season. He will reverse his fortunes in 1947, winning 19 games for the World Series champion Yankees.
- 1949 – The Chicago White Sox make one of the best trades in franchise history when they acquire future Hall of Fame second baseman Nellie Fox for backup catcher Joe Tipton. Fox will win the American League MVP in 1959.
- 1981 – In Game 5 of the NLCS, played on a Monday afternoon following a rainout, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Rick Monday hits a ninth-inning home run off Steve Rogers to give the Dodgers a 2-1 victory over the Montreal Expos and the National League pennant after a great pitching duel between Fernando Valenzuela and Ray Burris. The win sends the Dodgers to the World Series against the New York Yankees. This game will later become known in baseball lore as “Blue Monday.”
- 1991 – Minnesota defeats the Braves, 5-2, in Game 1 of the World Series. Greg Gagne‘s three-run home run off Charlie Leibrandt in the fifth inning helps support the strong effort of winning pitcher Jack Morris.
- 1993 – Paul Molitor comes within a double of hitting for the cycle as Toronto takes a 2-1 World Series lead in Philadelphia. Roberto Alomar adds four hits to back winner Pat Hentgen in a 10-3 romp.
- 1999 – Pitcher Kenny Rogers walks Andruw Jones with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the 11th inning, sending the Atlanta Braves to the World Series with a 10-9 victory over the New York Mets in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series.
- 2004 – Curt Schilling, pitching on a dislocated ankle tendon held down by three sutures put in the day before, gives up one run over seven innings as the Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees, 4-2, to save their season for the third day in a row and force a winner-take-all Game 7 in their American League Championship Series.
- 2008 – The Tampa Bay Rays advance to the World Series for the first time in franchise history, defeating the Boston Red Sox, 3-1, in Game 7 of the ALCS. Series MVPMatt Garza allows just two hits and one run in seven innings and rookie David Price picks up the save.
- 2017 – The Dodgers are headed to the World Series for the first time since 1988 with an 11-1 win over the Cubs in Game 5 of the NLCS. They chase José Quintana in the third inning, before Kiké Hernandez delivers the killer blow with a grand slam against Hector Rondon, his second homer of the game, which extends the lead to 7-0. Hernandez adds a third homer in the ninth. Chicago scores its only run on a solo homer by Kris Bryant off Clayton Kershaw, who picks up the win with six strong innings. Justin Turner and Chris Taylor share the NLCS MVP Award.
- 2019 – The Astros punch their ticket to the World Series with a 6-4 win over the Yankees in Game 6 of the ALCS. With both teams using an opener after losing a travel day due to a rainout before Game 4, the Astros take an early lead on a three-run homer by Yuli Gurriel off Chad Green in the 1st, but the Yankees claw their way back, tying the game on a two-run shot by D.J. LeMahieu off closer Roberto Osuna in the top of the 9th. With two outs in the bottom of the inning, Jose Altuve ends the game with a walk-off two-run homer off Aroldis Chapman. Altuve is named the winner of the ALCS MVP Award.
- 2024 – The Yankees win Game 5 of the ALCS, 5-2 over Cleveland, to punch their ticket to the World Series. The game is tied until the 10th inning, when Juan Soto hits a three-run homer off Hunter Gaddis to provide the winning margin. Giancarlo Stanton, who hits his fourth homer of the series in the sixth inning, is named ALCS MVP.
Cubs Birthdays:Cory Mazzoni, Daniel Descalso, Lance Dickson, Dave Veres, Mike Pérez, Brock Davis, Vic Roznovsky, Bob O’Farrell. Also notable: Mordecai Brown* HOF.
Today in history:
- 1492 – Christopher Columbus sights the island he names “Isabela,” believed to be present-day Fortune Island (Long Cay) in the Bahamas.
- 1781 – British forces under General Charles Cornwallis sign terms of surrender to George Washington and Comte de Rochambeau at Yorktown at 2 p.m., effectively ending the American Revolutionary War.
- 1870 – First African Americans (four) elected to the US House of Representatives.
- 1961 – Mayor J.W. Snider of Medford, Oregon, delivers a check for $1.96, covering the County of Jackson, Oregon’s estimated portion of cost of the tea lost during the Boston Tea Party of 1773.
- 1999 – Cher releases the single “Believe” (Billboard Song of the Year, 1999; Grammy Award Best Dance Recording, 2000).
- 2007 – Patrick Kane scores his first NHL goal against José Théodore of the Colorado Avalanche.
- 2010 – Decca Records releases “The Union,” a collaborative album between Elton John and Leon Russell, in the US, and it becomes the highest-charting album for both artists in over 30 years.
- 2025 – Thieves disguised as construction workers force open a Louvre museum upper floor window, smash display cases, and flee with eight pieces of Napoleonic jewels worth over $100M; daylight heist occurs 30 minutes after opening, with visitors already inside.
*pictured.