THIS DATE IN BASEBALL

JUNE 2 1928: Les Bell of the Boston Braves hit three home runs and a triple at Braves Field in the Cincinnati Reds’ 20-12 victory. 1928: The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1. All the runs came from three pinch-hit home runs. 1935: Babe Ruth, 40, announces his retirement. 1941: Lou Gehrig died in New York at 37. 1949: The Philadelphia Phillies hit five homers in the eighth inning against the Cincinnati Reds. Andy Seminick hit two and Del Ennis, Willie Jones, and Schoolboy Rowe hit one apiece. Seminick had homered earlier in the game. 1959: The Baltimore Orioles-Chicago White Sox game at Comiskey Park was delayed for nearly half an hour as a swarm of gnats overcame the field. Groundskeepers tried using bug sprays and torches, but the gnats wouldn’t budge. A post-game fireworks display was brought in from center field and a smoke bomb was attached to the framework. The gnats left and the Orioles defeated the White Sox, 3-2. 1990: Randy Johnson pitched the first no-hitter in the Seattle Mariners’ history as he beat the Detroit Tigers 2-0. The 6-foot-10 left-hander, walked six and struck out eight while pitching the first no-hitter at the Kingdome, which opened for baseball in 1977. 1996: Houston starter Darryl Kile tied the modern major league record by hitting four batters in a 2-0 loss at St. Louis, and the first to do it in the NL since Moe Drabowsky in 1957. 2000: Tampa Bay’s Fred McGriff hit his 400th career home run, but the Devil Rays lost to the Mets 5-3.