This date in baseball
1908 In a crucial game with the Chicago Cubs, Fred Merkle of the New York Giants failed to touch second base as the apparent winning run crossed home plate. This resulted in a dispute and the game was eventually declared a tie. It was played over on Oct. 8 when the Cubs and Giants ended the season in a tie. 1939 Brooklyn’s Cookie Lavagetto went 6 for 6 to lead the Dodgers’ 27-hit attack in a 22-4 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies. Lovagetto had four singles, a double and a triple and scored four runs. He was the only Dodger without an RBI. Dixie Walker, Gene Moore and Johnny Hudson each drove in three runs.
1952 The Brooklyn Dodgers clinched the National League title, the first time since 1948 that the pennant wasn’t decided in the season’s final game.
1957 Hank Aaron’s 11th-inning home run gave the Milwaukee Braves a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals and the NL pennant. It was the first time since 1950 that a New York team hadn’t finished first.
1979 Lou Brock stole base No. 938, breaking Billy Hamilton’s record, as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Mets 7-4 in 10 innings.
1983 Steve Carlton of Philadelphia recorded his 300th career victory with a 6-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
1984 The Detroit Tigers beat the New York Yankees 4-1, making Sparky Anderson the first manager to win more than 100 games in each league.
1986 Rookie left-hander Jim Deshaies set a major league record by striking out eight batters to start the game and finished with a two-hitter and 10 strikeouts to lead the Houston Astros past of the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0.
1987 Albert Hall of the Atlanta Braves hit for the cycle in 5-4 victory over the Houston Astros.
1988 Jose Canseco became the first major leaguer to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in one season as the Oakland Athletics beat the Milwaukee Brewers 9-8 in 14 innings.
1992 Bip Roberts tied the NL record with his 10th consecutive hit, then grounded out against Pedro Astacio to end his streak in the Cincinnati Reds’ game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
1998 Houston’s Craig Biggio became the second player this century to have 50 steals and 50 doubles in a season, joining Hall of Famer Tris Speaker.
2001 Sammy Sosa became the first player to hit three home runs in a game three times in a season, but Moises Alou’s two-run shot rallied Houston to a 7-6 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
2008 The New York Yankees’ streak of postseason appearances ended. Boston beat Cleveland 5-4 minutes before the Yankees’ win. The Red Sox victory clinched at least the AL wild card and eliminated New York, which had made 13 consecutive postseason appearances.
2013 Alex Rios of Texas hit for the cycle in a 12-0 rout of Houston. Rios finished off the cycle with a triple to right-center field in the sixth inning.
2016 David Ortiz hit a two-run home run in the first inning to set the RBI record for a player in his final season, and the AL East-leading Boston beat Tampa Bay 2-1 for its ninth consecutive victory. Ortiz’s 37th home run came off Chris Archer and raised his RBI total to 124, one more than Shoeless Joe Jackson in 1920. The 40-year-old’s 540th home run, his 300th on the road, struck an overhanging catwalk above the right-field seats.