Baseball Today

SOMETHING HAD TO GIVE

In a matchup of pitchers who were winless in their previous 20 starts combined, Clayton Kershaw pitched six-plus innings to record his first victory in 10 major league starts, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Washington Nationals 2-0. Jason Bergman allowed two runs and six hits over six innings for the loss. The right-hander is 0-7 with a 3.24 ERA in 12 starts since beating the New York Mets 7-0 on May 15 at Shea Stadium with seven innings of three-hit ball.

SPEAKING

"We're not trying to recreate anything. We're just trying to play well day-to-day. Last year, we figured out a way to score one more run than our opponents. Right now, we're finding ways to barrel up some balls. Our offense has been good from the bottom all the way to the top." - Rockies manager Clint Hurdle after Colorado won for the ninth time in 10 games, routed Cincinnati 11-0.

SEASONS

July 28

1931 - Bob Fothergill of Chicago hit a home run and a triple in an 11-run eighth inning. The White Sox set an American League record by recording 12 hits in the inning and beat the New York Yankees 14-12.

1940 - King Kong Keller hit three homers to give the New York Yankees a 10-9 win over Chicago in the first game of a doubleheader split.

1951 - Clyde Vollmer of Boston hit a grand slam in the 16th inning, the latest ever hit in a major league game. The Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 8-4, in 16.

1958 - For the sixth time in his career, Mickey Mantle hit home runs from both sides of the plate. New York beat the Athletics 14-7.

1971 - Sixteen-time Gold Glove winner Brooks Robinson committed three errors in the sixth inning against the Oakland A's. Frank Robinson's three-run homer in the ninth won the game for the Orioles.

1976 - John Odom (five innings) and Francisco Barrios (four innings) combined on a no-hitter as the Chicago White Sox beat Oakland 2-1.

1979 - Dave Kingman of the Chicago Cubs hit three home runs in a game for the second time in the season and became the sixth player in major league history to accomplish the feat. Kingman's homers weren't enough as the Cubs lost to the New York Mets 6-4.

1983 - AL president Lee McPhail ruled that George Brett's "pine tar" home run against New York on July 24 should count. The umpires had disallowed the homer because the pine tar on Brett's bat exceeded the 18-inch limit. The rest of the game was played Aug. 18 with the Kansas City Royals beating the Yankees, 5-4.

1990 - Shawon Dunston tied a major league record with three triples and led the Chicago Cubs to a 10-7 win over the Montreal Expos.

1991 - Dennis Martinez pitched a perfect game and the Montreal Expos beat Los Angeles 2-0 at Dodger Stadium.

1993 - Ken Griffey Jr. tied a major league record by homering in his eighth consecutive game, but it wasn't enough for the Seattle Mariners in a 5-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins.

1994 - On the night the baseball players set an Aug. 12 strike date, Kenny Rogers of the Texas Rangers pitched a perfect game for a 4-0 victory over California.

1999 - For the first in 12 years, the U.S. baseball team beat the world champion Cubans, scoring five runs in the ninth inning for a 10-5 victory at the Pan American Games. Marcus Jensen's three-run homer broke a 5-5 tie.

2001 - Vinny Castilla hit three homers and drove in five runs, but Houston still lost 9-8 to Pittsburgh. Down 8-2 with two outs in the ninth inning, the Pirates scored seven runs, including Brian Giles' game-winning grand slam.

2004 - Troy Percival recorded his 300th save after John Lackey allowed three hits over 8 1-3 innings to help Anaheim beat Texas 2-0.

2006 - Houston rookie Luke Scott hit for the cycle and drove in five runs, but the Astros lost to Arizona 8-7.

Today's birthday: Wilson Betemit 28.