Day in sports: Sandy Koufax pitches the second of his four no-hitters
Before a Saturday crowd of 55,530 on Ladies Night at Dodger Stadium, Sandy Koufax pitched the second of his four no-hitters on this date in 1963, beating the San Francisco Giants 8-0.
Koufax took a perfect game into the eighth inning but lost it when he walked catcher Ed Bailey with one out. The Dodgers left-hander struck out four and also walked pinch-hitter Willie McCovey in the ninth.
“It’s too bad I walked those two guys, but it still is my greatest thrill,” Koufax said. He would top that by pitching a perfect game Sept. 9, 1965, against the Chicago Cubs.
The Angels would have started a three-game series Monday with the Washington Nationals, but it was postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here is a look at memorable games and outstanding sports performances on this date:
In samples taken last month, an estimated 0.72% of MLB employees tested positive for antibodies to COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus.
1918 — Exterminator, a 30-1 longshot ridden by Willie Knapp, loses the lead but regains it to win the 44th Kentucky Derby by one length over Escoba in 2:10.80. The chestnut gelding pays $61.20 and is voted horse of the year. It is noted that America is still at war and potatoes are planted in the infield at Churchill Downs to help the Red Cross.
1919 — Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators pitches 12 scoreless innings in a duel with Jack Quinn of the New York Yankees at the Polo Grounds in New York. The Big Train allows only two hits and retires 28 batters in a row. Football star George Halas, the future coach and owner of the Chicago Bears, bats leadoff for the Yankees and goes 0 for 5, striking out twice.
1923 — Pete Schneider, 27, of the Pacific Coast League’s Vernon Tigers, hits five home runs, including two grand slams, and a double that just misses going over the fence to drive in 14 runs in a 35-11 romp over the Salt Lake City Bees. The Tigers, based in a suburb in Los Angeles County, would later become the PCL’s Hollywood Stars.
1968 — The Montreal Canadiens win the Stanley Cup by completing a four-game sweep over the St. Louis Blues with a 3-2 victory. All four games are decided by one goal, the winners scored by Yvan Cournoyer, Serge Savard, Bobby Rousseau and Jean-Claude Tremblay. It is the eighth and final Stanley Cup championship for coach Toe Blake.
1994 — Phoenix, down 104-84 with 10 minutes to go, comes back to force overtime and beats Houston 124-117, giving the Suns a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. The Suns start the fourth quarter trailing by 18 but hold the Rockets to eight points in the quarter. Danny Ainge hits a three-point jumper with 1:08 left that forces the extra period.
2001 — Vince Carter scores 34 of his 50 points in the first half and ties an NBA playoff record with nine three-pointers to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 102-78 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Allen Iverson scores 23 for the 76ers, who shoot 35% from the field but recover and go on to win the series in seven games.
2005 — The New York State Athletic Commission suspends boxer James Toney for 90 days and orders him to pay a $10,000 fine after he tests positive for an illegal substance following a unanimous-decision win April 30 in a heavyweight title bout with John Ruiz at Madison Square Garden. The commission changes the result of the fight to a no-decision.
2009 — Cleveland makes it an NBA-record eight straight postseason wins by double digits with an 84-74 victory over the Atlanta Hawks to advance to the Eastern Conference finals. The Cavaliers are the second team to sweep the first two rounds of the playoffs since the NBA expanded the first round to a best-of-seven format in 2003.
2016 — Max Scherzer strikes out 20 batters, matching the record for a nine-inning game, when he pitches the Washington Nationals past the Detroit Tigers 3-2. Scherzer misses a chance to break the mark against his former team when James McCann grounds to third for the final out. Scherzer joins Roger Clemens (twice), Kerry Wood and Randy Johnson as the only pitchers to have 20 strikeouts in nine innings.
Sources: The Times, Associated Press
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