August 20
1912 – Walter Johnson beat Cleveland 4-2 in the first game of a doubleheader to record his 15th consecutive victory, an American League record. Washington's Carl Cashion pitched six no-hitters to lead the Senators to a 2-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians. The game was canceled so Cleveland could catch a train to Boston.
1938 – New York's Lou Gehrig hits his 23rd and final grand slam, driving in six RBI and leading the Yankees to an 11-3 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics.
[1945-TommyBrown(17years8months14daysold)oftheBrooklynDodgersbecomestheyoungesthomerunhitterinmajorleaguehistorywhenhehitsahomerunagainstPreacherLawofthePittsburghPiratesatEbbetsField
1957 – Bob Keegan of the Chicago White Sox pitches a no-hitter, 6-0, against the Washington Senators in the second game of a doubleheader.
1958 – Detroit's Jim Bunning pitches a no-hitter to lead the Tigers to a 3-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox in the opener of a doubleheader at Fenway Park.
1961 – The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Milwaukee Braves 7-4 in the second game of a doubleheader to end a modern-day record 23-game losing streak.
1965 – Milwaukee's Eddie Matthews hits his 28th home run to lead the Braves to a 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The home run makes Matthews and Hank Aaron the all-time leading home run duo in major league history, surpassing Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig's combined total of 772 home runs.
1974 – Nolan Ryan of the California Angels struck out 19 Tigers batters in an 11-inning, 1-0 loss to Detroit. It was the third time this season that Ryan had struck out 19 batters in a game.
1980 – Pittsburgh's Omar Moreno stole his 70th base of the season in a 5–1 loss to Houston, becoming the first player this century to do so in three consecutive seasons. The speedy outfielder stole 71 bases in 1978 and 77 in 1979.
1989 – New York's Howard Johnson hits his 30th home run of the season in the Mets' 5-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, joining Bobby Bonds and Willie Mays as the only players to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in two different seasons.
1995 – Jose Mesa of the Cleveland Indians set a major league record with 37 save opportunities as the Indians beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-5.
2005 – The Kansas City Royals beat the Oakland Athletics 2-1 to end a franchise-record 19-game losing streak, ending baseball's longest losing streak at 17 years old.
2014 — The San Francisco Giants become the first team to win a protest since 1986. During a game on August 19, rain prevented groundskeepers from quickly laying down tarps and the umpires deemed the field unplayable, causing a delay in the game. The Cubs were declared the winner, 2–0, after 4 1/2 innings. MLB decided to resume the rain-shortened game with the Cubs coming to bat in the bottom of the fifth inning.
2019 — Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers beat the Blue Jays 16-3 to earn his 166th win, passing Sandy Koufax for the most wins by a left-handed pitcher in franchise history.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.