This Date in Baseball - Babe Ruth becomes the first player to hit 500 career home runs

Aug. 11

1907 — In the second game of a doubleheader, shortened by agreement, Ed Karger of the St. Louis Cardinals pitched a seven-inning perfect game, beating the Boston Braves 4-0.

1926 — Tris Speaker of Cleveland hit his 700th career double but the Indians lost to the Chicago White Sox, 7-2. The double came in the third inning off Joe Edwards.

1929 — Babe Ruth hit his 500th career home run in the second inning off Willis Hudlin at Cleveland’s League Park. The homer was Ruth’s 30th of the year, but it wasn’t enough as the Indians beat the Yankees 6-5.

1951 — Robin Roberts of the Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Giants 4-0, dropping the Giants 13 1/2 games behind the first-place Brooklyn Dodgers.

1961 — Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves scattered six hits to beat the Chicago Cubs, 2-1, for his 300th career victory.

1970 — Philadelphia’s Jim Bunning beat the Houston Astros 6-5 to become the first pitcher to win 100 games in both leagues since Cy Young.

1980 — Reggie Jackson hits his 400th career home run, off Britt Burns, in the Yankees’ 3 - 1 victory over the White Sox at Yankee Stadium.

1986 — Cincinnati player-manager Pete Rose, 45, singled four times and doubled to set a NL record with the 10th five-hit game of his career. Rose drove in three runs in a 13-4 loss to the San Francisco Giants, to move one ahead of Max Carey for the record.

1987 — Mark McGwire of the Athletics broke Al Rosen’s AL rookie record by hitting his 38th home run in Oakland’s 8-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners.

2004 — Randy Wolf homered twice and threw seven solid innings to lead Philadelphia to a 15-4 victory over Colorado. Wolf went 3-for-3 and scored three runs.

2007 — Rick Ankiel homered twice and drove in three runs, the latest power display by the former pitcher, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-1.

2010 — Arizona tied a major league record by hitting four consecutive home runs, with Adam LaRoche, Miguel Montero, Mark Reynolds and Stephen Drew all connecting in the fourth inning of an 8-2 win over Milwaukee.

2013 — After Mariano Rivera blew a third straight save for the first time in his famed career, Brett Gardner homered with two outs in the ninth inning to give the New York Yankees a 5-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers. Rivera with a record 643 saves, had never failed three in a row in 936 relief appearances.

2018 — Oakland’s Ramon Laureano pulled off a spectacular double play and the Athletics beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-0. With one out and Eric Young Jr. on first, Laureano raced into the gap in left-center to haul in Justin Upton’s drive. The rookie center fielder then uncorked a 320-foot throw on a fly to first base to complete the double play. Marcus Semien homered twice and Khris Davis also connected for Oakland.

2022 — The Cubs win the second annual Field of Dreams Game, played in a temporary ballpark near Dyersville, IA, next to the site where the eponymous movie was shot, 4 - 2 over the Reds. Nick Madrigal leads the way, going 3 for 5 as both teams wear retro uniforms for the occasion. Before the game, Ken Griffey Sr. sets the tone by playing a friendly game of catch with his son, Junior, soon joined by a group of kids and then legendary players from both teams in a scene straight out of the iconic movie.

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