The future superstar gets the call in Cincinnati.
Braves Franchise History
1977: George Foster of the Cincinnati Reds has seven RBI, five runs, two home runs, a double and a single in the Reds’ 23-9 victory over the host Atlanta Braves. Cincinnati ties a National League record by scoring 12 runs in the 5th inning off three Braves pitchers.
2010: Mike Pelfrey throws a rain-shortened five-inning shutout as the Mets complete a series sweep of the Braves, 1-0, at Citi Field. Pelfrey is in trouble all five innings, but manages to escape unscathed in extending his string of scoreless innings to 24. It is actually Raul Valdes who is on the mound for New York when the game is stopped in the top of the 6th, but everything after the 5th is wiped out, giving Pelfrey credit for a complete game. The game’s lone run comes when Jose Reyes runs wild despite the sloppy conditions, stealing second after a two-out bloop single in the 1st, and coming to score on Jason Bay’s infield single when 3B Chipper Jones’s throw skips away from 1B Troy Glaus just enough to allow Reyes to dash home.
2018: 20-year-old Ronald Acuna, the 2017 Minor League Player of the Year according to Baseball America, makes his debut as the youngest player in the majors now that his eligibility for salary arbitration has been pushed back by a year after the Braves delayed his call-up. His first major league hit comes in the 8th inning, and he soon comes in to score the winning run in a 5-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
2021: The Diamondbacks completely stymie the Braves’ bats in a doubleheader consisting of two seven-inning games. In the opener, Zac Gallen throws a one-hitter in a 5-0 win, and Madison Bumgarner does even better in the nightcap, by spinning a no-hitter, albeit an unofficial one given the game does not go nine innings. The Braves’ only baserunner in that game is Ozzie Albies, who reaches on an error by SS Nick Ahmed, as Bumgarner strikes out seven and walks none in the 7-0 wins.
MLB History
1957: The major leagues adopt a new rule that prohibits baserunners from interfering with batted balls in the field of play. The rule is adopted in reaction to recent actions by several Cincinnati Redlegs baserunners. Earlier in the week, Don Hoak and Johnny Temple had intentionally interfered with batted balls as a way of preventing double plays.
1976: Chicago Cubs centerfielder Rick Monday rescues an American flag from two spectators who try to set it on fire in the outfield of Dodger Stadium. The incident happens in the 4th inning of a 5-4, 10-inning loss to Los Angeles.
2001: Rickey Henderson of the San Diego Padres sets a major league record with his 2,063rd bases-on-balls in San Diego’s 5-3 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. The mark had been held by Babe Ruth.
2019: In the NFL draft, the Arizona Cardinals select University of Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray first overall. He had been the #1 pick of the Athletics in the 2018 amateur draft, 9th overall, as an outfielder, and had signed with the A’s before giving up baseball last winter. This makes him the first player to be a first rounder in both the NFL and MLB drafts. Murray will soon give up baseball in favor of the gridiron.
Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images
Information for this article was found via Baseball Reference, NationalPastime.com and Today in Baseball History.