SCOREBOARD
Tuesday, May 8
Boston at Toronto (7:07 p.m. EDT) Josh Beckett goes for his major league-leading seventh win of the season for the Red Sox.
STARS
Monday
-Bengie Molina, Giants, homered twice in the fifth inning and had five RBIs to lead San Francisco to a 9-4 win over New York.
-Brad Penny, Dodgers, struck out a career-high 14 and allowed five hits in seven scoreless innings and Los Angeles beat Florida 6-1.
-Chris Capuano, Brewers, struck out a season-high nine in eight-plus innings for his fifth win of the year and Milwaukee defeated Washington 3-0.
-Adrian Beltre, Mariners, hit a tiebreaking homer off Mariano Rivera in the ninth inning and Seattle edged the Yankees 3-2.
TWICE AS NICE
San Francisco’s Bengie Molina hit a two-run homer in the fifth, then added a three-run drive later in the same inning. Molina became the first Giants player to homer twice in an inning since Willie McCovey in 1977, and San Francisco topped New York 9-4.
BUSTED
Tampa Bay relief pitcher Juan Salas and Louis Santangelo, a catcher in Houston’s minor league system, were each suspended 50 games Monday after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.
SUSPENDED
Yankees reliever Scott Proctor was suspended four games and manager Joe Torre was penalized one game by Major League Baseball on Monday, a day after a skirmish between the Seattle Mariners and New York. Proctor appealed his suspension, meaning he can pitch until a hearing is held and a ruling is issued. Torre missed Monday night’s 3-2 loss to the Mariners.
STREAKS
Florida has lost three in a row following a 6-1 defeat Monday night to Los Angeles. The Marlins have struck out 25 times in their last two games. … Washington has lost six games in a row for the second time this year after a 3-0 loss to Milwaukee, which has won eight of nine.
SNAPPED
Atlanta’s Chuck James lasted a minimum of five innings in each of his previous six starts this season before going 3 2-3 innings in a 4-2 loss Monday night to San Diego. … Los Angeles’ Wilson Betemit, who hit pinch-hit homers in the past two games, struck out pinch-hitting in the eighth inning of a 6-1 win over Florida.
SPEAKING
“Have you seen Roy pitch? I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s 19-1 against anybody. He’s the best in the game, as far as I’m concerned.”- Houston slugger Lance Berkman, on teammate Roy Oswalt improving to 19-1 for his career against Cincinnati. Oswalt gave up two runs in seven innings for his fifth win of the year and the Astros topped the Reds 5-4.
SEASONS
May 8
1906 – Philadelphia manager Connie Mack needed a substitute outfielder in the sixth inning of a game against Boston and called on pitcher Chief Bender to fill in. Bender hit two home runs, both inside the park.
1907 – Boston’s Big Jeff Pfeffer threw a no-hitter to give the Braves a 6-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in Boston.
1929 – Carl Hubbell of the New York Giants pitched a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the first by a left-hander in the majors in 13 seasons.
1935 – In the first game of a doubleheader, Ernie Lombardi of the Cincinnati Reds hit four doubles in consecutive innings (sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth) off four different Phillies pitchers. Lombardi also singled as the Reds beat Philadelphia 15-4.
1966 – Frank Robinson became the only player to hit a home run out of Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium. Robinson hit a 451-foot – 541 feet total – shot on a fly over the left-field wall off Cleveland right-hander Luis Tiant. The Orioles won 8-3.
1966 – The St. Louis Cardinals closed old Busch Stadium with a 10-5 loss to the San Francisco Giants.
1968 – Jim “Catfish” Hunter of the Oakland A’s pitched a perfect game to beat the Minnesota Twins 4-0.
1984 – Minnesota’s Kirby Puckett had four singles in his first major league game as the Twins beat the California Angels 5-0.
1994 – The Colorado Silver Bullets, the first women’s team to play a pro men’s team, lost 19-0 to the Northern League All-Stars. Leon Durham hit two homers and Oil Can Boyd started for the All-Stars. The Silver Bullets had two hits, struck out 16 times and made six errors.
1998 – Mark McGwire became the fastest player to hit 400 home runs when he connected in the third inning of the St. Louis Cardinals’ game against the New York Mets. McGwire, the 26th player to reach the milestone, hit his 400 homers in 4,726 at-bats. The previous best was 4,854 by Babe Ruth.
2001 – Randy Johnson became the third pitcher to strike out 20 in nine innings, but didn’t finish the game as the Arizona Diamondbacks went on beat Cincinnati 4-3 in 11 innings. Johnson, the first left-hander to strike out 20, missed out on the chance to join Roger Clemens and Kerry Wood as the record-holders for a nine-inning game because Arizona could not finish off the Reds in regulation.
2003 – Aaron Boone hit three solo homers, leading the way as the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-6.
Today’s birthdays: Adrian Gonzalez 25; John Maine 26; Jason Davis 27.