What happened today in team history?
1964 – Bob Bruce is immaculate
For the first time in franchise history, Colt .45s pitcher threw an immaculate inning, striking out all three batters in the inning on just nine pitches during a 6-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. He became just the 12th player in baseball history to achieve this feat, doing it just one day after Sandy Koufax did it for the Brookly Dodgers.
1965 – Dome gets a new roof
Due to the extreme amount of glare being let in from the roofing, the Astros paid roughly $20,000 to get the roof repainted to help with fly balls. This ended up causing the roof to not let in enough sunlight for the grass to know and the introduction of turf.
1983 – Astros stun the Reds
In a game that no one expected the Houston Astros to win, a walk off three-run bomb from a pitch-hitting Harry Spilman stuns the world, giving the Astros the 6-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
What else happened on this day?
1890
The Brooklyn Beaneaters, eventually to become known as the Los Angeles Dodgers, play their first game in franchise history.
1972
During a normal outing in a game between the New York Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers, Yankees reliever Sparky Lyle becomes the first reliever to come out with a walkout song, something that is normalized and celebrated in today’s game.
2000
In a game that featured a record-breaking four hit batters in one game, Astros own Richard Hidalgo tied an MLB record with three hit-by-pitches in one game, two of them coming from Dodgers starter Orel Hershiser.