May 6 in sports history: No knock on masterful Wood

MILESTONES...

1915: He wasn't nearly as dominant as Wood, but Boston Red Sox's rookie Babe Ruth put on quite a show at the Polo Grounds in New York. In a 4-3 loss in 13 innings to the Yankees, Ruth pitched a ridiculous 12.1 innings, giving up 10 hits and striking out three. At the plate, the Bambino had three hits, including a homer — the first of 714 in his epic career.

Ruth's homer landed in the upper tier of the right-field grandstand. He trotted around the bases, according to the Boston Globe, to "slow music."

1982: In a 7-3 win in Seattle, 43-year-old Gaylord Perry of the Mariners won his 300th game — the 15th major league pitcher to reach the milestone. "I get a lot of comments about my age, but I'm 43 and proud of every one of those years," said Perry, the oldest player in the majors. "I feel as good as I have in the last 15 years." The master of the spitball had an awesome nickname: "The Ancient Mariner."

2005: In a 6-5 win over the Cardinals, San Diego’s Trevor Hoffman, a future Hall of Famer,  reached 400 saves, joining Lee Smith (478) and John Franco (424) in the exclusive club. Yankees Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera blasted through the 400-save barrier and finished his career in 2013 with a big-league record 652.

... AND NOW THE WEIRDNESS

1917:  On back-to-back days against the St. Louis Browns, the Chicago White Sox's hitters were especially awful. First, Ernie Koob no-hit Chicago, 1-0. Then, on this date, Bob Groom held the White Sox's hitless in 11 innings in St. Louis' 3-0 victory in the second game of a doubleheader. The game was completed one hour, 21 minutes. In the first of game of the double bill, Chicago had eight hits in an 8-4 loss.

"... Groom's homeric effort," the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported, "fairly drove the patrons of the pop-eyed pastime daft."

1934: In their 12-run fourth inning in a 14-4 win over Detroit, Carl Reynolds, Moose Solters, Rick Ferrell and Bucky Walters of the Red Sox hit consecutive triples at Fenway Park. The "quartet of triples ... spelled the Tigers' doom," according to The Associated Press.

1994: Heading into a game against the Pirates, Anthony Young of the Cubs had a 7.27 ERA and a 29-start winless streak. But he was good enough to beat the Bucs, 10-1, ending his awfulness. "Embarrassing," Pirates manager Jim Leyland said afterward.

Young's last win as a starter had come on April 9, 1992, when he played for the Mets. "I was trying to prove something to myself and I knew if I did," Young told the Chicago Tribune, "then I'd be proving something to my teammates. It sure felt good." Young holds the MLB record for most consecutive losses by a pitcher (27).

2012: Both teams' bullpens were depleted, so when their game went deep into extra innings, the Orioles and Red Sox turned to position players to pitch. Orioles DH Chris Davis was awful at the plate, going hitless with five strikeouts in eight at-bats. But he earned the victory by pitching two scoreless innings in Baltimore's 9-6 win in 17 innings. Red Sox outfielder Darnell McDonald took the loss in the first game since 1925 that each team used a position player on the mound. "He had a lot of life on his ball," McDonald told the Boston Globe about Davis, "more than I expected."

2019: In a 12-4 loss to the Reds, San Francisco's Pablo Sandoval joined Christy Mathewson as the only MLB player to throw a scoreless outing, hit a home run and steal a base in the same game. This one was bizarre from the start. The game was delayed 18 minutes because bees swarmed near home plate. Then four Reds were hit by pitches — including one by Sandoval.  

ALSO

1954: The barrier has been broken countless times since, but England's Roger Bannister was the first to smash through the four-minute mark in the mile, running three minutes, 59.4 seconds. For years, many wondered if it was possible to break that mark. Roughly 350 spectators in Oxford, England, witnessed the achievement by Bannister, a medical student studying to be a neurosurgeon.

1976: In a 6-3 win over the Bruins in the Stanley Cup playoffs, Philadelphia’s Reggie Leach — who scored a league-leading 61 goals during the regular season — tied an NHL playoff record with five goals. The win and the goals were especially sweet for Leach, who started his NHL career with the Bruins. "I don't think I ever got a fair chance in Boston," he told the Boston Globe.

Happy birthday...

• Former Giants star and Hall of Famer Willie Mays, the “Say-Hey Kid.” Mays’ stellar career included a Rookie of the Year award as well as two MVPs and 20 All-Star appearances. Mays ranks fifth all time in homers with 660, 10th in RBI and 11th in hits (89).
• Martin Brodeur, perhaps the greatest goaltender of all time. He spent his entire 21-year career with the New Jersey Devils, winning three Stanley Cups (48).
• Ten-time NBA All-Star Chris Paul of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Paul is a former Rookie of the Year and All-Star Game MVP and a two-time Olympic gold medalist (35).
• Astros second baseman Jose Altuve, winner of the 2017 American League MVP and batting title. Altuve was a member of the 2017 World Series-winning team that recently made headlines for sign stealing. Altuve was accused of wearing a sign-stealing device, which he denied (30).

R.I.P.

2010: Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts, who once pitched 28 consecutive complete games. A seven-time All-Star, he played most of his career with the Phillies. He died of natural causes at the age of 83.

May 5: Champ Celtics pop Lakers' balloons