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The First Pitch: June 23, 2025
The Dodgers explode for 13 runs over their last three innings, overcoming an early 3-0 deficit and defeating the visiting Nationals, 13-7. Shohei Ohtani (see below) starts the game on the mound and pitches a hitless first with two strikeouts before being removed; at the plate he contributes with his 26th home run and five RBIs. Additionally, Max Muncy powers out a pair of home runs, the first a grand slam that’s the 200th round-tripper of his Dodgers career; the second is a three-run shot an inning later, giving him his second seven-RBI game in 22 days—the shortest such span by a major leaguer since Ralph Kiner did two within 14 days in 1951.
All 13 of Los Angeles’ runs are unanswered; the Nationals grab four back in the ninth against utility guy/exhibition pitcher Kiké Hernandez, on three walks and two hits. In five appearances totaling 5.1 innings this season, Hernandez’s ERA is now at 15.19.
The Phillies reclaim first place in the NL East by besting the visiting Mets with ease, 7-1. After Jesus Luzardo departs the game with 6.2 shutout innings, the Mets pick up their lone run on a Francisco Lindor home run in the eighth. That ends a streak of 28 straight wins by the Mets when Lindor went deep; that’s one win shy of the all-time mark set by the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Carl Furillo from 1951-53.
Congrats, Your Box Score Line Was the Best (Hitters Edition)
4-3-2-5—Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
More Strat-O-Matic stuff from The One and Only, knocking in five runs on a home run and triple in the Dodgers’ 13-7 beating up of the visiting Nationals. (Yes, Ohtani also pitched a scoreless inning, but that’s neither here or there in regards to this category.) The numbers Ohtani is on pace for this year are simply insane; over 50 homers, 100+ RBIs, 150+ runs, 10+ triples, 100+ walks and close to 200 strikeouts (hitting, not pitching). All one can do is shake their head in disbelief…and keeping enjoying the Sho.
Congrats, Your Box Score Line Was the Best (Pitchers Edition)
7-6-0-0-1-3—Slade Cecconi, Cleveland
The 25-year-old right-hander with the game’s best name had the day’s best pitching performance, silencing the A’s through a career-high seven shutout innings on his way to a third win in seven starts this season. It’s definitely an improvement over last season, when Cecconi posted a 2-7 record and 6.66 ERA.
It Was Whatever-Something Years Ago Today
1917: The Red Sox’ Ernie Shore gets credit for a perfect game against Washington—even though he’s not the starting pitcher. That honor goes to Babe Ruth, who allows a leadoff walk to the Senators’ Ray Morgan—and is so infuriated by umpire Brick Owens’ calls that he decks him. With Ruth ejected, Shore enters, watches as Morgan is tagged out attempting to steal, then retires the next 26 batters—technically, if arguably, a perfect game.
1971: Philadelphia pitcher Rick Wise becomes a one-man show for the Phillies at Cincinnati. He no-hits the Reds—allowing only a sixth-inning walk to Dave Concepcion—and provides almost all of the offense with two home runs, knocking in three runs in a 4-0 win.
1984: The Cubs—and more memorably, budding second baseman Ryne Sandberg—serve notice to the baseball world that they’re for real with a scintillating comeback against the Cardinals at Wrigley Field. Trailing 9-8 in the bottom of the ninth, Sandberg hits a leadoff home run against Cardinals closer Bruce Sutter, having a sensational season for St. Louis. Sent into extra innings, Sutter again faces Sandberg with a 11-9 lead, one on and two outs; but Sandberg clubs yet another home run to re-tie the game at 11-11, setting up an 11th inning from which the Cubs will score once to win. Sandberg ends the game 5-for-6 with seven RBIs on a day many consider his star to be born; longtime Cubs fans still refer to the 12-11 Chicago victory as “The Sandberg Game.”
1988: Billy Martin is fired by Yankees owner George Steinbrenner for the fifth and final time.
1994: Oakland pitcher Bobby Witt has a bid for a perfect game robbed in the sixth inning when Kansas City’s Greg Gagne is declared safe at first on an infield ground ball—a play disputed by television replays, which show the throw beating Gagne to the bag. It’s Witt’s only blemish in the A’s 4-0 win.
2012: Jim Thome’s 609th career home run is a special one—and makes him a little fatter in the wallet. After teammate closer Jonathan Papelbon blows a 6-4 lead to Tampa Bay in the top of the ninth, he storms through the dugout and offers $5,000 to anyone who can bail him out and win the ballgame. Thome, asked to pinch-hit, collects; his leadoff homer gives the Phillies a 7-6 victory and sets a major league record for most career walk-off homers, with 13.
You Say It’s Your Birthday
Happy birthday to:
Jorge Mateo (30), Baltimore utility guy; AL stolen base leader in 2022
Tim Anderson (32), shortstop of 10 seasons; two-time All-Star; 2019 AL batting champ
Dave Goltz (76), pitcher with 113 wins, including 20 in 1977
Born on this date:
Tom Haller (1937), catcher for Giants and Dodgers from 1961-72; three-time All-Star
Karl Spooner (1931), pitcher who made two electrifying starts in 1954 debut before quickly succumbing to career-ending arm injury
Jack Smith (1895), outfielder of 15 seasons; 1,301 career hits, lifetime .287 batting average
Shameless Link of the Day
There’s some crazy records out there that will simply never be broken. Here’s our list of the 10 most unbreakable.
Join Us on X and BlueSky
Besides our growing and active presence on X, TGG has spread its social media wings to BlueSky for those who’ve found the X culture too toxic. For those who are wondering, we provide the same posts on both platforms, and they’re non-political. We’re just talking baseball.
Meanwhile, we’ve given up our fight trying to reactivate our Facebook page, which was hacked last year. The page remains up but is frozen in time, as we are unable to access it—and Facebook, in all its infinite lack of wisdom, continues to provide absolutely no customer support in the matter as they literally have none. All the more reason to join us on X and BlueSky.
And Now For Something Completely Different From TGG Co-Founder Eric Gouldsberry
From 1975-78, my father, Ray Gouldsberry, took photographs of the original San Jose Earthquakes soccer team, an ingeniously marketed collection of colorful players embraced by a growing, sports-starved community which constantly sold out ancient, cozy Spartan Stadium. Shortly after my father’s passing in 2019, I took the negatives of all the precious, invaluable photos he snapped, scanned them, and put together Our Life & Times with the Earthquakes: Images and Memories from the Glory Days of San Jose’s Original Pro Soccer Team. It’s not only a tribute to the Earthquakes and the North American Soccer League, but to my father for capturing all the wonderful memories we shared during our time as season ticket holders of the team through its entire existence (1974-84).
Much like baseball’s Deadball Era, Our Life and Times with the Earthquakes looks at a similar era in soccer history when the game in America was boldly attempting to blaze its own trail clad in flamboyance and imperfection, giving the NASL vivid character. As with those early times of baseball, historical images from the NASL remain scarce and elusive, making Ray Gouldsberry’s photographic collection of the Earthquakes and other star NASL players all the more cherished.
Although the Earthquakes are the primary focus of Our Life and Times with the Earthquakes, the book also spotlights the vibrant and turbulent history of the NASL and its legendary list of stars such as Pelé, Giorgio Chinaglia and George Best (who briefly played for the Earthquakes), all through my father’s photos and the treasure trove of memorabilia I collected during those years.
Formatted at 8.25” x 8.25”, running 200 pages plus cover and containing over 200 photos, 100 images of memorabilia, and a foreword by former Quake and U.S. Soccer Hall of Famer Johnny Moore, Our Life and Times with the Earthquakes is available for purchase on Amazon. Read and enjoy!
To Whom It May Concern
We are proud of what we have built at This Great Game, but we also admit it is not perfect. Occasionally, fans from all walks of life check in and point out errors, and we are grateful to these external editors. Our site is all the better because of you.
Also, we have had many folks chime in on our various lists in the Lists and Teams sections, many of them disagreeing with some of our choices. Since all lists are made to be argued, this is to be expected. If your arguments are respectful, we will respond in kind and join in a civilized debate—and we’ll often see your viewpoints, since no list should qualify as The Gospel. But if your responses contain the sort of vitriol found so often these days in social media circles, you’re going to get ignored. So please, respond respectfully, engage in polite conversation with us, and enjoy the site!
