The Main Event

  • July 6, 1929 – The Phils yielded 10 runs in both the first and fifth innings, in a 28-6 loss to the Cardinals. Earlier that day, the Phils earned a 10-6 win. On the day, the two teams notched a total of 73 hits, a major league record.
  • July 6, 2009 – The Phillies beat the Reds 22-1, the largest margin of victory in team history. The 10 runs they scored in the first inning tied a team record, and Shane Victorino also tied a team mark with five runs scored. Jayson Werth hit a grand slam in the eighth off of infielder/emergency pitcher Paul Janish, who gave up the last six runs.
  • July 6, 2018 – The Phillies collected 18 hits and 10 walks on the way to a 17-5 drubbing of Pittsburgh. The game took 4 hours, 30 minutes to play, making it the longest nine-inning game by time in team history. It also tied the major-league record for longest game.

July 6 has been an unusually kind date to the Philadelphia Phillies over the years. In three different seasons — 1929, 2009 and 2018 — the Phillies took the field on that date and left with a lopsided win, piling up runs in bunches against overmatched pitching staffs. None of these games unfolded the same way, but together they offer a fun snapshot of just how explosive a Phillies offense can be when everything clicks at once.

July 6, 1929: A Doubleheader Split at Baker Bowl

The Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals played a doubleheader at Baker Bowl on July 6, 1929, and the day produced one of the strangest split results in franchise history. In the opener, the Phillies beat the Cardinals 10-6, scoring nothing through three innings before erupting for two runs in the fourth, four in the fifth and one in the sixth, then closing it out with three more in the eighth. Third baseman Pinky Whitney drove in two runs and hit a home run, right fielder Chuck Klein also went deep and drove in two runs, and left fielder Lefty O’Doul collected two doubles among his two hits. First baseman Don Hurst chipped in with a pair of RBI. Starter Ray Benge went seven innings for the win, with Hal Elliott closing it out for a save. The nightcap told a completely different story: the Cardinals routed the Phillies 28-6, a game that still stands as the modern National League record for runs allowed in a single game, including two separate 10-run innings by St. Louis.

July 6, 2009: A Record-Setting First Inning Sinks the Reds

In this one, the Phillies used a first inning eruption that wasn’t just big, it was historic. The Phillies scored 10 runs in the bottom of the first against Cincinnati starter Johnny Cueto and cruised to a 22-1 win. Shane Victorino opened the inning with a home run, and after Jayson Werth singled, Greg Dobbs hit a two-run homer. Cueto hit Pedro Feliz with a pitch, walked Carlos Ruiz, then gave up a two-run double to pitcher Cole Hamels. Jimmy Rollins added an RBI single, and after Cueto was pulled, Chase Utley capped the inning with a home run for the 10th run. Hamels cruised through seven scoreless innings, Utley drove in four runs on the day, and Philadelphia even sent Reds reserve shortstop Paul Janish to the mound in the eighth — Werth greeted him with a bases-loaded homer to make it 22-1.

July 6, 2018: A Marathon Night and a Seven-Run Seventh in Pittsburgh

Philadelphia beat the Pirates 17-5 at PNC Park in a game that took four hours and 30 minutes — tying the NL record for the longest nine-inning game ever played. This one built steadily: Maikel Franco‘s two-run double made it 2-1 in the second, and Odubel Herrera‘s three-run homer pushed it to 5-1 in the third. The breaker came in the seventh, when Philadelphia sent 11 batters to the plate and scored seven runs, capped by a three-run Andrew Knapp homer. Rookie Scott Kingery had a career-high four hits, Herrera finished with four RBI, and Carlos Santana added three RBI in an 18-hit Phillies attack.

Other Historic Phillies Blowouts and Big Innings

The true franchise record for a first inning came less than eight years after the 2009 Reds game: a 12-run first inning on April 8, 2017, against the Nationals in a 17-3 win, keyed by a Howie Kendrick bases-loaded triple. The single-inning scoring record though belongs to a different game — 13 runs in the fourth inning on April 13, 2003, in Cincinnati. And for pure chaos, nothing tops May 17, 1979, at Wrigley Field, when the Phillies beat the Cubs 23-22 in 10 innings after building a 21-9 lead, that came down to the game being won on a Mike Schmidt homer off Bruce Sutter. Philadelphia and Chicago repeated the trick on a smaller scale on April 17, 1976, with an 18-16, 10-inning win built on Schmidt’s fourth home run of the game.

Philadelphia Baseball Events for July 6

  • July 6, 1893 – Jack Boyle delivers six hits in an 11-inning game against Chicago — 5 singles and a double — but the Phillies lose 11-10.
  • July 6, 1980 – Steve Carlton breaks the record for most strikeouts by a left-hander, previously set by Mickey Lolich at 2,832, after fanning seven Cardinals in an 8-3 Phillies victory.
  • July 6, 1986 – The Phillies tied team and major-league records with seven extra base hits in an inning: four doubles, one triple, and two home runs. The offensive explosion helps the team to a 12-5 win over Cincinnati.
  • July 6, 1989 – Fans select Mike Schmidt as the NL’s starting third baseman for the 1989 All-Star game. Schmidt opts not to play, as he retired back on May 29.
  • July 6, 1996 – Signed free agent reliever Mitch Williams, who would go on to record 102 of his career 192 saves with the Phillies between 1991 and 1993.
  • July 6, 1998 – Granted reliever Toby Borland free agency after four seasons with the team. In 149 games, Borland went 9-6, 3.72 with the Phillies. In all, he pitched nine seasons with Philadelphia, Florida, the Mets, Boston, and Anaheim.

ICYMI

Philadelphia Baseball Birthdays for July 6

  • Bill Magee (born 1875) – A right-handed pitcher born in New Brunswick, Canada, Magee had two separate seasons with the Phillies in 1899 and 1902. He had a five-year MLB career with Louisville, Philadelphia, Washington, the New York Giants, and St. Louis.
  • Lenny Metz (born 1899) – A middle infielder who spent all three of his MLB seasons with the Phillies, hitting .132 in 30 games.
  • Cy Blanton (born 1908) – A right-hander who pitched his entire career in Pennsylvania with Pittsburgh (1934-1939) and Philadelphia (1940-1942). Went 10-20, 4.55 with the Phillies.
  • Hal Marnie (born 1918) – Born in Philadelphia, Marnie played three seasons in the majors (1940-1942), all with the Phillies, prior to going into military service. He did not return to the majors following his enlistment.
  • John Boozer (born 1938) – A right-hander from South Carolina, Boozer pitched in seven MLB seasons for the Phillies. Had a lifetime mark of 14-16, 4.09 in 171 games (42 starts) with the Phillies, the only team he played for. One of only four MLB pitchers to be ejected from a game for throwing a spitball, which occurred on May 2, 1968.
  • Darrin Winston (born 1966) – A lefty from Passaic, NJ, Winston had a brief MLB career with 34 games (one start) to his credit. All of his time came with the Phillies and he finished with a 4-2 record and a 5.84 ERA.

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