July 3 is a big day in San Diego no no-no history, with three Padres pitchers taking no-nos into the eighth inning.
Too bad the Padres have an off-day this year.
On this day in 1975, Randy Jones took a perfect game into the eighth against the Cincinnati Reds but lost it when shortstop Hector Torres fielded a Tony Perez grounder and threw the ball into the stands for an error. Jones got George Foster to ground out to keep the no-no active through 7⅓, but said goodbye to that potential feat on a Bill Plummer double. He had to settle for his second one-hitter, with the earlier one coming in May of the same year.
On July 3, 1994, Andy Bennes took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the New York Mets but lost it on a Rico Brogna lead-off double. He held on for the one-hit complete game 7-0 shutout.
And on this day in 2004, the Padres’ Adam Eaton held the Kansas City Royals hitless for seven innings and had a 4-0 lead when Dee Brown lead off the eighth with a double to left. Eaton and reliever Akinori Otsuka wound up yielding three hits as Kansas City tied the game, but the Padres scored a run in the bottom of the eighth and held on for a 5-4 victory.
There have been two major league no-hitters on this date. On July 3, 1970, the California Angels’ Clyde Wright tossed a no-hitter against the Oakland Athletics in a 4-0 win. On July 3 of last year, the Cincinnati Reds’ Homer Bailey threw his second no-hitter, this one topping the San Francisco Giants 3-0.
In non no no-no July 3 happenings, the Padres in 2001 tied a National League record by hitting four sacrifice flies in one game during a 6-5 victory over the Colorado Rockies at Qualcomm Stadium.
And with the Padres off this July 3, the San Diego County Fair will be allowing free admission with a 2014 game ticket stub in celebration of the life of Tony Gwynn.
