California opened its golden gate to major league baseball on this date when the transplanted Dodgers and Giants played the first game of the 1958 season at Seals Stadium in San Francisco.

Ruben Gomez limited the Dodgers to six hits and no runs in an 8-0 win before a crowd of 23,448 that squeezed into the tiny former Pacific Coast League park. The Giants knocked Don Drysdale out in the fourth inning. He gave up five hits and six runs, two of them driven in by Willie Mays.

The Lakers and the Clippers would have closed out their regular seasons Wednesday night with games at Phoenix and Portland, respectively. The Lakers, who have had 18 games postponed entering Wednesday because of the COVID-19 pandemic, were 3-0 this season against the Suns. The Clippers, who have missed 17 games, were 2-0 against the Trail Blazers.

On Jackie Robinson Day, the Dodgers were scheduled to play the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium. The Angels would have met the Marlins in Miami.


The Galaxy had an MLS match set in Philadelphia against the Union.

Here is a look at memorable games and outstanding sports performances on this date:

1918 — Babe Ruth pitches a four-hitter for the Boston Red Sox in the team’s season opener and also drives in two runs in a 7-1 win over the Philadelphia Athletics. It is Ruth’s third consecutive opening day victory.


1947 — Jackie Robinson plays his first major league game for the Dodgers. He goes 0 for 3 but scores the deciding run in a 5-3 win over the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. He is the first black player of the modern era.

1952 — The Detroit Red Wings beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-0 to win the Stanley Cup. The Red Wings hold the Canadiens to two goals in a four-game sweep. Metro Prystai scores two goals, and goaltender Terry Sawchuk gets his fifth career postseason shutout.

1984 — Ben Crenshaw wins his first major at the Masters, shooting a four-under-par 68 in the final round for a two-stroke victory over Tom Watson. Crenshaw uses the putter that his father gave him when he was 15 years old, nicknamed “Little Ben.”

1991 — Magic Johnson sets an NBA record for career assists in the Lakers’ 112-106 win over the Dallas Mavericks. Johnson, who needs nine to break Oscar Robertson’s record of 9,887, gets 19.


1993 — Sparky Anderson records his 2,000th win as a manager when the Detroit Tigers rally to beat the Oakland Athletics 3-2. Anderson is baseball’s seventh manager to reach the milestone.

1998 — The first American League-National League doubleheader is held at Shea Stadium in New York. In the daytime AL matchup, the Yankees beat the Angels 6-3, and in the NL night game, the Mets edge the Cubs 2-1. The Yankees were forced to move their game from the Bronx to Queens after a beam fell in the upper deck at Yankee Stadium.

2000 — Cal Ripken is the 24th player to reach 3,000 hits when he lines a single to center off Minnesota reliever Hector Carrasco. He reaches the mark with his third hit in a 6-4 victory over the Twins and is the seventh player to reach 3,000 hits and 400 home runs.


2005 — Top-ranked Roger Federer’s 25-match winning streak ends when French teenager Richard Gasquet saves three match points before winning a third-set tiebreaker at the Monte Carlo Masters. Federer’s 35-1 record is the best start on the men’s tour since John McEnroe was 39-0 in 1984.

2007 — Kobe Bryant scores 50 points in the Lakers’ 109-98 win against Seattle, giving him 50 or more for the 10th time that season. It’s the third-highest total in NBA history behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 45 times with 50 or more in 1961-62 and Chamberlain’s 30 times the next season.

SOURCES: The Times, Associated Press