Baltimore Oriole's slugger Rafael Palmeiro has become only the fourth player in major league baseball history with at least 3,000 hits and 500 homers.
The Cuban-born left-hander drilled a fifth-inning double against the Mariners in Seattle for landmark hit number 3,000. With his 566 career home runs, Palmeiro joined Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray in the elite group that makes up baseball's finest batsmen.
The 40-year-old first baseman pushed his total beyond 3,000 with a second hit later in Friday night's game, which Baltimore won, 6-3.
Elsewhere in the American League, the Boston Red Sox obliterated their archrivals, the New York Yankees, 17-1. New York's starting pitcher Tim Redding, who has already played for three different teams this season, walked four batters and gave up six runs in just one inning of work.
Other AL winners were the White Sox, Tigers, Blue Jays, Angels and Athletics.
The Chicago White Sox eased by the Indians, 7-1, in Cleveland. In Detroit, the Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals, 4-1. The Toronto Blue Jays scored six runs in the bottom of the third inning on the way to an 11-6 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Los Angeles Angels edged the Minnesota Twins, 3-2, in Minneapolis. Oakland pitcher Barry Zito took a no-hitter into the eighth inning before his Athletics came away with a 6-3 win over the Mariners in Seattle.
In the National League, Washington relief pitcher Mike Stanton came into the game in the 10th inning in Milwaukee and immediately balked in the game-ending run, handing the Brewers a 4-3 win over the Nationals. Stanton, who just joined the team after he was waived from the Yankees, has yet to actually throw a pitch for the Nationals.
St. Louis star Albert Pujols hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 13th inning to give the Cardinals a 4-3 win over the Houston Astros.
Other NL winners were the Cubs, Marlins, Braves, Reds, Padres and Giants.
Chicago's Jerry Hairston hit his first career grand slam to lead the Cubs to an 11-1 thrashing of the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates. The Florida Marlins downed the Phillies in Philadelphia, 9-7. Atlanta ace John Smoltz notched his sixth straight win in a 2-1 victory over the Mets in New York. The Cincinnati Reds tripped up the visiting Colorado Rockies, 4-3. The San Diego Padres downed the Arizona Diamondbacks, 10-7, in San Diego. And the San Francisco Giants handed the host Los Angeles Dodgers their sixth straight loss, a 6-0 pasting.
Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.