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This Date in Baseball

April 9

1913 — Ebbets Field opened in Brooklyn and Philadelphia defeated the Dodgers 1-0 before a crowd of 10,000. The stadium, which cost $750,000 to build, was named after Charles Ebbets, the club’s principal owner.

1947 — Dodgers manager Leo Durocher was suspended for one year by commissioner Happy Chandler for “the accumulation of unpleasant incidents” detrimental to baseball.

1959 — The Baltimore Orioles, playing against the Washington Senators, became the first team in history to execute a triple play on opening day. The Senators won the game, 9-2.

1965 — The Houston Astrodome opened with an exhibition game between the New York Yankees and Astros. President Johnson attended and Gov. John Connally threw out the first ball. Mickey Mantle hit the first home run, but the Astros won 2-1 in 12 innings.

1969 — Billy Williams of Chicago hit four consecutive doubles to lead the Cubs to an 11-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

1981 — Fernando Valenzuela made his first major league start a stunning success by pitching a 2-0, five-hit triumph over the Houston Astros in Los Angeles. He would go on to win his first eight games.

1985 — Chicago’s Tom Seaver made his 15th opening day start to break Christy Mathewson’s record. Seaver pitched 6 2-3 innings and was credited with the victory as the White Sox beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2.

2000 — In a 13-7 win over Kansas City, Minnesota’s Ron Coomer, Jacque Jones and Matt LeCroy hit consecutive home runs. The Royals’ Carlos Beltran, Jermaine Dye and Mike Sweeney repeated the feat, marking the first time in major league history that both teams hit three consecutive home runs in the same game.

Today’s birthday: David Robertson 27.