April 18, 1987: Mike Schmidt Hits Career Home Run No. 500

Mike Schmidt hit his 499th career home run off of Pittsburgh’s Bob Patterson in a 6-2 Philadelphia win on April 17, 1987.

The next day—Saturday, April 18, 1987—Schmidt looked to become the 14th player in major league history with 500.

Schmidt’s milestone home run at Three Rivers Stadium was also one of his most dramatic.

The Phillies seemed to be heading for the victory with a late 5-2 lead. But the Pirates rallied for four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to grab a 6-5 advantage.

In the top of the ninth and Pittsburgh’s Don Robinson on the mound for the save, Philadelphia second baseman Juan Samuel was at third with two outs.

After Von Hayes walked, Schmidt stepped to the plate 0-for-3 with a walk on the afternoon. While he was only a .122 (7-for-57) career hitter against Robinson, four of the hits were home runs.

Even though Schmidt was in the twilight of his career, he was the 1986 N.L. MVP and still a dangerous hitter. Robinson fell behind 3-0 and some of the 19,361 in attendance believed Schmidt would be walked to bring left fielder Chris James to the plate.

But instead of taking, Schmidt deposited Robinson’s 3-0 pitch over the left field wall for career home run No. 500 and an 8-6 Phillies lead.

The ball was eventually retrieved by Philadelphia bullpen coach Mike Ryan and given to Schmidt in the dugout as the Phillies held on for the victory.

Schmidt’s 500th home run was his fifth of the season. When he retired during the 1989 season, he finished his career with 548 home runs.     

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Phillies-Yankees: Yankees Win Series Rematch Opener

During his 12 years in Toronto, Roy Halladay was usually lights out against the Yankees. Now with Philadelphia, Halladay was looking to continue his dominance of New York Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees roughed up Halladay for six runs, including three home runs, and topped Philadelphia, 8-3, in the opener of three-game series that is a rematch of last year’s World Series.

New York won their ninth consecutive home game, while Philadelphia suffered their sixth loss in their last eight games. Both teams started the season 24-13 and New York is 17-10 in their last 27 games. Meanwhile, Philadelphia is 8-17 in their last 25 games.

The game featured two of the best pitchers in their respective leagues. CC Sabathia (7-3) won his third consecutive start for the first time this season. It was also his first win against an opponent other than Baltimore since he defeated Texas on April 16. Sabathia allowed three runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and three walks over seven innings.

Halladay (8-5), who entered the game with an 18-6 career record and three shutouts against New York, allowed six runs on eight hits in six innings. He also struck out five and walked two. Halladay has allowed a whopping 12 earned runs in two interleague starts against Boston and New York this season.

New York opened the scoring in the bottom of the second. After Nick Swisher singled and Jorge Posada walked, Brett Gardner brought home both runners with a two-run triple to give the Yankees an early advantage.

The Yankees extended their lead via the long ball in the bottom of the third. Curtis Granderson led off the inning with his fifth home run of the season. It was the first home run Halladay allowed this season to a left-handed batter. After Robinson Cano doubled, Swisher, batting from the left side, deposited a ball over the right field wall for his 11th home run of the season.

Trailing 5-0, Philadelphia mounted a rally in the top of the fourth. The Phillies loaded the bases on a pair of singles and a hit batter. Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez delivered back-to-back RBI singles, and Ben Francisco added a run-scoring fielder’s choice to cut the Yankees lead to 5-3.

While Sabathia and two relievers kept Philadelphia off the scoreboard over the final five innings, New York extended their lead. In the bottom of the fifth, Mark Teixeira hit a solo home run that just cleared the right field wall. The Yankees completed the scoring in the bottom of the seventh on Francisco Cervelli’s two-out, two-run single.

New York and Philadelphia will continue their three-game series on Wednesday. Kyle Kendrick (3-2, 4.80) will start for the Phillies against the Yankees’ A.J. Burnett (6-4, 3.86). First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.

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