April 12 1906 — Johnny Bates of Boston became the first modern player to hit a home run in his first major league at bat. Irv Young allowed one hit as Boston beat Brooklyn 2-0. 1912 — The Chicago Cubs’ Tinker-Evers-Chance double play combination played its final major league game together. 1955 — In their first game in Kansas City, the transplanted Athletics defeated the Detroit Tigers 6-2 at Municipal Stadium. The standing-room crowd of 32,147 was the largest paid crowd for any event in Kansas City. 1965 — The first National League home run in the Houston Astrodome was hit by Richie Allen of the Philadelphia Phillies off Bob Bruce in a 2-0 victory over the Astros. 1966 — A crowd of 50,671 welcomed the Braves to Atlanta, but Willie Stargell spoiled the occasion with a two-run homer in the 13th inning to give the Pirates a 3-2 victory. 1980 — In an awesome display of power, Cecil Cooper and Don Money each hit grand slams in the second inning of Milwaukee’s 18-1 rout of the Boston Red Sox. 1992 — Boston’s Matt Young pitched eight no-hit innings at Cleveland but lost 2-1. In the second game, the Indians managed only two hits off Roger Clemens to set a major league record for fewest hits (2) in a doubleheader. 1994 — Scott Cooper hit for the cycle and drove in five runs to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 22-11 rout of the Kansas City Royals. 2003 — The Detroit Tigers won for the first time this season, getting a three-run homer from Shane Halter to beat the White Sox 4-3. The Tigers (1-9), the only team since 1900 to start back-to-back seasons with nine straight losses, started 0-11 last season. 2011 — Dan Haren pitched a one-hitter, allowing only Shin-Soo Choo’s clean single in the fourth inning, and the Los Angeles Angels beat Cleveland 2-0. Haren struck out eight and walked two in his third major league shutout. Choo’s single to center field came with one out in the fourth. Today’s birthdays: Brad Brach 35.