– In a historic movement, major league players end their long-held opposition to mandatory drug testing by agreeing to be tested for illegal steroids beginning in . August 8 – Braves pitcher John Smoltz reaches 40 saves in a season faster than any pitcher in major league history. August 9 The Giants' Barry Bonds hits the 600th home run of his career, but his team still falls to the Pirates by a score of 4–3. Bonds joins Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays in the exclusive 600-HR club. Vladimir Guerrero hits his 200th career home run helping the Montreal Expos beat the Milwaukee Brewers 11–4. August 10 – Sammy Sosa hits 3 home runs, helping the Chicago Cubs the beat the Colorado Rockies 15–1. August 11 – Sammy Sosa hits a grand slam and drives in five runs in the Chicago Cubs' 12–9 victory over Colorado to set an NL record for RBIs in consecutive games with 14. August 17 – The Yankees defeat the Mariners 8–3, as Alfonso Soriano hits a home run to become the first second baseman ever to join the 30–30 club. August 26 – New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter scores his 100th run of the season, joining Ted Williams (1939–49) and Earle Combs (1925–32) as the only players in modern history to score at least 100 runs in their first seven seasons. Jeter scored again in the bottom of the eighth as the Yankees routed the visiting Texas Rangers 10–3. August 28 – Éric Gagné earns a save in a Los Angeles victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. It is the first of his Major League record 84 consecutive save opportunities that he will convert. August 29 – First baseman Mark Bellhorn becomes the first player in NL history to homer from both sides of the plate in the same inning, doing so in the Cubs' 10–run 4th inning at Miller Park in Milwaukee. Chicago wins 13–10 over the Brewers. Bellhorn also ties a team record with five RBI in the inning. August 30 – Major league players and owners agree to a historic contract that prevents the players from going out on strike, marking the first time in over 30 years that a collective bargaining negotiation in baseball was met without a work stoppage. August 31 – The New York Mets are shut out by the Philadelphia Phillies 1–0, to mark their 13th