7/1 From the 40s Forward: Woody 1-Hitter; Rally Time; 21-Hits; Runaround Bucs & Game Stories

• 1940 - The Pirates scored once in the ninth to tie the game and added another in the 10th to nose past the Chicago Cubs 4-3 at Wrigley Field. Vince DiMaggio was the hitting star, going 3-for-5 with a homer, double, two RBI and two runs scored. Mace Brown, the third Buc hurler, got the win in relief after pitching scoreless ninth and 10th frames. 

Vince D 1941 (photo Ben Sakoguchi)

• 1960 - Speed kills, and the Bucs proved it to LA at Forbes Field when they raced to a 4-3, 10-inning victory in front of 27,312 fans. In the extra frame, Joe Christopher was on second with two outs and the Pirates down 3-2. Roberto Clemente rolled one to SS Maury Wills and it hung up in his webbing for just a tick, but that was enough to allow the Great One to beat the throw by a whisker. Meanwhile, Christopher kept flying around the bases and slid in just ahead of Gil Hodges toss to home to tie the game. C Johnny Roseboro jawed at ump Al Barlick, but the man in blue stuck to his call that Roseboro had missed the tag. Dick Stuart then blooped a single into short right and Frank Howard was a bit leisurely getting to the Texas Leaguer. Roberto, like Joe before him, had the pedal to the metal and the surprised Howard, seeing Clemente dashing plateward, gunned his throw up the third base line allowing Arriba to score standing up. In the clubhouse, Clemente said “My foot was sore...I didn’t want to play any more and I tried to end the game.” Mission accomplished, Roberto. Gino Cimoli drove home two runs in regulation while Fred Green earned the win in relief of Vern Law. 
• 1966 - Rookie Woodie Fryman one-hit the Mets at Shea Stadium on the way to a 12-0 win. Fryman faced the minimum 27 batters and came within a gnat’s eyelash of perfection. Ron Hunt, who led off the game with a single, was caught stealing by C Jim Pagliaroni and Fryman mowed down the next 26 NY hitters. Jose Pagan chipped in with three runs scored, four RBI and one of the Pirates’ four homers. 
• 1972 - Roberto Clemente’s seventh-inning homer helped the Bucs rally to take a 2-1 lead over the Cubs at TRS. After the Cubbies answered with a pair of their own to regain their edge 3-2, Clemente homered again in the ninth with Milt May aboard for a walk-off 4-3 win. Both homers came off Fergie Jenkins, who lost to Dave Giusti in relief of Bob Moose. 

Zane Smith 1992 Score

• 1992 - Zane Smith tossed a five-hit, complete-game gem in a 1-0 victory over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. It was their second straight shutout of the Redbirds, the only time during the campaign that Bucco hurlers would put up consecutive zeros. Gary Varsho’s single in the fourth plated Andy Van Slyke, who had opened the frame with a double, for the game’s only tally. St. Louis’ Mark Clark was the tough-luck loser, giving up four knocks in eight frames. Back in the day when “pace of game” wasn’t a thing, the contest took just two hours and four minutes from opening pitch to the final out. 
• 1996 - During a 4-1 win over Chicago at TRS‚ RF Orlando Merced pulled off an unassisted DP‚ catching Mark Grace's liner and then beating Scott Bullett to 1B. He also started another DP, gloving a short pop and catching Doug Glanville off second with his throw to Jay Bell. Merced added a pair of hits, two RBI and a run scored to help Danny Darwin pick up the win. 
• 2006 - The Pirates and sponsoring PNC Bank took trinkets to a new level with the “Young Guns - Doumit, Duke and Duffy” (Ryan Doumit, Zach Duke, and Chris Duffy) triple bobblehead giveaway. 37,111 fans flooded PNC Park (playing the Detroit Tigers on a Saturday night may have helped the draw, too) to get theirs as the Bucs won 9-2. Jose Bautista and Sean Casey each had three hits and Matt Capps got the win in relief of Tom Gorzelanny. One bummer: manager Jim Tracy must have missed the memo as none of the “Young Guns” played. 

• 2014 - Down 2-0 in the ninth and held to two hits over eight innings by Arizona’s Wade Miley, the Bucs made up for lost time in the ninth at PNC Park. Neil Walker opened with a single to center, then pinch hitter Gregory Polanco dumped a knock to left. With an out, Starling Marte chased a pair of sliders away, then reliever Addison Reed hung one over the plate and Marte bombed it for a two-run double off the center field wall. He scooted to third when SS Nick Ahmed's throw to the plate got away, then Andrew McCutchen was walked intentionally. Ike Davis hit for Gaby Sanchez and dropped a broken bat jam shot into right to plate Marte as the Bucs rallied to take an improbable 3-2 victory. Ernesto Frieri picked up his first win as a Bucco after tossing a scoreless ninth, with his bacon being saved by Josh Harrison, who threw out a runner at home from short right field. 
• 2015 - The Pirates flexed their muscles against the Tigers at Comerica Field in a 9-3 win. The Buccos banged out 21 hits, their most since 2004, and drilled four homers. Two were by Neil Walker, and three were hit in one frame by Walker, Starling Marte and Pedro Alvarez. Every Pirate starter had a knock and seven had multi-hit nights against Detroit, led by The Pittsburgh Kid and Marte with four each while Gregory Polanco added three more. AJ Burnett coasted to his seventh victory.