Bucco History 5/24

A hot day at the hot corner, Connie Mack, Cy Young, breaking a streak in style and squeakin' 'em out...

• 1889 - Willie Kuehne converted 13 chances at the hot corner, handling three putouts and 10 assists without an error‚ for a MLB record. His stellar work in the field helped Pittsburgh to a 9-7 win over Washington at Swampoodle Grounds. The Alleghenys’ Kuehne wasn’t exactly noted for his glovework, though. He had 34 errors that season and finished with a .908 fielding average. 
• 1893 - C Connie Mack intentionally allowed a popup to drop in front of home plate that led to a triple play against the Browns. He followed by droving in the winning run in the bottom of the eighth to propel Pittsburgh to an 8-7 win over St. Louis at Exposition Park. Mack was a backup catcher who hit .286 for the Pirates that year, and later entered the Hall of Fame as a manager. 
• 1894 - The Pirates rallied to beat the Cleveland Spiders and none other than Cy Young 6-5 at League Park. Down 5-2 late, the Bucs scored twice in the seventh and twice more in the eighth for the win. Red Ehret went eight innings for the W. Jake Stenzel had two hits and scored three runs while Jake Beckley added three knocks.
• 1955 - The Bucs broke an 11 game losing streak in style by pounding the Brooklyn Dodgers 15-1 at Forbes Field. Preston Ward had a single‚ triple and HR to lead the attack. Ward, Gene Freese and Roberto Clemente each had three RBI. One of the Dodger relievers they tortured was future manager Tommy Lasorda, who gave up five runs in two innings of work.
• 1959 - The Bucs swept a pair from the Reds at Forbes Field by 2-1 and 5-4 scores; both games were won by walk-off, pinch hit doubles. Danny Kravitz drove home Don Hoak to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat for Ron Kline, who had surrendered an unearned ninth inning run. The Pirates were down 4-2 in the nightcap and down to their last out when Rocky Nelson tied the game with a two run homer. Pittsburgh won it in the tenth when Smoky Burgess doubled home Roman Mejias to give Ron Blackburn the win. The Bucs swept the four game series from Cincy, winning every match by one run.