August 17 - Heart Breaker, Triple Play, Sweep, Clem, Maz, Charlie Brown, The Last Hero...

Heart breaker, triple play, sweep, Clem, Maz, Charlie Brown, The Last Hero...

• 1907 - Pittsburgh defeated the Boston Doves at the South End Grounds by a 5-1 score. The Pittsburg Press wrote that CF Tommy Leach “...broke the hearts of the locals with a great spear in the third inning of (Ginger) Beaumont’s rap with the bases full. He gathered the ball in his mitt with his arm extended while going at full speed...it seemed impossible to get the ball, and it cost the Bostons four runs.” It was the Doves 16th straight loss, but they got over their broken heart to take the next three games of the series, scoring 26 runs against the Bucs. 
• 1915 - Rube Benton pitched the Bucs to a 3-2 win over Chicago, but both the Cubs and Giants protested the win. According to the SABR Biography Project “Cincinnati placed him on waivers in early August. The New York Giants verbally claimed him for the $3,000 waiver price, but shortly thereafter the Pittsburgh Pirates offered $4,000. The Reds accepted the Pirates' offer, prompting the Giants to file a grievance. Benton, meanwhile, reported to the Pirates and tossed a six-hitter to defeat the Cubs. One week later, the NL's Board of Directors awarded Benton to the Giants. It ruled, however, that the Pirates had acted in good faith; rather than forfeiting the August 17 game, the Board ordered that it be stricken from the record books and replayed in September. The day after the decision, Rube pitched his first game for the Giants - against the Pirates, of all teams! - and gave up 12 hits in four innings of a 9-7 loss.” 
• 1929 - The Bucs scored three times in the first inning when Paul Waner doubled in Dick Bartell and Lloyd Waner, then came home on a two-out knock by Adam Comorosky, providing just enough firepower to hold off Boston at Braves Field 3-2. Larry French got the win and Steve Swetonic the save, but 2B George Grantham actually made the key save. With Braves on first and third with no one out, he snared a liner and flipped it to SS Bartell, who stepped on second for out #2 and tagged the Brave runner steaming in from first as part of a hit-and-run, for a triple play. 
• 1943 - Pittsburgh won a twin bill from Boston‚ 8-0 and 4-3. Elbie Fletcher and Maurice Van Robays each had five hits on the day and drove in seven runs while banging out a homer, triple and four doubles in tandem. Hank Gornicki was the winner in both games at Braves Field. He tossed a six hit complete game in the opener and shut Boston down again for 1-2/3 frames in the nitecap. But what goes around...a few days later on August 22nd the Brooklyn Dodgers beat Gornicki twice in the same day. 
• 1960 - Clem Labine‚ picked up the day before after being released by Detroit‚ tossed 3-2/3 innings of hitless ball with six K to save a 5-3 win for Harvey Haddix over the Phils at Forbes Field. Don Hoak’s three RBI paced the Bucco batters. 
• 1971 - Bill Mazeroski recorded his 2‚000th career hit against Wade Blasingame in a 6-5 loss to Houston at TRS. 
• 2003 - The Pirates drew 24,092 to PNC Park for Charlie Brown bobblehead night, and the fans were treated to a 5-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Tike Redmond, Jack Wilson and Reggie Sanders homered for the Bucs as Josh Fogg claimed the win. 
• 2004 - The Bucs dispatched Arizona 7-1 at Bank One Ballpark to win for the eighth time in their last nine decisions. Ty Wiggington and Craig Wilson homered as Jose Castillo banged out a pair of doubles. Ryan Vogelsong tossed seven innings of one run, six hit ball for the win. 
• 2012 - James McDonald and four relievers held St. Louis to four hits at Busch Stadium to claim a 2-1 victory over the Redbirds. The two Buc runs scored in the fourth and both were unearned - one scored on a wild pitch, the other on a passed ball with a fielding error in between. 
• 2013 - The film “Baseball’s Last Hero: 21 Clemente Stories” premiered at the Strand Theater in Zelienople. The movie was written by West View native Richard Rossi. It had its initial showing in Hollywood, but Rossi edited the film into its final version for this viewing.