7/6 Games: Player Umps, AJ All Star, Ump Lumps, Freak Show, Game Stories...

• 1896 - The Pittsburg Press described the game, played in the rain at Washington, as “...a farce. But it was not without excitement, however, for Umpire Tim Hurst threatened to whip half a dozen players.” Hurst reportedly socked Pirates Jake Stenzel and Emerson "Pink" Hawley in the jaw for the guff they had given him during the game. They accepted their fate like men according to the New York Clipper as "neither player resented the attack." The Pirates defeated the Senators 6-2 at Boundary Park. Hawley got the win; Stenzel had three hits while Joe Sugden and Mike Smith added a pair.

Jack O'Connor circa 1900 - ump for a day.
(photo Conlon Collection/Detroit Piblic Library)

• 1901 - NY manager George Davis said he would pull his team off the Polo Grounds rather than allow ump Harry Colgan to call the game, and he got his wish. Colgan avoided the drama by not showing up, and under the threat of a forfeit and fine by the league if the blustering Giants didn’t play the match, the two teams each selected a player - Giants infielder Charlie Buelow and Pirates catcher Jack O'Connor - to ump. Davis might have been better off with Colgan as his club lost 6-2, but at least there weren’t any rhubarbs. There were only two bang-bang plays, and sportsman O’Connor called them both in favor of the Giants. The Pittsburg Press gloated that “The delusion of manager Davis that the umpires were the cause of the New York’s club failure to take first place away from Pittsburg was dispelled…” Jack Chesbro got the win over Dummy Taylor, who was torched for four first-inning runs. Ginger Beaumont led the attack with two hits, including a homer.
• 1940 - Arky Vaughan, Elbie Fletcher and Maurice Van Robays each homered and combined for 10 RBI and six runs as the Bucs romped over the Cards 15-8 in the lidlifter of a Sportsman’s Park doubleheader. Pittsburgh took the second match from St. Louis by a 4-3 count, pushing across a 10th inning run for the win. Van Robays had a two-run homer and Mace Brown, who pitched five innings of one hit, shutout relief, earned the victory.
• 1945 - A doubleheader couldn’t begin any better; Pete Coscarart and Jim Russell started it off with a bang, smoking back-to-back leadoff homers for the first time in franchise history. But Boston regained its composure pretty quickly and swept the Buccos 13-5 and 14-8 at Braves Field.

Vern Law 1955 Bowman

• 1955 - Jerry Lynch, Frank Thomas and Dale Long hit back-to-back-to-back homers in the sixth inning against the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Carl Erskine during a 10-5 loss of a doubleheader lidlifter at Forbes Field. The Bucs didn’t homer in the nitecap, but won 4-1 behind Vern Law.
• 1980 - Eight Cub pitchers held the Pirates scoreless for 14-1/3 innings (and had a 12-⅔ IP string of hitless frames!) at TRS but Pittsburgh took home a 5-4, 20-inning victory. Cliff Johnson's two-out homer in the ninth off Bert Blyleven tied it for Chicago‚ but Omar Moreno's single hours later (it was a 5-1/2 hour affair, the longest contest in TRS history) was the game winner. Jim Bibby (11-1) earned the win with three scoreless innings‚ but lost a probable start in the All Star game because of his unexpected relief outing. The Chicago pen was brilliant, but the Pirates guys were stout, too - four Bucco hurlers (Kent Tekulve, Rick Rhoden, Grant Jackson & Bibby) tossed 10 scoreless frames even though they danced through some raindrops.
• 1985 - The Pirates blew a three run lead at TRS, allowing the Padres to tie the game in the ninth inning, but came back in their half to take an 8-7 decision. Steve Kemp homered and the Bucs added a triple and five doubles during the contest, but Pittsburgh used three consecutive two-out singles against Craig Lefferts, the last by Marvell Wynne, to walk off the victory.

Zane Smith 1992 Upper Deck Holo

• 1992 - If you like pitching, this was your kind of game. Zane Smith and Houston’s Jimmy Jones started in a game that ended up 1-0, with Orlando Merced’s sixth inning homer the only run scored in front of the 15,385 fans at TRS. Smith worked 8-⅓ innings of five hit ball with Stan Belinda coming on to record the final two outs. Belinda inherited Jeff Bagwell at second and walked the first hitter he faced, but got a pair of pops to ice the game.
• 1997 - The Pirate “Freak Show” completed a four game sweep of St. Louis, 6-3, at Busch Stadium to go into the All-Star break with a one-game lead in the NL Central standings after winning seven straight. Steve Cooke won the game backed by Jose Guillen’s first big league homer and four RBI, the first multi-RBI game of his career.
• 2001 - Pittsburgh put up a five spot in the eighth inning to rally past the White Sox 10-6 at Comiskey Park. Jack Wilson had three hits and John Vander Wal added a homer with two stolen bases to pace the attack. Josias Manzanillo benefitted from the offensive outburst; he was charged with a blown save and then credited with the win.

AJ 2015 Topps All-Star

• 2015 - AJ Burnett, who was named to the All-Star team a half hour before the game for the first time in his 17th and final season, and James Shields hooked up in an epic pitching duel at PNC Park that was eventually decided by the bullpens. Both starters went into the eighth inning, leaving a 1-1 match for the relievers to decide. Jared Hughes tossed the final 1-⅓ frames before Brandon Mauer gave up a two-out, 3-2 pinch single to Pedro Alvarez, scoring Andrew McCutchen who had walked earlier in the frame and moved up on Jung-Ho Kang’s single. It was El Toro’s second career walk off hit; the first was back in 2010.