9/19 Games: Veale 10-Inning 1-Hitter, Clemente Clutch, Doug 20 & Barry 30/50, 9-Run Frame, Game Stories...

• 1908 - Ralph Davis of the Pittsburg Press wrote “In the presence of a grand out-pouring of more than 25,000 fans and in one of the most stubbornly fought battles ever waged at the Polo Grounds, the Pirates defeated the New York Giants by the score of 6-2 after ten innings of strenuous work.” The better part of that battle was fought by Lefty Liefield, who went the distance to outlast Red Ames and Doc Crandall. Ed "Batty" Abbaticchio knocked home a pair of runs in the 10th, and an error followed by Chief Wilson’s hit brought in the final two tallies. 

Abby - Colgan Stars of the Diamond

• 1925 - The Pirates edged the Braves, 2-1, at Forbes Field as Kiki Cuyler had four hits and Pie Traynor added three more. The two teams combined for 23 hits and drew seven walks but managed to strand 23 runners, hitting into two DPs and getting three runners thrown out trying to steal. The Bucs and opportunity took nine innings to get together - Pittsburgh left the bases loaded with one away in the eighth and needed a two-out, bases-packed single by Glenn Wright in the ninth to squeak out the win for Vic Aldridge. 
• 1943 - Rip Sewell whipped the Reds, 10–3 for his 21st win, which would top the MLB chart that season. Rip also stole a base to finish the year with seven swipes. Elbie Fletcher had three hits and two RBI; Bob Elliott inverted that with two hits and three RBI. The Pirates swept the twin bill 2-1 as three Pirate pitchers (Xavier Rescigno, Hank Gornicki & Max Butcher, who got the W) combined to outlast Johnny Vander Meer. Pittsburgh was its own worst enemy in the nightcap, hitting into a DP, going 0-for-2 in stolen bases and getting a runner tossed out a home before scoring twice in the ninth on singles by Vince DiMaggio and Elliott. 
• 1959 - Bill Mazeroski, who homered earlier, drilled a two-run triple in the 12th as the Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds‚ 4-3, at Forbes Field. Elroy Face gave up a run in the top of the 12th but got the win thanks to Maz. Face’s record was 18-1‚ and he won eight straight games in extra innings. He ended the year with the top winning percentage (.947) of any pitcher with 15 decisions, capping a season for the ages for the relief ace. 

Bob Veale 1965 Bazooka

• 1965 - Bob Veale allowed one hit, a two-out sixth inning single by Tony Taylor, and struck out 12 to earn a 1-0‚ 10-inning win over the Phillies at Forbes Field. Roberto Clemente's two-out single off Philadelphia reliever Jack Baldschun to score Bob Bailey was the game winner; Veale had been thrown out at home the batter before, trying to score on Manny Mota’s single. 
• 1966 - The Bucs took an 11-inning victory from the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park by a 6-1 score, sparked when Roberto Clemente ignored manager Harry “The Hat” Walker’s instructions. Clemente, leading off and in an 0-for-13 funk, was told to bunt for a hit; instead he swung away and homered. Bob Bailey added a grand slam to close out the frame, giving Pete Mikkelson the win in relief of Bob Veale. 
• 1970 - Roberto Clemente, out of action for two weeks, returned to score one run and chase home another with a key double in Pittsburgh's 2-1 victory over New York, keeping their 1-½ game pad over Chicago intact. The Bucco D turned four DPs to give Luke Walker the win, with the final four frames closed down by the bullpen. With Roberto back, the club would go 12-5 to close out the month and win the division by five games, but were stopped by the Big Red Machine in the NLCS. 
• 1974 - Pittsburgh put up a five spot in the seventh inning to take an 8-6 win from the St. Louis Cards at TRS. The big blow in the frame was Richie Hebner’s three-run homer, giving Ramon Hernandez the win with a Dave Giusti save. The win moved the Bucs within ½ game of first, and they won the pennant over the Cards by sweeping the Cubs in the last series of the season. 

Richie Hebner 1975 Twinkies

• 1978 - In one of Pittsburgh’s lighter moments, 38 year old Willie Stargell attempted to steal 2B against Chicago (he did have 3 steals that year) quite unsuccessfully. As Cubs' SS Ivan DeJesus waited at the bag with the ball, Stargell slid in 10 feet short of the base, looked up and called for time-out. The Bucs won despite Pops’ baserunning antics, 12-11. Dave Parker’s homer, his second of the day, in the 11th off Bruce Sutter, gave the Bucs their seventh straight win and 30th in their last 38 games. 
• 1990 - Doug Drabek won his 20th game and Bobby Bonds hit his 30th and 31st HRs as Pittsburgh beat Chicago 8-7 at Wrigley Field. Bonds and his dad became the first father-son members of the 30/30 club. Two days later, Bonds swiped his 50th base of the season to became the second MLB player to join the 30/50 club. 
• 1993 - A Buc rally fell short as the Cards prevailed 7-6 at Busch Stadium. Dave Clark swatted a two-run, pinch hit homer in the ninth to give the Bucs a 6-5 lead, but Mark Dewey surrendered the game after two outs with a walk (the second of the inning; the other was charged to Denny Neagle) and a double just inside the line by Mark Whiten that snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Carlos Garcia and Jeff King each had three hits in the heartbreaker. Clark’s homer would be the last for another decade to give the Bucs the lead in the ninth after trailing going in until Rob Mackowiak’s blast defeated the Reds in 2003. 

Emil Brown 1999 Upper Deck Signature

• 2000 - The Pirates rode a nine-run sixth inning to a 12-8 win over the Philadelphia Phillies at Veterans Stadium. The Bucs sent 13 batters to the plate, with the big hits being a two-run knock by Emil Brown and a bases loaded double by John Wehner. The Phils made a game of it in the ninth, scoring three runs off Scott Sauerbeck before Mike Williams came on to end it. 
• 2005 - Ian Snell pitched eight innings to earn his first MLB win as he beat Roger Clemens and the Houston Astros 7–0 at PNC Park. Snell allowed just three hits, retiring the final nine batters he faced before José Mesa closed out the four-hit shutout in the ninth. Four different Pirates - Tike Redman, Jason Bay, Jack Wilson & Freddy Sanchez - had three hits, and every Buc starter except JJ Furmaniac had a hit and scored/drove in a run (or both). Though a loss, the game checked off another notch on Clemens’ bucket list - he had now pitched in every major league ballpark currently in operation. 
• 2014 - The Pirates were dueling with the Milwaukee Brewers for the last wild card spot and losing late 2-0 at PNC Park, unable to dent long time nemesis Yovani Gallardo. Jonathan Broxton came on in the eighth, and after giving up singles to Starling Marte and Neil Walker, watched Russ Martin launch a ball into the right center field seats to give the Bucs a 3-2 lead, with the electrified sellout crowd of 37,974 fans demanding a curtain call. Ike Davis singled in an insurance run as John Holdzkom earned his first MLB win after a strong start by Jeff Locke, with Mark Melancon nailing down his 31st save. It also marked the 21st time that the Pirates won a game during their last at-bat that season. 

John Holdzkum 2015 Topps Autograph

• 2015 - Francisco Liriano and the Pirates beat LA ace Clayton Kershaw at Dodger Stadium 3-2 to snap a four game losing streak. Frankie K’ed nine and retired 16 straight batters during one stretch; Tony Watson and Mark Melancon finished up the game, with Mark the Shark recording a club record-setting 47th save. Andrew McCutchen and Aramis Ramirez provided the offense with doubles; Cutch’s drove in a pair and A-Ram’s was the game-winner.