6/16 Games: Kiki Clincher/22-Gamer; Waner Streakin'; Double Dipping; Interleague on the Road; Homer Barrage & Game Stories

• 1916 - Boston RHP Tom Hughes tossed a no-hitter against the Bucs, striking out Honus Wagner to end the game and seal a 2-0 victory at Braves Field. The Pittsburgh Press cited Hughes’ fastball and change of pace, while noting “he has ever been a Buccaneer hoodoo.” Hard luck Pirate starter Erving Kantlehner worked his third straight game without the Pirates scoring a run in his support.
• 1925 - The Pirates blew a 9-4 lead, allowing the NY Giants to come back and tie the game in the ninth and then jump ahead by a pair in the 10th. But the Bucs answered with four runs of their own with Kiki Cuyler’s two-run homer being the game winner to claim a 13-11 victory at Forbes Field for Lee Meadows, despite giving up a pair in his inning of work. Vic Aldridge started and Ray Kremer was the victim of the ninth inning uprising. Glenn Wright added some pop with four hits and a homer; Earl Smith chipped in a trio of raps. 

Kiki (photo Harriwell Collection/Detroit Public Library)

• 1926 - Kiki Cuyler collected two hits and three RBI to lead the Bucs to a 6-3 win over Boston at Braves Field. It ran his hitting streak to 22 games, which ended the next game when he was held hitless, although drawing a walk and HBP. Vic Aldridge went wire-to-wire for the win, collecting a pair of knocks and scoring twice in his own behalf. 
• 1927 - Lee Meadows defeated Boston 6-0 behind the smokin’ bat of Paul Waner. Big Poison ran his hitting streak to 19 games‚ his multi-hit and RBI streak to 12 games and his extra-base hit streak to 11 games, going 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBI. Meadows did his part, too, spinning a six-hitter against the overmatched Braves at Forbes Field.
• 1940 - Max Butcher tossed a complete game, two-hit shutout against a NY Giants team that boasted five .300+ hitters in their lineup, taking a 5-0 decision in the opener of a Polo Grounds DH. Elbie Fletcher went 4-for-5 with a triple to support Butcher. The Bucs took the nitecap too, 5-3, with Rip Sewell on the hill. Debs Garms had three hits and three RBI in game two. 
• 1971 - Dock Ellis went from the penthouse to the outhouse in a hurry as he carried a no-hitter and 4-0 lead into the sixth inning against Houston in the Astrodome when the ‘Stros erupted for five hits and tied the game. But the Bucs answered quickly when Roberto Clemente homered with Gene Clines aboard in the next frame, and the Docktor recovered his form, giving up two singles over the next three innings to claim the complete game victory. Clines had four hits and Clemente a pair with three runs plated; Al Oliver banged a big triple that drove in a run while he later scored. 

Dock played Jekyll & Hyde (1971 Pirates Photo Pack)

• 1994 - The Pirates beat the Cardinals 7-5 in 10 innings. They made it hard on themselves by banging into a NL record-tying seven double plays at Busch Stadium, but put up a three spot in the tenth for the win. The Pirates even scored their last run on a DP; Carlos Garcia’s sac fly brought home Orlando Merced while Gary Varsho, who had started on first base, was thrown out trying to get to third after the play at the plate. 
• 1997 - It was a day for Pirates firsts: It was the Pirates first interleague road game, Mark Smith homered in the first at-bat by a Pirates DH in franchise history, and Kevin Polcovich swatted his first career long fly (both dingers were off Scott Aldred) as the Bucs outlasted the Minnesota Twins, 8-6, at the Hubert Humphrey Metrodome. Kevin Young, who also homered, and Adrian Brown had three hits while Jason Kendall added a pair of doubles. Winning pitcher Jason Schmidt was the beneficiary of the eight-run, 15-hit attack and Rick Loiselle got the save. 
• 1998 - Talk about brutal: the Bucs blew a 7-1 ninth inning lead against the Phillies to lose 8-7 at Veterans Stadium after Philadelphia roughed up relievers Ricardo Rincon and Rich Loiselle. The pair walked three and Loiselle surrendered a two-out, three-run, walk-off blast to Mike Lieberthal. SS Lou Collier also threw away a grounder that allowed two runs to score and made the final tallies all unearned, wasting three-run homers off the bats of Al Martin and Aramis Ramirez. 
• 2005 - Randy Johnson and NY shut down the Bucs pretty easily by a 6-1 score at Yankee Stadium, but Michael Restovich’s fourth inning solo shot left Pittsburgh as the only team with an extra-base hit in every game for the season, with the streak at 64 contests. The skein was stopped after 71 games on June 24th by the Cards Jeff Suppan and Ray King. 

Craig jogged his way out of a job (image Fox Sports)

• 2009 - The Bucs visited Minnesota and were clobbered by the Twins, 8-2, in the final season of the Hubert Humphrey Metrodome. That was just one of 99 defeats for the Pirates that season but was marked by a career-ending bit of jakery by Craig Monroe. The FA was hitting .215 and struck out swinging in the eighth with Pittsburgh behind by a boatload. The ball got away and Monroe took a quite leisurely stroll to first; the fact that he was safe on a bad throw didn’t ameliorate the lack of hustle in the eyes of the FO. The 32-year-old took a seat on the pine for the next two weeks and was released July 1st; he never played again in the majors. Then as today, it’s always easier to send the team a message via a fringe player. 
• 2012 - Pedro Alvarez homered twice and Casey McGehee once, as did Alex Presley, to lead the Pirates to a 9-2 win over the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. McGehee had four RBI and El Toro added three as AJ Burnett picked up the win with Jared Hughes and Doug Slaten mopping up.