6/18 From The 60s Forward: First Pitch Homer; Cover Boy Clemente; Dock Wins Debut; Bradenton Deal; Game Stories

• 1960 - The Bucs were down 3-0 in the ninth at LA Memorial Coliseum with two outs and Gino Cimoli up with one swing left, behind in the count 1-2. That ignited a fast and furious comeback against the Dodgers when Cimoli eked out an infield hit to short and Hal Smith homered. Don Hoak singled, Maz walked and Smoky Burgess tied the game with another knock. Smith was the hero again in the 10th, banging a ground ball single to left off Larry Sherry that brought home Roberto Clemente that gave the Bucs an in-and-out of the jaws of death 4-3 win. ElRoy Face picked up the victory.
• 1961 - C Don Leppert made his MLB debut a memorable one with a HR off the first pitch he faced as a big league ballplayer against Curt Simmons in a 5-3 win over Cards at Forbes Field in the opener of a DH. The feat wouldn’t be duplicated by another Bucco until 2012 when Starling Marte lifted one off Houston’s Dallas Keuchel at Minute Maid Park. The Bucs dropped the nightcap of the bargain bill by a 7-3 count. 

Don Leppert 1962 Topps

• 1966 - Roberto Clemente was a cover story (“Some Swinger”) for The Sporting News. The blurb was a little misleading. The actual article was written by local TSN correspondent/Pittsburgh Press beat writer Les Biederman and titled "Clemente Uses Bat to Send ‘All Well’ Message to Family." And Roberto’s stick authored quite a compelling tale - Clemente won the league's MVP Award that season, hitting .317 with 29 home runs and 119 RBIs. 
• 1968 - Dock Ellis got a win in his major league debut as the Pirates came from behind twice to beat the LA Dodgers 3-2 in 10 innings at Forbes Field. Don Drysdale and Bob Moose started the affair that was finally decided when Matty Alou, batting cleanup, singled home Maury Wills, who had reached on an infield single and extended his hitting streak to 15 games. The Bucs tied the game in the eighth when Willie Stargell smacked a solo shot off reliever Jim Brewer. Dock gave up a hit and notched a K in a scoreless 10th inning for the win; Hank Aguirre took the loss. It was Pittsburgh’s seventh straight victory. 
• 1968 - Pittsburgh signed a 40-year lease with Bradenton to hold all its spring major & minor league training there beginning in 1969. The town promised the Pirates a stadium, motel, and field complex over 160 acres; the Bucs promised to hold spring training there, sponsor a GCL Rookie team and hold winter Instructional League competition there. The pairing worked out pretty well: The ballpark and minor league complex underwent $20 million in renovations after a new 30-year lease with the city was signed in 2008, so Pirates City with its Bradenton Marauders, GCL team and instructional league will continue to soak up the Sunshine State rays for the foreseeable future. 

Dave Cash 1971 Pirates Picture Pack

• 1971 - The Pirates stormed back in the late innings to force the Montreal game into extra time and eventually took a 9-8 Friday night victory at TRS. The Pirates scored twice in the eighth on Al Oliver’s two-out single and four more times in the ninth when Bill Mazeroski singled home a run followed by back-to-back homers from Dave Cash and Richie Hebner off Mike Marshall. Cash had the walk-off winner when he singled home Gene Clines, who had led off the 11th frame with a triple off Claude Raymond, making Dave Giusti a winner. 
• 2005 - The Pirates whipped the Red Sox at Fenway Park by a 2-0 count, scoring single runs in the eighth and ninth on Humberto Cota and Ryan Doumit knocks. Three Bucco pitchers - Dave Williams, Rick White and Jose Mesa - combined on a six-hitter to stop Boston. 
• 2010 - The sad sack Pirates lost their 12th straight game by a 4-3 count to the almost equally inept Cleveland Indians at PNC Park. All the scoring was in the seventh inning, with the Bucs scoring on a bases loaded double by Ryan Church and the Tribe answering. The Pirates came back to take the next two games from the Indians, followed by a six-game losing streak. 
• 2013 - After a defeat at Cincy during which Andrew McCutchen was HBP and Neil Walker was knocked down, Charlie Morton plunked the first Red to step to plate and then led the Bucs to a 4-0 win at GABP. Morton and three relievers combined on a four-hitter. The Bucs never looked back, scoring three times in the first, keyed by a two-run, bases-loaded knock by Pedro Alvarez. 

Gerrit Cole 2015 Topps All Star Gold

• 2015 - Behind the pitching of Gerrit Cole, Arquimedes Caminero and Mark Melancon, the Bucs upended the Chicago White Sox 3-2 at US Cellular park. The Pirates scored three times in the first off an Andrew McCutchen RBI single and two-run homer by Jung-Ho Kang to win their eighth in row and their third straight series sweep. The victory was Cole’s MLB-leading 11th. It was also the sixth straight win by the Bucs when scoring three or fewer runs. Finally, it was a red letter day for C Francisco Cervelli. He caught his 56th consecutive scoreless inning, matching Ed Phelps' behind-the-plate shutout streak of 1903.