8/12 From the 50’s-80’s: Ott Not; Slugfests; Game Stories; HBD Jose, Jhan & Lobster

• 1958 - The red hot Pirates beat the Braves 10-0 behind the two-hit pitching of George Witt to move into second place‚ five games behind Milwaukee. 36‚867 Pirate fans jammed Forbes Field to see them win their 17th game of the last 22. Frank Thomas had a homer, double and three RBI while Bill Mazeroski and Bill Virdon banged out three hits each.

Frank Thomas 1999 SI/Fleer Greats of the Game

• 1959 - It was 2-2 going into the seventh at Connie Mack Stadium, but Roberto Clemente would change that in a heartbeat. The Phils’ Robin Roberts gave up back-to-back singles and a walk, but had gotten a K and foul pop and needed one more out to dodge a seventh inning bullet. He couldn’t duck Clemente, who rifled a shot into left center for a bases-emptying triple and then came in on Rocky Nelson’s knock through the left side. Per BR Bullpen, Roberts lamented after the game that “I wish I'd thrown the ball as hard as he hit it." Harvey Haddix went the distance, giving up seven hits during the 6-2 win. 
• 1966 - Pittsburgh beat the Reds 14-11 in 13 innings at Crosley Field, scoring in the ninth, 10th, 11th and 13th frames before finally wresting the win from Cincinnati. Art Shamsky was a particular pain for the Bucs as he hit three homers, one tying it in the ninth and another to knot the score in the 11th. There were 11 HR hit by the two teams, tying a MLB record. Going yard for the Bucs were Bob Bailey (2)‚ Willie Stargell, Roberto Clemente‚ Jesse Gonder‚ and Jerry Lynch, his 18th pinch-hit bomb‚ a MLB record. Tommie Sisk pitched one-hit ball over the last two innings to earn the victory. 
• 1969 - Jose Pagan's two-run homer against the SF Giant’s Gaylord Perry at Candlestick Park was his second consecutive pinch-hit home run and tied the then-major league record (broken by Lee Lacy in 1979). It didn’t help as the Bucs fell 6-2. 

Jose Pagan 1969 Milton Bradley

• 1977 - Mets’ 2B Felix Millan suffered a broken collarbone compliments of Pirate catcher Ed Ott during a 6-5 Pirate victory at TRS‚ ending Millan's 12-year MLB career. Ott took out Milan on a hard slide into second, Milan responded with a shot to Ott’s face, and the Pirate catcher body slammed him, earning a bruised shoulder and $250 fine. As for the game, the back end of a twin bill, the Bucs won in the 12th when Duffy Dyer chased home Rennie Stennett with two outs after a single and steal. Phil Garner had three hits and a homer in the win, which went to Larry Demery, who tossed two-hit ball over four innings. The opener was hard fought, too, with Jim Rooker hurling the Bucs to a 3-2 win while driving in two runs in the second with a two-out, bases loaded single after the Mets walked Dyer to get to him. 
• 1987 - The Pirates had it all going against the first-place Cards at TRS, winning 11-0. Bob Walk tossed a complete game four-hitter. Johnny Ray had three hits, the team banged out four doubles, and Andy Van Slyke collected his 500th MLB knock. Every Pirate but Barry Bonds scored and/or drove in a run and all but Junior Ortiz had a hit, including Walk. The shutout snapped the Cardinals’ 145-game streak without being shut out, which was five short of the modern NL mark set by the 1924-25 Pirates. 
• 1988 - Jose Tabata was born in El Tigre, Venezuela. JT came over from the Yankees in a 2008 trade featuring Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte, and since 2010 has been in the show with various degrees of success after a promising rookie campaign, hampered by a variety of leg injuries and unfulfilled expectations. He signed a deal that ran from 2011-16 with three option years that the front office rather quickly regretted. He was traded to the Dodger for Michael Morse during the 2015 deadline period. He signed a minor-league deal with Toronto in 2017 and at last check was now playing indie ball. 

Jose Tabata 2013 Topps Allen & Ginter

• 1988 - RHP Jhan Marinez was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Jhan is a journeyman reliever who caught on with the Pirates in 2017, going 0-1/3.18 in 24 games. His peripherals weren’t as shiny as his counting numbers and he was released, with Texas picking him up. He’s been a depth piece in MLB; Marinez has tossed for seven teams in his five big league campaigns. 
• 1989 - LHP Kyle Lobstein was born in Flagstaff, Arizona. The Pirates got him in the 2015 offseason from Detroit in a cash deal and he was traded to Baltimore for reliever Zach Phillips. In between, he tossed in 14 games from the pen for the Pirates in 2016, slashing 2-0/3.96 and is now in the Dodgers system.