7/23 From 1950 Through the 1980’s: '74 TRS ASG; Bo-DeLeon; Nine Line; Game Stories

• 1958 - The Dodgers put up crooked numbers before the Bucs got to the plate in both ends of a twilight twin bill, but it made no difference as the Bucs swept them, 11-3, 6-3, at Forbes Field. Ronnie Kline gave up three runs to open the double dipper, then settled in to toss a four-hitter. Dick Stuart had four hits, including two triples, and two RBI; Roberto Clemente and Frank Thomas added three more raps (each man homered) and six more RBI while Dick Groat chased home two more runs. Bob Friend did the honors in the nightcap, fanning 10 before getting ninth inning help from ElRoy Face. LA jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but Groat’s bases-filled double keyed a five-run response by the Buccos; the shortstop ended the evening with three hits and four RBI. 

Dick Groat liked playin' two - 1958 Topps

• 1969 - After three years of low scoring games, the All Star contest at RFK Stadium featured some offense, with the NL winning 9-3. Matty Alou went 2-for-4 with a walk and a run while Roberto Clemente whiffed against Sudden Sam McDowell in his only at bat. The game was originally scheduled for the prior evening but heavy rains forced its postponement to the following afternoon. It also cost the first-pitcher, President Richard Nixon, who was slated for the night game ceremony but spent Wednesday at the Apollo 11 splashdown. VP Agnew Spiro did the day game honors. The contest was the last All-Star Game to be played earlier than Eastern prime time. 
• 1974 - TRS hosted the 45th All-Star Game, drawing 50,706 fans. The NL romped 7-2 with Pirate lefty Ken Brett, the Bucs only All Star, getting the win. He tossed a pair of scoreless frames, giving up a hit and a walk. It was the third time the Pirates hosted the All-Star Game (the first two were at Forbes Field in 1944 and 1959). This would be the first of two times that the game would be played at Three Rivers Stadium, with the stadium the ASG venue again in 1994. 
• 1977 - With some clutch two-out at-bats and a bit of legerdemain from Chuck Tanner, the Bucs scored four times in the seventh to beat Cincinnati 5-4 at TRS. Down 4-1, the Bucs cut the lead to a run on doubles by Dave Parker and Rennie Stennett around a Bill Robinson knock. Two righty pinch-hitters, Fernando Gonzalez and Jerry Hairston, reached on a walk and infield knock to load the bases with two outs. Sparky Anderson saw Willie Stargell with a helmet and bat, so he kept lefty starter Frank Capilla in to instead face Jim Fregosi, who banged out a two-run single to put Pittsburgh up by a run. It was a little chicanery on Tanner’s part as unknown to Sparky, Pops had an elbow problem that was so severe that he couldn’t swing a bat; otherwise Pedro Borbon would have gotten the call. Grant Jackson squelched a bases-loaded threat left by Kent Tekulve in the eighth and tossed a 1-2-3 ninth against Pete Rose, Ken Griffey and Joe Morgan to save the win for Jim Rooker. 
• 1979 - The Bucs won their ninth game in a row by a 7-1 count over the Atlanta Braves at TRS. Tim Foli went 3-for-5 with four RBI to lead the attack while Bert Blyleven tossed a four hit complete game. The Bucs pulled off the 500th triple play in MLB history in the second inning of the nitecap when Braves’ pitcher Phil Niekro bounced into a 5-4-3, Bill Madlock-to-Phil Garner-to-Willie Stargell triple killing at TRS, but had the last laugh as he spun a two-hitter in an 8-0 Atlanta romp, ending the Bucco winning string. 

One man wrecking crew Rick Rhoden - 1982 Donruss

• 1982 - Pittsburgh dropped Atlanta 6-0 at TRS as Rick Rhoden did it all. He tossed a six-hit, complete game shutout with only two Braves reaching second, banged out two hits and chased home a pair of runs. Dale Berra had a big day too, making two great plays in the field and scoring three times, one on a swipe of home as part of a double steal with Omar Moreno. 
• 1986 - The Bucs sent RHP Jose DeLeon to the Chicago White Sox for OF Bobby Bonilla. DeLeon had a long and workmanlike career while Bobby Bo earned four All-Star berths with the Pirates, hitting .284 with 114 HR and 500 RBI for the Pirates from 1986-91. The Pirates had originally signed Bonilla out of high school in 1981, but the White Sox claimed him in 1985’s Rule 5 draft. The move ended Lee Mazzilli’s three-year run with the Pirates; he was released to make roster space for Bonilla and signed with his original team, the Mets.