6/4: Kiner Dealt; Gus #822; Cutch Debut, BB's 1st Bomb, Roberto Show, Gus, Kiki Cycles, Game Tales; Bo Boo'ed, Circus, Lights On, Forfeits; HBD Tony, Larry, Bob, Herb & Doc; Drafts

• 1873 - C George “Doc” Yeager was born in Cincinnati. Doc put in six MLB seasons, mostly with the Boston Beaneaters. He spent a couple of months in Pittsburgh in 1901 after he was claimed in August following his release by the Cleveland Blues, catching and playing a little corner infield as needed (he played every position but pitcher during his career). He hit .264 while with Pittsburgh (he was a .238 lifetime batter) and was nearing the end of his big league trail, playing 40 games with the NY Giants and Baltimore Orioles in 1902 before embarking on a seven-year minor league journey. 
• 1892 - LHP Herb Kelly was born in Mobile, Alabama. Herb spent his brief MLB career in Pittsburgh, going 1-3/2.95 in 10 outings between 1914-15. Unlike many players of that era, Herb didn’t become a wandering baseball nomad; he hung up the spikes at age 25 after a stint in the minors. 
• 1897 - After losing a game four days prior by forfeit after a disputed call, the Bucs were banged with yet another forfeiture. Down 4-0 to the Philadelphia Phillies/Quakers at the Baker Bowl, the Pirates lost a potential two-run double in the fourth frame on a disputed foul call. Manager Patsy Donovan and the ump discussed the matter between innings, and apparently Patsy was a bit too colorful and/or the Pirates were a little sluggish getting back on the field (although the Pittsburgh Press claims all but a pair were in position, and they were part of the convo at home), so ump McDonald called the game in favor of the Phils. The Press noted that “The fair minded Philadelphia fans (quite a change in culture over the decades) were as indignant as the Pittsburg players and yelled ‘Play ball’ but the Phillies hurried into the clubhouse and McDonald disappeared. The Pittsburgh players remained on the field for 10 minutes afterward...” unaware or disbelieving what had just happened. The paper opined, however, that the affair “...added to the bad reputation the Pirates have acquired in the east.” 
• 1908 - RHP Bob Klinger was born in Allenton, Missouri. He was a multi-role pitcher who could start or close, and went 62-58-9 with a 3.74 ERA in Pittsburgh from 1938-43. Klinger was in the service for two years before closing out his career with the MLB Red Sox between 1946-47. But he didn’t give up on baseball, playing in the minors through 1950. Bob was offered a manager’s job in the bushes, but instead returned home to Missouri and a steady job. 

Bob Klinger - 1941 Double Play

• 1925 - Kiki Cuyler hit for the cycle plus drawing a walk, driving in three runs and scoring four times as the Bucs rolled over the Philadelphia Phillies, 16-3, at Forbes Field. Every Pirate starter, including pitcher Lee Meadows, had a hit & scored and/or drove home a run. 
• 1930 - Charlie Engel, Fred Brickell and George Grantham batted 1-2-3 for the Bucs, and the top of the order went 8-for-13 with a homer, two doubles, a walk, three RBI and 10 runs scored to propel Pittsburgh to a 12-6 win over the Brooklyn Robins at Ebbets Field. Larry French went the distance, riding the offensive support of the leadoff trio to the victory. 
• 1937 - First baseman Gus Suhr set the Pirates and then-NL record by playing in his 822nd consecutive game, going 1-for-4 in a loss to Boston at Braves Field. The streak ended not because of an injury or slump, but rather when Suhr flew to San Francisco to attend his mother’s funeral services. His mark stood for 20 years before it was topped by Donora’s Stan “The Man” Musial of the Cards and now belongs to the Dodgers’ Steve Garvey at 1,207 games. 
• 1940 - The Pirates played their first home game under the lights at Forbes Field, beating the Boston Bees, 14-2, behind Joe Bowman’s five-hitter in front of 20,319 fans. Maurice Van Robays and Frankie Gustine combined for seven RBI while six different Buccos scored twice. Night games were supposed to be an attraction for the working fans; it ended up that quite a few female fans took in the game, too. The light banks were connected to eight towers, built by the local engineers of Westinghouse. The game wasn’t a league or even ballyard debut: the first night game played at the Oakland lot was back in 1930 when the Homestead Grays and KC Monarchs played under portable lights; the first MLB night game was at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field in 1935. 

Joe Bowman - 1940 Play Ball

• 1943 - Up by a run in the eighth, the Bucs’ Vince DiMaggio singled. New York Giants’ pitcher Bill Sayles’ next pitch got past his catcher, Ernie Lombardi. The slow-footed NY receiver was a bit leisurely in chasing the ball, Sayles pouted on the mound and didn’t cover home, and Vince kept on chugging to score from first on the passed ball. It ended up the winning run as the Pirates took a 9-8 victory at Forbes Field. Vince had two hits including a homer, scored twice and drove three runs home. Max Butcher got the win and Hank Gornicki earned a save. 
• 1948 - In a game described by beat writer Vince Johnson of the Post-Gazette as “...a circus, except the clowns didn’t wear grease paint and weren’t even faintly amusing. An overflow crowd of 37,355 watched what was undoubtedly the silliest and longest spectacle of the season” in reporting on the Bucs 10-7 loss to the Boston Braves at Forbes Field. The umps started the day off when the crew chief overruled a balk call, leading to a lengthy on-field rhubarb and a protest by Beantown. That performance was later outdone in exasperation by a five-walk seventh inning in which Bucco hurlers gave up seven runs. Ralph Kiner and Clyde Kluttz homered for the Pirates during the interminably long (for the era) contest that lasted three hours and 12 minutes. 
• 1951 - Gus Bell hit for the cycle to lead the Pirates to a 12-4 victory over the Phillies at Shibe Park. Bell, Rocky Nelson and Wally Westlake had three RBI apiece; Nelson and Westlake also collected three hits each. Rookie Bob Friend got the win, his first in the majors, going 6-⅓ IP with help from Murry Dickson, who closed out the game after that. Fun fact: In 2004, Gus’ grandson David (then a Phil and future Reds manager) also pulled off the feat; Gus and David are the only grandfather-grandson duo in major league history to hit for the cycle. 
• 1953 - General Manager Branch Rickey traded future Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner, the only man to lead the league in home runs for seven consecutive seasons, as the salary dump centerpiece of a huge deal with the Cubs. (After several acrimonious contract battles, the Mahatma reportedly told the slugger "We finished last with you, we can finish last without you.") At least Ralph didn’t have to travel far as the Cubs were at Forbes Field, and the trade was announced after batting practice. The players involved from Pittsburgh were Kiner, C Joe Garagiola, P Howie Pollet, and OF Catfish Metkovich, who were sent to the Cubs for C Toby Atwell, P Bob Schultz, 1B Preston Ward, 3B George Freese, OF Bob Addis, OF Gene Hermanski, and $150,000. 

Larry Demery - 1976 Topps

• 1953 - RHP Larry Demery was born in Bakersfield, California, the son of Negro League outfielder/pitcher Artis Demery. He broke into the Pirate rotation a few days after turning 21 in June of 1974. Demery was mostly a long man, going 29-23-7/3.72, though he did start 46 times. An arm injury in 1977 ended his career after a four-year run with Pittsburgh. Demery came from baseball genes. His dad, Artis (aka “Artist”) Demery played during the final days of the Negro Leagues and then toiled in the minors for three years, through 1955. 
• 1957 - C Tony Pena was born in Monte Cristi, in the Dominican Republic. Signed in 1975 as an international FA, he spent his first seven years (1980-86) in Pittsburgh, hitting .286 and earning spots on four All-Star teams before he was traded in the 1987 preseason to the St. Louis Cards for P Mike Dunne, C Mike LaValliere and OF Andy Van Slyke. The trade caught Pena, a lifelong Pirate, by surprise; he teared up at the press conference announcing the deal. 
• 1967 - Roberto Clemente hit two homers and drove in all four runs in a 4-1 Pirate victory at Dodger Stadium. Both blasts were launched off Don Drysdale, the first long balls that he yielded on the year. Roberto and the Bucs were bombardiers against DD - the last four-baggers he had given up were against Clemente and Willie Stargell, who went back-to-back on him on September 15th, 1966. Bob Veale threw a five-hitter for the win, with the save earned by ElRoy Face.
• 1968 - The Bucs were on the wrong end of a record or two during a 5-0 loss at LA. Tossing his sixth consecutive shutout, Don Drysdale topped Doc White's 64-year-old mark of five shutouts, and with 54 scoreless innings, he broke Carl Hubbell's NL string of 49 goose egg frames. In his next game, Drysdale would set the MLB mark at 58-2/3 scoreless frames. Drysdale was on top of his game, tossing a three-hitter and fanning eight. Jim Bunning took the loss. Gary Kolb was the only Bucco to get past first base with a sixth inning double. 

Jerry Reuss - 1975 SSPC

• 1975 - Jerry Reuss didn't give up a hit until the seventh frame, and it hurt - not the Pirates, who held on for a 2-1 win against the Reds at TRS, but Reuss, who took a Dave Conception liner off the leg and had to leave the contest. The Pirates scored on Rennie Stennett’s misplayed fly that eventually led to a run and a Richie Hebner solo shot. Cincy plated off Dave Giusti, who in 2-1/3 IP walked three batters and let one score before Ramon Hernandez came on with an out in the ninth to close the gate, albeit with some drama as he walked the bases loaded with two away before getting the final out. The Pirates had the baseball gods on their side this evening. Reuss served several smoked at ‘em balls while Giusti picked a runner off second base and Al Oliver threw out another at home to limit the damage to Dave. 
• 1981 - In his first game as a Cub, Bobby Bonds (Barry’s dad) lasted an inning before breaking his hand after tumbling over a loose seam at TRS. The Tim Foli ball he was chasing fell for a triple and became a big run as Foli scored and the Bucs went on to defeat the Chicago club, 5-4, in 10 innings. Lee Lacy tallied the winning run when he tripled and scored on Dale Berra’s bloop to earn a win for Kent Tekulve. Foli had four hits and was a homer shy of a cycle while Dave Parker added three more raps including a home run. The Cobra scored two runs and chased three teammates home. 
• 1986 - Barry Bonds went 4-for-5 and banged his first MLB home run off Craig McMurtry in the fifth to lead the Bucs to a 12-3 romp over Atlanta at Fulton County Stadium. Bonds scored three times and drove in four runs to lead the Bucco barrage. RJ Reynolds had two hits including a long ball as Mike Bielecki, with help from Jim Winn, got the win. BB bopped 761 more of those long balls in his 22-year career to become the all-time MLB home run leader. 
• 1992 - Bobby Bo returned to Three Rivers Stadium for the first time and was not exactly welcomed back with open arms. The Associated Press wrote “Bonilla was booed early, he was booed late and he booed often...” Signs in the park were of the “Bucks, Not Bucs” ilk, he was pinged by a golf ball thrown from the crowd (he then played with a batting helmet in the field) and Vince LaSheid even joined in with a rendition of “Take the Money and Run.” The Pittsburgh fans' combative vibes had an effect as the team ran away with a 7-2 decision, led by Bo’s old running mate and soon-to-be ex-Bucco Barry Bonds, who homered and doubled.

Cutch - 2009 Topps Heritage

• 2009 - Andrew McCutchen, called up after Nate McLouth was traded, made his MLB debut against the New York Mets in front of 20,683 fans at PNC Park during a rain day makeup match. Batting leadoff, he wasted no time, singling off Mike Pelfrey in his first at bat and going 2-for-4 with a walk, an RBI, three runs scored and a stolen base in an 11-6 win. In nine years as a Pirate (this year will mark a decade), Cutch hit .291 with a 136+ OPS, 203 homers and 176 stolen bases. He was MVP in 2013 and was named to five straight All-Star games. 
• 2014 - Pittsburgh pitchers gave up one hit, a first-inning bunt single, but still managed to lose to San Diego at Petco Park by a 3-2 count. The Padre runs came on a miscommunicated shallow fly, an error and a bases loaded walk, one of nine that Pirate hurlers issued. Francisco Liriano took the loss, walking six batters with a HBP in his first four frames (he went six innings). The last time the Pirates threw a one-hitter and lost was July 25th, 1992, at Atlanta. That hit was a second inning homer by David Justice, the only tally in a 1-0 Bravo win. 
• 2022 - The Pirates showcased a couple of the kids in taking a 2-1 victory from the D-Backs at PNC Park. Roansy Contreras made his fourth career start, allowing one unearned run and four hits in 5-2/3 innings while striking out eight and walking two. But it wasn’t quite strong enough as Pittsburgh was held to just three hits by Arizona’s Zach Davies and were down, 1-0, in the ninth inning. They had to go through ex-Bucco closer Mark Melanchon to rally, and it took just two batters to do just that - Bryan Reynolds led off with a single and 23-year-old rookie outfielder Jack Suwinski dropped a ball over the Clemente Wall after a nine-pitch battle, raising the Jolly Roger with his first walk-off homer. Three Pirates relievers tossed hitless ball after Roansy, with Chris Stratton picking up the win in front of 19,149 sun-drenched Saturday afternoon fans.