9/3 - Forward From the 40s: The Streak Ends, HBD Dave & Matt, Bucs Double Up Cards, Salomon Returns & More...

• 1944 - The Pirates took both ends of a twinbill from the Cardinals‚ 6-5 and 8-2, to sweep the four game set from St. Louis. The brooming ended the Cards’ amazing MLB record of 132 consecutive series without a sweep. Rip Sewell and Jumbo Strincevich were the complete game winners, putting on a show for the largest Forbes Field crowd of the season, 34‚927.

Nick Strincevich (photo via Find A Grave)

• 1945 - The Bucs took a double dipper from St. Louis‚ 6-5 and 6-2. The Bucs banged four homers in the opener, two by C Bill Salkeld. Ted Wilks took the loss; he wouldn’t lose again until 1948, after 77 more appearances. In the nitecap, Preacher Roe scattered seven hits while fanning 11, and his batterymate Al Lopez caught his 1‚793rd game‚ a then-MLB record for catchers, slipping past the old Cub Gabby Hartnett, who set the mark in 1941.
• 1950 - The Pirates gave up a pair of runs in the tenth to the Cards, then rallied to score three in their half to beat St. Louis 12-11 at Forbes Field. Bob Dillinger and pinch hitter Pete Castiglione hit back-to-back homers off Harry Breechen to tie the game. After Breechen walked Ralph Kiner intentionally with two outs, Gus Bell doubled home the game winner.
• 1962 - OF Dave Clark was born in Tupelo, Mississippi. He played for the Pirates for five seasons (1992-96) as a reserve OF’er and bench bat. Clark’s Pittsburgh line was .278/35/158 with an OPS+ of 111 in 940 AB. He went on to coach in Pittsburgh, Houston (where he served as interim manager) and Detroit. Dave also managed several seasons for Licey in the Dominican League.

Dave Clark 1995 Score Platinum

• 1978 - Dale Berra’s three-run, walk-off homer off Gene Garber in the ninth gave the Pirates a 6-3 win over the Braves at TRS. Atlanta manager Bobby Cox had intentionally walked Bill Robinson to get to Berra. Phil Garner tied the game in the seventh with a two-out, three run bomb, the same frame that Willie Stargell collected his 2,000th hit. Kent Tekulve got the win in relief of Bert Blyleven. The win was their 19th in 22 games and put them just two games behind the first-place Phils, but they finished second, 1-1/2 games short of Philadelphia.
• 1983 - RHP Matt Capps was born in Douglasville, Georgia. The closer spent five years (2005-09) in Pittsburgh, putting up a record of 19-19-67/3.61. Though he went converted 27 of 32 save opportunities in 2009, his 5.80 ERA led to the Pirates to non-tender him after the campaign. After stints in Washington and Minnesota, he’s been out of MLB since 2013, signing several minor league deals without hitting paydirt.
• 2002 - Salomon Torres pitched his first MLB game since July 20th‚ 1997‚ and went 8-1/3 scoreless innings against the Braves, also collecting his first hit since 1994 in the Pirates 3-0 win. Torres‚ 30‚ had retired as an active player in 1997 and served as Montreal's pitching coach in the Dominican Summer League before he signed with Pittsburgh in January. Torres now runs three training complexes for minor leaguers in the Dominican Republic to prep them for baseball and life in the US.

Salomon Torres 2003 Topps Total

• 2007 - Jack Wilson had a big game, going 4-for-5 with a homer and double, scoring twice and driving in three as the Bucs beat the St. Louis Cards 11-0 at Busch Stadium. Ronnie Paulino was hot, too, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, three runs and two RBI while Ian Snell and Juan Perez combined on a six hit shutout.
• 2013 - Travis Snider’s ninth inning homer lifted the Pirates to a 4-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park and gave Pittsburgh a two-game lead in the NL Central. It also snapped a 20-year losing streak by the franchise, unmatched by any other major professional sports team in North America. There were more contributors than Snider, though - Andrew McCutchen, Justin Morneau and Marlon Byrd combined to go 7-for-10 with three RBI and three runs scored, Mark Melancon picked up the save for Vin Mazzaro, and Gerrit Cole, who gave up a pair of first inning runs after just three batters, came back to put up zeroes through six innings and retired the last 12-of-13 hitters he faced. Cutch’s homer was his 100th, putting him in the Bucco 100 HR/100 steal club along with Barry Bonds, Al Martin, Andy Van Slyke, Dave Parker and Paul Waner. And in a final bit of irony, the Brewers broke their club record 12 season losing streak at PNC Park in 2005, so it was fitting the Bucs returned the favor at Miller.

9/3 - Through The 30s: Big Wins In '25 & '27, Daffy & Dizzy Go Down, Doc's Contract Squabble & More...

• 1894 - Replacing fired skipper Al Buckenberger, Connie Mack took the helm to lead the Pirates to a 22-1 win (“...the Pittsburgs were in brave form against the visiting Senators” said the Pittsburg Press) over his former Washington team at Exposition Park. Mack was a player/manager with the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1894 to 1896, compiling an 149–134 (.527) record.

Connie Mack 2012 Topps Archive

• 1905 - Deacon Phillippe and Chicago's Bob Wicker hooked up in a 10 inning scoreless duel, each allowing three hits, before the Colts scored an unearned run in the 11th following a triple that scored a batter later when with the infield in, 1B Del Howard threw the ball away going for the out at home. In the nitecap, Paul “Lefty” Leifield made his MLB debut and whitewashed Chicago 1-0 on a three hitter in a game stopped after six innings at West Side Park. The Buc run scored in the final frame when Fred Clarke doubled to lead off and scored on a pair of groundouts. The opening loss broke an 11 game winning streak by the Bucs. They went on to win 8-of-9 afterward on the way to a 96 win, second place finish.
• 1914 - In an early example of a guaranteed contract, Pittsburgh Rebel Harry Gessler reached a final settlement with the Federal League club after he was fired as player/manager two weeks into the season. He rebuffed the ownership’s settlement and hired an attorney to collect his pay and a separation bonus, as stipulated in his “ironclad” contract. Gessler, from Indiana and Greensburg HS, then left baseball and went to medical school, picking up the moniker “Doc.”
• 1914 - The Pirates had a big day in an otherwise dismal season when they swept the Cards 11-6 and 10-3 at Forbes Field. Wilbur Cooper won the opener with relief help from Hickory Bob Harmon while Erv “Kanty” Kantlehner went the distance in the nitecap. The offensive hero was Max Carey, who scored five times in the opener. The Bucs swept a four-game set from St. Louis without the injured Honus Wagner. Pittsburgh ended the season with a 69-85 slate, finishing in seventh place, 25-½ games off the pace of the Boston Braves, as their roster was badly deflated by defections to the upstart Federal League.

Bob Harmon (photo from his estate)

• 1925 - The Pirates won their ninth in a row with a 5-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Forbes Field. Glenn Wright went 3-for-4 with two RBI to back Ray Kremer’s pitching. Pittsburgh upped their league lead to nine games. The gap would never drop below seven games as they won the crown by 8-½ games and whipped the Senators in the World Series.
• 1927 - The Pirates bombed the Cards 14-0 at Forbes Field. George Grantham went 4-for-4 while Paul Waner and Pie Traynor each went 3-for-4. Carmen Hill tossed a five hit winner as the Pirates began to pull away from the Cards and NY Giants, taking a two game lead in the NL race that they would never surrender.
• 1928 - The Bucs broke out the bats at Forbes Field, clobbering the Chicago Cubs 16-1 in the opener of a Forbes Field twin bill and taking the nitecap 6-3. Five Pirates had multiple RBI in the first game as Lloyd Waner led the 19 hit outburst with four knocks behind Erv Brame’s five hitter. Paul Waner, Adam Comorosky and Dick Bertell added three hits each. Big Poison homered and had a pair of RBI to back Ray Kremer in the finale. Comorosky was a busy boy; he tied an NL record for right fielders with nine putouts in the second contest.

Adam Comorosky 1933 Play Ball

• 1934 - The Pirates beat the Dean brothers, Daffy and Dizzy, by 12-2 and 6-5 scores during a Forbes Field doubleheader. Freddie Lindstrom had four hits in the lid lifter, Pie Traynor and Gus Suhr knocked in three runs each and Larry French cruised to the victory. The Bucs put it away with their biggest inning of the season, an eight-run third. The second game had its action in the ninth. The Cards scored three times to take a 5-3 lead; the Pirates came back with a three spot of their own in the bottom half, ripping three hits off reliever Dizzy Dean and claiming the win when Pie Traynor singled into right to score Lindstrom, who had seven hits during the day. Howie Meine got the win after coming in to relieve Waite Hoyt in the final frame. Volney Walsh of the Pittsburgh Press wrote “the customers had come to see Dizzy pitch, no doubt about it, but when he left the mound, thousands stood and gave a tremendous ‘boo’ that could be heard for blocks. Even the Carnegie Museum seemed to rock from that razzberry.”

Field of the Living Dead: Bucs Lose 1-0

It was 1-2-3 for Jameson Taillon to open. Junior Geurra gave up a knock to Cutch in an otherwise quiet frame. In the second, Milwaukee got a single, but a pickoff made it another clean frame. Starling opened by bunting for a knock and paid it back by getting caught stealing on a bang-bang play. Fran walked with two gone, and Jordy followed with a leg hit to turn the order over. The Brew Crew got a runner to second on a single and bunt in the third, but no further. Cutch doubled with two gone, missing a dinger by a hair, But Gregory fished for a couple of splitters to leave him standing.

The Brewers didn't get the ball out of the infield in the fourth. Starling started things off with a hustle two-bagger, followed by a Freeser walk after he had fallen in an 0-2 hole. Fran swung at ball four and then K'ed. Guerra left on that high note; he's just off the DL and is at 70 pitches. Jacob Barnes came on and kept the ducks on the pond. It was a clean fifth for JT. Blaine Boyer climbed the hill and shut down the Bucs. The Brewers got the first plate touch of the game in the sixth when a HBP and a two-out Scooter Gennett double turned the trick. Jhan Marinez tossed a calm frame.

Jamo was an out away from a shutout, and instead took a loss (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Felipe Rivero took command in the seventh; Jamo gave up a run on three hits with four K on 76 pitches. A walk and stolen base put him in hot water while a couple of whiffs and a bouncer cooled things off. Carlos Torres was next in line. Matt Joyce pestered his way aboard with a two-out, nine-pitch walk, breaking a streak of 11 consecutive sit-downs. Alen Hanson ran for him, broke early and was erased at second. Antonio Bastardo answered the phone for the eighth, and gave up a two out walk, causing no damage. Corey Knebel toed the rubber and J-Hay greeted him with a rap. The Bucs did it again: a pickoff throw went wide, Harrison steamed into second and then tried to add another base. It was 90' too far and he was tossed out on a close play. Close or not, it was a pretty brain-dead scamper, whether it was on Josh or Rick Sofield; little league kids know you don't make the first out at third base. Cutch singled with two gone and was left aboard.

Juan Nicasio worked the ninth. With one gone, Gregory muffed a liner, putting Hernan Perez at second and followed by an intentional walk. A force put runners at the corners, and a steal put them at second and third. Orlando Arcia, hitting .184, drew a four-pitch walk to load them, but Juan coaxed a bouncer to escape. Tyler Thornburg came in for the save. Marte bit on a 3-1 fastball that was ball four and then flew out. Freeser's trigger finger wasn't as itchy and he drew a free pass. Fran popped out on the first pitch after watching the first two guys go full. Jordy's liner to right was hauled in, and now it's a four game funk.

Cutch had three hits, but every at bat was with two outs & the bases empty (photo Pgh Pirates)

This loss was bad. There was little plate discipline in the clutch and three guys were thrown out on the bases with only Starling's a legitimate risk. Teams in contention can't always be physically sharp, but there's no excuse to have mental lapses.

• Pittsburgh had seven hits; Cutch had three and Starling a pair. Though one batted third and the other fifth, they never were both up in the same inning. No Bucco reached third base tonight.
• The Pirates now have their seventh losing streak of four games or more.
• The game drew 21,722; Labor Day weekend is often a tough sale.
• The Bucs recalled Jameson Taillon, Adam Frazier, Steven Brault & Jason Rogers from the minors and activated Chris Stewart from the DL for the first September wave of players.
• Shelley Lipton for Roto Experts posted on the five veteran pitchers who should bounce back in 2017; Gerrit Cole tops the list.

Friday: Jameson Taillion v Junior Guerra, Lineup, Preview, Notes

Tonight: The Bucs return home. The game and series starts at 7:05 and will be carried by Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan. Free tee night is the gates calling card.

Pitchers: Jameson Taillon (3-3, 3.39) opens against Junior Guerra (7-3, 2.93). JT was optioned to Bristol in a paper move, and he's back now without missing a tick. In his first two showings against the Brew Crew, JT went 12 IP and gave up just three runs, but his last fling versus Milwaukee saw him chased after three frames, five runs and a pair of dingers, so he's looking for a bounce back game.  Guerra has been out since the start of August with Cole Train-itis, right elbow inflammation. In 14-2/3 IP versus the Pirates, Junior has given up just three runs on seven hits with 11 K, so he has the Bucs number so far this campaign.

Jamo opens the Brew Crew set (photo via Sports Illustrated)

Lineup: Josh Harrison 2B, Josh Bell 1B, Cutch CF, Gregory Polanco RF, Starling Marte LF, David Freese 3B, Fran Cervelli C, Jordy SS, Jamo P.

Preview: The Brewers broke a seven game losing streak with a 3-1 win over the Cards on Wednesday; the Bucs were just broomed by the Cubs. Guess we'll find out who's better at licking their wounds during this set. Pittsburgh is 8-5 (4-2 at PNC Park) against the Brew Crew, and play them six times this month in home-and-home series. This would be a good time to shake the Milwaukee malaise once and for all.

• Jung Ho Kang is back in action; he began a rehab assignment at Indy yesterday and homered. Tyler Glasnow did the pitching honors. His line was 5-2/3 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 4 BB & 8 K.
• The Mariners sent LHP Jake Brentz & RHP Pedro Vasquez to the Bucs as the PTBNL for Arquimedes Caminero. Brentz, 21, was Seattle's #26 rated prospect and averages a K per frame, but with some control issues. Vasquez, 20, has done nice work in Low A as a contact and control guy. Looks like a little restocking of the system.
• The Altoona Curve selected Barrett Barnes (.310/.378/.481) as its Player of the Year and Cody Dickson  (10-5, 3.67) as its Pitcher of the Year. 
• Seneca Valley and Pitt player C Kevan Smith made his MLB bow last night for the Chicago White Sox. He was a Pitt QB for a couple of years before switching full-time to baseball. Kevan had been called up earlier in the year but landed on the DL with back issues. He went 0-for-1 and caught an inning.
• Mark Polishuk of MLB Trade Rumors looks at Mark the Shark's upcoming free agency. In the same vein, Jeff Todd of MLBTR looks at 10 under-the-radar FA who raised their stock. S-Rod and Matt Joyce are in that group, along with ex-Buccos Steve Pearce and Joe Blanton.

9/2 Happenings: HBD Milo, Luke & Gaby; Clemente Sets Franchise Mark; Veale Dealt; Oooopsie...

• 1927 - Leland Milo Hamilton was born in Fairfield, Iowa. Milo had the unenviable and ultimately untenable job as Bob Prince’s replacement in the broadcast booth. His quiet demeanor was a stark contrast to the Gunner’s folksy ways and boosterism, and the gig wore thin on both Hamilton and the City. He moved on to the Cubs job in 1980, and discovered that working with Harry Caray wasn’t much easier than replacing Prince. Milo finally found a home in Houston in 1985, where he broadcast for 28 years until his retirement in 2012.
• 1943 - LHP Luke Walker was born in DeKalb, Texas. He worked eight years (1965-66, 1968-73) for the Bucs, with a line of 40-42-9/3.47. Walker had a breakout 1970, going 15-6 with a 3.04 ERA and was a member of the 1970-72 championship teams. He started, closed, and did everything in between.

Luke Walker 1970 Topps

• 1948 - The Bucco hand was caught in the cookie jar... Commissioner Happy Chandler fined the Pirates $2‚000 for violating the NL bonus rule when the Pirates signed ML Lynch as a scout while offering his son Danny a contract. Chandler interpreted this (and probably rightly so) as an attempt to influence the second baseman's decision. Lynch was declared a free agent and signed with the Cubs. He played just seven MLB games.
• 1972 - With his 2,971st knock as a Bucco, Roberto Clemente broke Honus Wagner's record for the most hits in the history of the franchise. The record-setting blow was a three-run homer off Giant hurler Sudden Sam McDowell in the bottom of the fourth inning during an 6-3 victory at Three Rivers Stadium.
• 1972 - LHP Bob Veale, 36, was sold to the Boston Red Sox after an 11 year career in Pittsburgh that saw him win 116 games and save six more, starting 255 times in his 341 Buc outings. His 1,652 strikeouts are still the Pirate mark for a LHP and second overall in Bucco history.



Bob Veale 1971 Topps

• 1983 - 1B Gaby Sanchez was born in Miami. He joined the Pirates from the Marlins in 2012 as the right-hand half of a first base platoon, first with Garrett Jones and then with Ike Davis. He played for the Bucs through 2014, hitting .241, before going to Japan.

9/2/Games: 8-In-A-Row, Stu Comes Thru, Waner Bro Show, Shawon Debut, Tim Knuckles & More

• 1909 - Per Charlton’s Baseball Chronology, Boston's Cliff Curtis pitched his first MLB game and beat the Pirates 1-0 to give the Doves their only win against Pittsburgh that year. The Pirates, who would claim the NL pennant, won the nightcap at the South End Grounds 5-3, took all the remaining September games and finished the season 20-1 against last-place Boston.
• 1927 - The Pirates took over first place with a 5-3 win over the St. Louis Cards at Forbes Field. Ray Kremer won against Grover Cleveland Alexander, and added an RBI to the effort. The Waner brothers went 7-for-10 with two runs scored and two RBI. The Bucs never relinquished first place after the victory, and nosed out the Cards for the title by a 1-½ game margin.

Big & Little Poison indeed (photo via Matt Dahlgren)

• 1933 - Pittsburgh won its eighth straight game by a 4-1 tally over the St. Louis Cardinals at Forbes Field. Woody Jensen and Tommy Thevenow each had a pair of hits with a triple each and together drove in three runs to give Howie Meine the win. The Cincinnati Reds ended the streak convincingly the next game by a 9-3 score.
• 1944 - The Pirates slid by the first-place St. Louis Cards 5-4 at Forbes Field‚ giving Ted Wilks his first loss after he had reeled off 11 straight victories. The Bucs scored in the bottom of the ninth when Bob Elliott, who was 4-for-5 with a homer, singled home Jim Russell to give Max Butcher the victory. The lead switched hands several times during the game; Dick Fortune of the Pittsburgh Press called the contest “...a ding dong battle all the way.”
• 1961 - Dick Stuart had a pair of homers, but his biggest hit was a broken bat single that went off the pitcher’s mitt in the eighth to plate Dick Groat. That knock proved the game winner in a 5-4 Buc victory over the St. Louis Cards at Busch Stadium. Stu had all five RBI and ElRoy Face shut the door in the last two frames to earn the win. Joe Christopher threw out Stan Musial in the sixth, trying to go from first-to-third on a single to right. That was followed by a pair of knocks, so Joe’s arm defused a possible big frame.

Dick Stuart 1961 Topps

• 1966 - The Pirates claimed first place by besting the Cubs 7-5 on a Roberto Clemente homer‚ his 2,000th career hit. Clemente's long fly gave him 101 RBI for the year‚ the first time he reached the century mark. He ended up with a career high of 119 RBI in 1966, and collected 110 the next season, the only other time he drove in 100+. The Bucs would finish third with 92 wins, three games behind the LA Dodgers.
• 1992 - Tim Wakefield came one out away from a complete game as the Pirates beat the Giants 3-2 at TRS. Bob Patterson came in to get the final out while picking up his ninth save. The Bucs took the lead for good in the sixth inning on a two-run homer from Barry Bonds after Don Slaught’s blast in the fifth provided the first score. The victory was in the midst of a seven game Pirate winning streak and kept the Bucs comfortably in first place by a three game margin.

Tim Wakefield 1992 Score

• 1997 - In front of 43,380 at TRS, newcomer Shawon Dunston hit a pair of homers to lead the Freak Show Bucs to a 6-4 win over the Cleveland Indians. His four RBI powered Jose Silva, with help from the bullpen, to the victory and helped pull the Pirates to within 1-½ games of first, the closest they would come to the top spot for the rest of the season.

September Roster Candidates

Time for call-ups and who is due to join the big club; the Pirates opted to hang with what they've got in house through September after the deadline dealing was done. The arrivals will likely be layered, with a few guys coming up ASAP and the others getting in their final games at Indy before punching their ticket to Pittsburgh. Josh Bell, Alen Hanson, AJ Schugel & Kelvin Marte are already here for the duration of the season. Paper transfers Jameson Taillon, Steven Brault & Adam Frazier will rejoin the club on Friday when Bristol of the Appy League ends its season, bringing the active roster to 28.  Here's a list of the other suspects:

The DL list:

• Chris Stewart: Stew built up a little stamina in the minors treading water at Altoona while allowing the Pirates to keep  Eric Fryer's bat until the end of the season. He'll be back September 1st, offering an immediate defensive upgrade over Fryer for the days Fran gets a blow.
• Jung Ho Kang: He's eligible to come off the DL Sunday, but hasn't played a game since partially dislocating his shoulder, so his return date is TBD.
• Gerrit Cole: While the news on his arm was promising, he can't come off the DL until September 9th and isn't likely to ready by then. Like JHK, his return is TBD.

Stew is ready to saddle up (photo Charles LeClaire/USA Today)

Likely Call Ups From Indy:

• Elias Diaz: With Stew coming back, we're not sure how much action he'll get. But he has recovered from his arm woes and caught, as of today, 24 games for Indy while batting .272, albeit w/o much power and tossing out 8-of-13 base stealers (62%). Not exactly the season he was hoping for in terms of workload, but not a lost one, either.
• Drew Hutchison: The return for Frankie & the gang hasn't really shown any real reason to be added to the list by performance (0-1, 5.46 at Indy), but the Bucs FO made a big deal about trading for him. Drew's got experience as a MLB starter and could plug in as a long reliever/spot starter.
• Jason Rogers: JR didn't have much of a year at Indy (.268 w/six HR) and David Freese made him expendable, but he has major league experience and would provide a bench bat. He's out of options after this year and seems to be off the radar, so if the Pirates want to begin their 40-man roster housecleaning, he could be one that goes.
• Tyler Glasnow: The top gun is off the DL and tossing at Indy; like Diaz, they may keep him down for another start before calling him up. He still has the same control issues that have tripped him up before, but with Cole Train out, he's insurance.
• Max Moroff: Max has already been up and can play all over the field. He strikes out more than you'd like, but he's a switch-hitter with a nice OBP (.365, but with a .231 BA), so he could be another pinch hitter-type and serve as some depth until JHK returns.

Elias will be joining up w/Fran, Stew & Fryer (photo Elsa/Getty)

The Pirates may hold some or all of these guys back until the end of Indy's season on Monday. With their addition and the return of the DL gang, the Bucs active roster would be up to 37 players, which is a pretty large unit and may be more than they want to carry.

Not On the 40-Man Roster:

• Trevor Williams: He's had an excellent year at Indy (8-6, 2.68), but with Brault in the rotation and Hutchison & Glasnow likely call-ups, there's really not a spot for him. If Tyler's not deemed ready, though, he could be the rotation's spare card up the sleeve. He'll have to be join the 40-man after the season. Trevor will play in the Arizona Fall League in October after working just 109 IP this year with to a late start thx to a bum shoulder.
  
• Dovydas Neverauskas: The Lithuanian Kid will be added to the 40-man after the season. He had a shot at a September look, but his recent arrest may have squelched that move. Dovydas only went 3-4-3, 3.60 at Indy but at 23 has upside as a World Team member of the  Futures Game and a heater that touches 95. The reliever will also work in the Arizona Fall League.
• Frank Duncan: The soft tosser came out of nowhere to post some great numbers at Indy (9-5, 2.04). But we don't believe he has to be placed on the 40-man this year, and the Pirates may want to see a second strong campaign at the upper level before committing to him.
• Jose Osuna: He also should make the 40-man after breaking out this year (.301/.344/.505). He could provide another stick, but we don't know that the FO wants to mess with the current 40 man too much yet though he could bump Rogers out of a spot.
• Pedro Florimon: Pedro is a dependable glove with some speed, and he did hit .263 at Indy tho his stick is less than stellar. There's an overload of infielders, but his experience will merit some consideration.
• Barrett Barnes: The 2012 sandwich pick caught fire at Altoona (.3088/.375/.479), but the Pirates don't generally skip a level, even for September. He's got a good shot at landing a 40-man spot for next season.
• Justin Masterson: The righty is 31 and didn't show much at Indy (2-1, 4.47); the Pirates pitching pixie dust doesn't always work.

Trevor Williams - not being on the 40-man hurts his chances (photo Robbie Rogers/USA Today)

Most of these players are 40-man roster candidates; the question is when the Pirates will adjust the list, now or in October. 

Sorry, Charlie:

• Nick Kingham: He's bouncing back nicely from TJ surgery; if he had been healthy, he would almost be a sure shot to join the big club. Not this year, though.
• Gift Ngoepe: Ngoepe is on the 40-man roster, but his recent arrest almost certainly cost him any chance of a call up. He may lose the 40-man spot soon enough, too. Gift is a great story with speed and an unbelievable glove, but his offense is brutal as he strikes out at 40% rate.
• Curtis Partch: Partch is 29 and been a BP pitcher in his couple of cups in Pittsburgh despite a nice heater and stellar stats at Indy (2-2-4, 2.29, 58 K in 59 IP). He's on the 40-man, but we'd guess not for long as he has all the earmarks of a AAAA player.
• Willy Garcia: Great arm, but he's regressed at the plate (.245, six HR). He's also looking at being scrubbed from the 40-man.

Nick Kingham's time is coming... (photo Reinhold Matay/Getty)

We don't expect the Pirates to carry more than 35 or so guys through September, though that number could bump up a little depending on the recovery timelines of Cole and Kang.

What will be an interesting sidebar will be whether or not the Pirates tinker with the 40-man roster now or wait til the off season. Some of the deadline moves were because of an impending log jam, as Harold Ramirez, Tito Polo and Stephen Tarpley were all guys who were recently dealt partially because they would have needed 40-man protection in 2017 or been Rule 5 bait; Reese McGuire was a year away. With both a fairly set roster in Pittsburgh and prospects pushing their way up, the Pirates have some tough choices on who stays and who has to go.

9/1 Happenings: First All-Black Lineup; HBD Fred, Joe & Vic; Catapult Pitch; Scouting Combine Born

• 1894 - OF Fred Nicholson was born in Honey Grove, Texas. He played for the Bucs from 1919-20 as a platoon outfielder and pinch-hitter, putting up a .342/.389/.505 slash during those campaigns. Nicholson left the team as part of the 1921 Rabbit Maranville deal.

Fred Nicholson (photo Mears/The Sporting News Collection)

• 1918 - GM Joe L Brown was born in New York City. Brown served as the general manager from November 1, 1955, through the end of the 1976 season, replacing mentor Branch Rickey. Under his watch, the Pirates became world champions in 1960 and 1971. Ever a loyal Pirate, after a decade of serving as a Southern California-based scout for the Bucs, Brown was called back in 1985 to serve as acting GM when the Pirates, rocked by a drug scandal, poor play and falling attendance, were sold by the Galbreath family to a local group. He oversaw the transition and acted as a bridge between GMs Pete Peterson and Syd Thrift.
• 1922 - IF Vic Barnhart was born in Hagerstown, MD. Vic got cups of coffee in 1945 & 1947, seeing almost of his playing time in 1946. That was the sum of his career - 74 games and a decent .270 BA. Vic’s dad was Clyde Barnhart, who pitched for the Bucs through the 20s.
• 1971 - The Pirates fielded baseball's first all-minority lineup 24 years after Jackie Robinson broke the color line in a 10-7 win over the Phillies at TRS. The card read: Rennie Stennett (2B), Gene Clines (CF), Roberto Clemente (RF), Willie Stargell (LF), Manny Sanguillen (C), Dave Cash (3B), Al Oliver (1B), Jackie Hernández (SS) and Dock Ellis (P). Six starters had two hits and every position player reached base during the game. It went almost unnoticed in Pittsburgh as both newspapers were on strike. Bob Prince and Nellie King, the radio announcers, mentioned it in passing, and Bill Guilfoile, the Pirate PR man, said they had to check the records after the game to see if it really was the first all-black lineup.

First All-Black Lineup (image from Baseball Emporium)

• 1974 - The Major League Scouting Bureau was founded to cut costs and centralizing scouting. Membership wasn’t mandatory until 1984‚ and the Bucs refused to join until then.
• 2013 - The opening pitch was tossed out not by a human celebrity, but by a trebuchet (a catapult), designed by the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh. The first machine to ever toss a ceremonial ball at PNC Park (it was named “Rookie of the Gear”), it delivered a strike to the designated catcher, the Pirate Pirate, 10 minutes before the game against the St. Louis Cards was to begin. The Bucs might have been better off keeping the contraption on the mound to pitch, as they lost to the Redbirds 7-2.

9/1 Games: Teke Plays LF, Sandy & Don Dropped, Quail Walk-Off, Pud Gem and More...

• 1877 - Jim “Pud” Galvin and the Allegheny edged St. Louis in 15 innings‚ 1-0. Two days earlier‚ they had beat Milwaukee by the same score in 12 innings, per Charlton’s Baseball Chronology. Both games were played in the International Association, making the Allegheny the first local minor league club; the other area nines were independent teams. The Allegheny finished the season with a 13-6 record, the second best record in the league. The club consisted of twelve players in 1877, all of which later made it the majors and was managed by Denny McKnight, a lifelong Pittsburgh native who also served as the International Association's president. The team folded the next season, not to return until the 1882 campaign.

Pud Galvin 1887 Old Judge

• 1890 - On Labor Day at Washington Park, the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, later known as the Dodgers, won all three games against Pittsburgh in the first tripleheader ever played. The home team swept the visiting Alleghenys, who were renamed the Pirates next season, 10-9, 3-2, and 8-4. The Alleghenys lost the next game to them 5-4 to run their losing streak to 23 games.
• 1917 - The Pirates lost their third straight 1-0 game to the St. Louis Cardinals at Robison Field. The Cards‚ behind the pitching of Red Ames, Oscar Horstmann and Milt Watson‚ outpitched Bob Steele, Wilbur Cooper and Hal Carlson. With the three-in-a-row 1-0 wins, the Cards tied the MLB mark and set the NL standard.
• 1927 - The Pirates tied for the NL’s top spot by beating the Cubs‚ 4-3 at Forbes Field. Joe Harris homered and doubled, with two runs and two RBI, to back Lee Meadows. The Waner brothers cut down Chicago runners at home and third. The Bucs whipped the Cards the next day to take the sole possession of first place and never looked back, winning a sizzling pennant race by 1-½ games.

Joe Harris 1927 (photo via Centerfieldmaz)

• 1963 - The “Quail,” CF’er Bill Virdon, hit a two-out walk off grand slam off Al Worthington to give the Bucs a dramatic 6-4 win over the Reds at Forbes Field. Willie Stargell drove in the other runs with a homer and double. Earl Francis, the third Buc pitcher, got the win.
• 1965 - The Bucs laid losses on aces Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale on the same day during a Forbes Field twinbill with last at-bat rallies. The Pirates defeated Koufax, 3-2, in 11 innings in the opener and then beat Drysdale, 2-1, in the nitecap. Joe Gibbon and Vern Law picked up the victories. Jim Pagliaroni doubled home Willie Stargell to claim the opener while Bill Virdon scored on a two-out error in the eighth to take the nitecap. It was the Bucs 12th win in 14 games and moved them within 2-½ games of LA in the NL pennant race.
• 1979 - Chuck Tanner sent reliever Kent Tekulve from the mound to left field and brought in southpaw Grant Jackson to face lefty Darrell Evans against the Giants with two down in the ninth. (He wanted Tekulve available in case Evans got aboard.) Evans hit a fly to Teke, who waved his arms although no one was within 100' of him and made the catch to finish the game, a 5-3 Bucco win in the opener of a DH at Candlestick Park. It was Teke’s only appearance in the field anywhere but on the mound during his entire pro career. Willie Stargell had two homers and Dale Berra added another in support of the Bruce Kison win. Jim Bibby pitched the Bucs to a 7-2 sweep in the nitecap, backed by Lee Lacy’s three hits, including a homer, two runs scored and three RBI.

Teke multi-tasked on this date - 1979 Topps

• 2008 - Andy LaRoche’s fifth inning, 45’ roller was the only hit against CC Sabathia in a 7-0 Brewer win in Pittsburgh. Sabathia picked up the ball dribbled up the right side and then dropped it. Scorer Bob Webb ruled it a hit almost immediately. Brew Crew players and coaches were livid it wasn’t ruled an error - all except for Sabathia, who blamed himself and not the scorer for LaRoche reaching base. It was the Pirates 10th straight loss.

Bucs Battle But Fall Short 6-5

J-Hay opened by getting aboard on a boot. Josh Bell cracked one to left, but with the wind blowing in at 19MPH, it held up for a routine out. Cutch rolled over and bounced one to third - sound familiar? - and the DP took Jason Hammel out of the inning. The wind didn't bother Kris Bryant; he absolutely hammered a hung hook over the LF wall that would have landed in the street on a calm night. Ryan Vogelsong got out with no further damage at the cost of 20 pitches. Starling dinked a double the opposite way with an out and died at third thx to a sweet stop by Bryant on S-Rod's ball to save a run. The Cubs went quietly.

Pittsburgh went down in order in the third as did Chi-town. Gregory tripled with two gone in the fourth and was left standing. Bryant opened with a single and moved up after a wild pitch. A grounder and two-out walk put Cubbies on the corners, then Addison Russell's single made it 2-0. S-Rod walked with one gone in the fifth and Vogey walked an out later. It cost him when J-Hay bounced one toward the hole and off Bryant's glove - he is human - to plate Rodriguez. Bell eyeballed another walk to load 'em for Cutch, who K'ed after falling in an 0-2 hole thx to a non-swing that was rung up. Chicago acted up with two outs with a triple and walk, but V-Song shut the gate.

Jordy had two hits, two RBI and scored (photo Jim McIssac/Getty)

Hammel tossed a 1-2-3 sixth frame, though at 104 pitches his night has ended. Jorge Soler opened with a two-bagger and the next pitch was lined into center to make it 3-1. That was followed by a walk and Antonio Bastardo was waved in. After an out, a wild pitch moved the runners up and a balk gifted a run. A double that Starling misjudged added to the tally; that was followed by a four pitch walk. He wriggled out with the score now 5-1.

Trevor Cahill took the ball in the seventh. Jordy legged out a knock with an out and Matt Joyce walked. J-Hay's single juiced the sacks. Justin Grimm climbed the hill to face Bell; he caught him looking, as Grimm got a pair of  way generous strike calls (the Strike Zone graphic said strike 3 was called a strike 2% of the time. Plate ump Tony Randozza is having a pretty poor night). Then he rang up a pair of outside strikes against Cutch, but he hung in long enough to eventually earn a pass and make it 5-2. Gregory's bloop to left looked dangerous, but Russell made a sliding grab on the line to save a pair of runs. Juan Nicasio took over and gave back the run with a leadoff walk, one out single and sac fly.

Travis Wood toed the rubber in the eighth. Fran doubled with an out, just missing a dinger, and S-Rod walked. Jordy caught a middle-middle cutter and doubled home the pair. Felix Pena came in against Freeser and walked him. J-Hay went down swinging on three pitches, but moved up the runners when the catchers pick-off throw went astray, putting the tying runs in scoring position. Bell's bouncer left them there. Jared Hughes jogged in and gave up a walk with an out, but a couple of liners found leather to end the frame quietly.

S-Rod manned the hot corner, walked three times and scored twice (photo Archie Carpenter/UPI)

Aroldis Chapman met the meat of the Bucco order in the ninth. Starling singled with two gone and moved up after a wild pitch; then he advanced 90' after another, and Fran knocked him home, singling off a 104 MPH heater. S-Rod walked, and Jordy fought a battle royale, finally doing down after 11 pitches on a nasty slider.

We know there is no try, but the guys ground this game into powder. The Cubs did their part, making a couple of run-saving stops on defense and adding on single scores to support a crooked number inning. But after two loses, the Pirates could have mailed this one in after falling four runs behind. Instead, they kept on keepin' on and fought to the last at bat. And who knows - with a ump that had a clue, they may have came all the way back. Tony Randazzo was an embarrassment tonight, bad for both teams but worse for the visitors, which is the usual MO. We'd hate to see an automated strike zone for many reasons (Russian hackers high on the list, lol), but games like this kinda make you wonder what Optimus Prime would look like in blue.

• J-Hay, Starling, Fran and Jordy had two knocks apiece and S-Rod walked three times. The Pirates had their chances, leaving 12 runners on base.
• The Cubs have scored in the first inning every game this series.
• Cutch ended an eight game hitting streak tonight.
• Chicago is 12-3 against Pittsburgh (8-1 at Wrigley); they've scored four or more runs 13 times.  The Pirates have score 4+ runs seven times in the series.
• @MITFitz noted that the Pirates haven't had a comeback win when trailing in the ninth since 2014.
• Might be bad timing, but the Pirates had a cake in the clubhouse to celebrate Vogey's 10th year in the show.
• Well, that was quick: after swinging a deal with the Pirates for Kyle Lobstein, the Orioles DFA'ed him two hours later to add Drew Stubbs to the roster.
• Neil Walker is "probably opting for surgery," Terry Collins says. The Pittsburgh Kid has a presser scheduled tomorrow to discuss his herniated disk.