9/11 Through the 1940’s: Pie Purchase; Ralph Rampage; Game Stories; HBD Jackie, Dave, Steve, Glenn & Cool

• 1868 - OF Steve Brodie was born in Warrenton, Virginia. He had speed, a great glove and good bat, playing 13 years in the show. He was traded to Pittsburgh against his wishes (he enjoyed playing in Baltimore) and stayed from 1897-98, hitting .283 before being dealt back to the Orioles in mid-season. When he retired, he went on to a career as a college coach, served during WW1, and then returned to run Baltimore’s brand new Memorial Stadium. 

Steve Brodie -  photo 1899 Baltimore Sun

• 1901 - IF Elbert “Cool” Turner was born in New York. He was a multi-sport star at what is now West Virginia State University and played Negro League ball from 1921-32, with a stop in Homestead in 1929 where he was the Grays’ third baseman. He only hit .159 and moved on, playing for four more teams before he retired. Turner coached high school football in the off-season, and after his retirement became head baseball coach of the North Carolina Central University Eagles. He also umpired for seven years in the second Negro National League. By that time, his nickname had, not too surprisingly, evolved into "Pops." 
• 1905 - RHP Glenn Spencer was born in Corning, NY. He was a Bucco in 1928, spent 1929 in the minors, then returned from 1930-32 for Pittsburgh, going 23-29-8 with a 4.48 ERA, mostly from the pen. Control was his Achilles Heel; he walked 201 batters and only K’ed 162 in his five-year pro career which ended with the Giants during the 1933 campaign. He retired to become a salesman and served during WW2. 
• 1906 - The Pirates and Red played a 15-inning scoreless draw at Forbes Field, the longest game to date at the venue. Deacon Phillippe started the game and Vic Willis finished, giving up 10 hits while Long Bob Ewing of the Reds scattered eight knocks.The Reds golden opportunity was in the 13th inning when they loaded the bases with nobody out, but a pair of forces at home and a fly squelched that rally. The Bucs big chance was squandered earlier when Tommy Sheehan bunted through an attempted squeeze play, leaving Dutch Meier hung out to dry. Meier was the only Pirate with more than a hit, collecting three knocks before ump Bill Klem called the game due to darkness. 
• 1920 - The Pirates bought Pie Traynor from Portsmouth for $10,000. The Boston Braves had stashed the infielder there on the assumption that they would have first dibs on him, but even an appeal to AL President Ban Johnson didn’t help in lieu of a written agreement, and the Portsmouth owner was more than willing to let him go to the highest bidder. So instead of playing for his hometown Boston club - he came from Framingham, Massachusetts - Traynor spent his 17 year MLB career in Pittsburgh, eventually earning a spot in the Hall of Fame. 

Jackie Hernandez - 1973 Topps

• 1940 - Jacinto “Jackie” Hernández was born in Central Tinguaro, Cuba. He had to slip into the USA; Cuba had cut its robust baseball program to the bone when Fidel Castro took over and Jackie made it stateside via Mexico to keep playing. He was ready to come home again when his mom told him to stay right where he was at and chase his dream. The good glove, terrible hitting (.205 as a Pirate) SS played three seasons (1971-73) for Pittsburgh, and when the Bucs traded for him in 1970, manager Earl Weaver of the Baltimore Orioles said that “The Pirates will never win a pennant with Jackie Hernandez at shortstop.” Not only did they win the flag, but Jackie was the regular shortstop from late August forward in 1971 as Gene Alley, the starter, had a bad shoulder. As fate would decree, he put the final nail in the Oriole coffin during the Series; the last out of the Bucs seventh game victory was recorded 6-3, Hernandez to Bob Robertson. Jackie’s nine-year MLB run ended with Pittsburgh after the 1973 season and he’s coached & played at different levels and leagues since. At last check, he was still helping the Bucs as an instructor at Pirate City. 
• 1944 - LHP Dave Roberts was born in Gallipolis, Ohio. In June, 1979 he was part of a big deal with the Giants, traded with Len Randle and Bill Madlock to the Pirates for Al Holland, Fred Breining, and Ed Whitson. He went 5-2-1, 3.26 out of the pen for that club and after a cup of coffee with the team in 1980 was traded to Seattle. He was near the end; he worked briefly in 1981 before retiring after 13 years. He passed away in 2009 at age 64 from lung cancer. It’s thought that he suffered asbestos exposure during his younger years when he had to work in a boiler room to make ends meet while developing as a pro player. 
• 1947 - Ralph Kiner blasted three successive homers and knocked home six runs in a 10-8 win over the Braves at Forbes Field in the nitecap of a DH. He also homered in game one, a 4-3 win that was decided in the 13th when pitcher Kirby Higbe took Johnny Sain long to complete the first step of a Pittsburgh sweep of Boston. Kiner’s four homers in one day established a team record that wouldn’t be matched until 1984 by Jason Thompson. It also set a NL record of 10 multi-homer games in a season which stood until Sammy Sosa had 11 in 1998. 
• 1948 - Out of the lineup because of a virus‚ Ralph Kiner came off the pine to whack an eighth-inning, pinch-hit grand slam to give the Pirates a 13-12 win over Chicago at Wrigley Field. Max West also homered and had three RBI. Mel Queen won with a save by Elmer Riddle.

9/11 From 1950: Face Streak Ends; 7 Straight For Gott; Game Stories; HBD Sluggo

• 1958 - C Don “Sluggo” Slaught was born in Long Beach. He came to the Bucs in 1990 and platooned during the pennant years with Mike “Spanky” LaValliere. Slaught was the primary catcher in 1993-94, then injuries in 1995 led to his release. Sluggo hit .305 as a Pirate. He was a hitting coach for Detroit in 2005-06, and then began his own private school for hitting instruction in California. 

ElRoy Face - 1959 Topps

• 1959 - The LA Dodgers beat Pittsburgh and Elroy Face‚ 5-4, who lost the save and game in relief of Bob Friend in the ninth at Memorial Coliseum by giving up a pair of runs. It was Face's first loss after a record-setting 22 straight wins. The defeat was Face's first to the Dodgers since September‚ 1956, with his last loss to any team going back to May 30th, 1958, at the hands of the Milwaukee Braves, a run of 99 straight outings w/o a defeat. He finished the campaign 18-1, the best winning percentage ever posted by anyone with a minimum of 15 decisions. In an understatement, the Baron of the Bullpen told AP’s Alan Robinson "It was one of those years when nothing went wrong.” Junior Gilliam’s ninth-inning triple was the key blow against the Baron of the Bullpen in the defeat after Roman Mejias and Dick Stuart homers off Sandy Koufax built the slim edge. Chuck Churn beat the Baron; he had been a Pirate in 1957 and the victory was his second MLB triumph (he’d win one more in what was his final big league year). It was a bad day all around; the Bucs were shutout 4-0 in the second game of the twin bill. 
• 1974 - The Pirates lost to Philadelphia 8-5 at TRS as the Phils Bill Robinson’s three-run shot off Ramon Hernandez in the eighth won the contest and cut the Pirates lead to 2-½ games with 20 remaining. Worse for the Pirates, Dock Ellis’ hand was broken after he was drilled by Willie Montanez’s liner. The righty had won eight consecutive games and nine out of ten, tossing seven complete games in that ten-game span. He missed the remainder of the season (the Bucs hung on to win by 1-½ games over the Cards) and the NLCS against the Dodgers, who took the set three games to one. Dave Giusti’s bad back continued to hold him back (he was bombed in the playoffs) and his iffy status made manager Danny Murtaugh’s job tougher in trying to juggle the needs of both the rotation and bullpen; Bruce Kison was the preferred fill-in for both Ellis and Giusti. 
• 1982 - Bill Madlock opened the ninth inning with a walk off home run, hitting Ron Reed’s first and only pitch, a hung slider. His blast gave the Pirates a see-saw 10-9 victory over the Phillies at TRS. The Bucs had started out up 6-0, but had fallen behind by the sixth. The Pirates regained the lead in the eighth on a two-run, two-out double by Willie Stargell, but the Phils tied it with a two-out RBI single off Dale Berra’s glove, setting the stage for Mad Dog. Omar Moreno added a pair of triples for the Pirates. Kent Tekulve got the blown save/win combo. 
• 1983 - It was bad enough that the Bucs lost to the Phils 5-3 at TRS to fall two games behind the Expos, but a fan in the cheap seats tossed a transistor battery at Dave Parker in right field, bouncing off the turf and past his head in the eighth inning, a frame after he made an error that allowed a run to score. Chuck Tanner said “It punctured our balloon. It’s a shame that an individual has to do that to get his kicks when everyone else is enjoying a great ballgame.” Parker, who had two hits, stayed in the game, saying “They’re not going to chase me out of there.” They may not have chased him from the game, but he did jump to his hometown of Cincinnati in the off season. 

Jim Gott - 1987 Donruss

• 1987 - Jim Gott set a club record with a save in seven consecutive outings as the Pirates beat the Phillies, 4-2, at Veterans Stadium. Gott entered the game with runners on first and third and one out in the ninth inning and retired the final two batters of the game on grounders for the save, his 10th. Doug Drabek got the win behind homers by RJ Reynolds and Bobby Bonilla. 
• 1990 - Randy Tomlin, Neal Heaton and Ted Power combined on a seven-hit, 5-1 victory over the Phillies at Veterans Stadium. Lloyd McClendon broke the game open with a two-run, two-out pinch homer in the seventh. For the Bucs, it was their ninth win in 11 games and upped the division lead to 3-½ games. They went into a six game tailspin after the victory and saw their lead dwindle to ½ game, but then won 10-of-11 to take the title comfortably. 
• 2013 - The Pirates completed a three-game sweep of the Rangers with a 7-5 win in Arlington’s Globe Life Park. AJ Burnett won while Kyle Farnsworth, the Bucs fifth pitcher, rang up his first save in almost two years with Pittsburgh’s back-end relievers Jason Grilli (performance) and Mark Melancon (workload) both on ice. Justin Morneau led the attack with four hits, Marlon Byrd chased home a pair of runs and Clint Barmes went deep while each starting position player reached base safely. For the local nine, it was their ninth consecutive interleague road victory as they finished 15-5 against AL teams. The win kept Pittsburgh one game behind the NL Central-leading St Louis Cardinals and two ahead of the Cincinnati Reds for the wildcard. 
• 2014 - Francisco Liriano punched out a season-high 12 batters as the Bucs beat the Phils 4-1 at Citizens Bank Park. Frankie went eight shutout innings giving up three hits - two were infield singles - and two walks while never allowing a runner past second. Pittsburgh iced the game in the fifth against old teammate AJ Burnett when Travis Snider, Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker had consecutive hits. Walker's double scored Snider, Cutch scored on a Russ Martin sacrifice fly and Walker scored on Gregory Polanco’s knock. 

Frankie - 2014 Topps Blue

• 2017 - Steven Brault, making just his second start of the year, earned his first MLB win as the Pirates snapped a five-game losing streak by a 7-0 tally over the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. In his six innings, Brault outhit the Brew Crew two-to-one and had a run and a pair of RBI, backed by homers from Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte and Jordy Mercer. Steven and relievers AJ Schugel, Daniel Hudson, Dan Runzler (in his first MLB appearance since 2012 with the SF Giants) and Felipe Rivero matched a feat that was last performed by a Bucco (Randy Tomlin) in 1991 of not allowing an opposing runner past first base.

Pirates Rally Late But Fall Short In 5-4 Loss To Giants

Johnny Cueto had a smooth opening frame in his first start since 2018. The Giants opened with a single/double combo against Mitch Keller. A single chased them home after an out, and another knock followed, and yet another by Stephen Vogt to make it 3-0. A DP got him out of it, and it was due - three of the four Giant one-baggers were ground ball singles. Cueto cruised in the second. The G-Men banged another two-bagger but didn't touch home. The Bucs got a Kevin Kramer rap and K-Man walk in the third, but no damage was done. The Giants added a two-out bloop to the hit column for their efforts. Nada went on for either club in the fourth. The Pirates were quiet in the fifth; the Bay City boys got a two-out rap and Vogt homer to turn the screws a little tighter at 5-0.

B-Rey is still rappin' with a .330 BA - photo Pittsburgh Pirates

Kyle Barraclough got the sixth. K-Man walked between Tuck and B-Rey singles. But the Giants had the Bucs right where they wanted them, bases loaded and no outs. With Andrew Suarez on the hill, a pop out and 5-4-3 DP by the 3-4 hitters, Redbeard and J-Bell, ended it. Clay Holmes had a clean slate. Both sides went down in order in the seventh. Sam Coonrod worked the eighth and gave up two-out knocks to Newman and Reynoldo. Wandy Peralta came on, and Melky whacked a two-run double in greeting. J-Bell homered, and hey, it's suddenly a game. Shaun Anderson took the ball and coaxed the last out. Frankie shut the door on the Giants. Jake drew a one-out walk off Anderson and Starling came on to run, but never got a chance as the last two Buccos fanned.

Another game that went to the end; it seems like the weak clubs have a way to keep it interesting against one another. Mitch padded his peripherals with seven whiffs and no walks, but couldn't overcome a slow start out of the gate. Clay Holmes went two innings without a walk, so that was good too. But another bases-loaded, no out, no run situation ultimately cost the club again. After this set, nine-of-12 games are against the Cubs and Brewers; that will be a better measuring stick for the squad as the 2019 season winds down.

Notes:

• The top of the order did their job - Bryan Reynolds had two raps and Kevin Newman had a knock and a pair of walks.
• Kyle Crick is out for the rest of the year after undergoing surgery on right index finger. He screwed up the tendon in an altercation with Felipe Vazquez prior to Monday's game. The Pirates are refusing comment, so speculate away.

Mitch v Johnny Cueto, Lineup & Notes

Game: The game begins at 9:45 and will be on AT&T SportsNet & 93.7 The Fan.

Lineup: Kevin Newman AA, Bryan Reynolds CF, Clin Moran 3B, Josh Bell 1B, Jose Osuna RF, Adam Frazier 2B, Jake Stallings C, Kevin Kramer LF, Mitch Keller P. This is KK's first start since September 30th of last year; Starling is still out with his bum wrist.

Mitch on the mound - photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates 

Pitchers: RHP Mitch Keller (1-3/8.18) v RHP Johnny Cueto (0/0.00). Mitch has been up and down, as to be expected. It's good to see him back in the saddle so soon after taking a liner off the wrist in his last outing and continuing his ongoing MLB education. This will be the 23-year-old's first look at the G-Men. Cueto hasn't tossed since 2018 after TJ surgery. Though locally known for the game he didn't win in Pittsburgh, he's an amazing 20-4/2.19 in 30 career starts against the Bucs.

Notes:

• Since Pittsburgh has gotten into the soft part of the schedule, they're 11-6; the only two series they've lost (2-of-3) have been to Cards and Phils.
• The Bucs sure pack 'em in: The announced attendance of 26,826 last night was the smallest crowd at San Francisco's Oracle Park since April 12th, 2010. Still, had to look like a full house to the Pirates.
• Austin Meadows won the AL POTW award for the second time. He hit .522 over seven games with nine runs, four homers, eight RBIs, 26 total bases and a 1.130 OPS.

9/10 Through the 1930’s: Burleigh's Finale; Game Stories; HBD Klu, Bob, Brandy, Highpockets & Kid

• 1886 - P/OF Blane “Kid” Durbin was born in Lamar, Missouri. He got 51 at bats in parts of three season, and although he finished out his MLB days as a Pirate, he didn’t get any swings in with Pittsburgh after being acquired via a trade with the Reds for Ward Miller, entering just one game as a pinch runner. Following a few years of minor league ball, he retired, got married and became a baker. His nickname was probably due to his size; he was just 5’8” and weighed 150 pounds or so. 

Highpockets as a 1919 NY Giant - photo Bain/Library of Congress

• 1895 - 1B George “Highpockets” Kelly was born in San Francisco. He started as everyone’s replacement guy - the Giants wanted him to take over for Fred Merkle, the Bucs then snagged him for a brief period to be Hans Wagner’s caddy, getting in eight games and going 2-for-23 in 1917. He went into the service in 1918 and when he came out finally won a spot with the Giants when 1B Hal Chase was suspended. He proved to be a golden glove guy with some power and a reputation as a clutch hitter during his 16-year MLB career. Kelly was selected to join the Hall of Fame in 1973 by the Veterans Committee. He later coached and earned the monikers Highpockets and Long George due to his 6’-4” stature. 
• 1913 - Before the Bucs lost 5-2 at Forbes Field to the NY Giants, Hans Wagner was gifted with a new piece of lumber. MA Seidel, a boyhood bud of the Dutchman who moved to Erie, presented the shortstop with a bat made from a timber of Commodore Perry’s flagship The Niagara, sunk in 1813, that was engraved with “We have met the enemy and he is ours.” 
• 1924 - 1B Ted Kluszewski was born in Argo, Illinois. After 11 years with the Reds, winning an MVP and four All-Star berths, Big Klu (6-2, 225) came to Pittsburgh in 1958 for Dee Fondy in a swap of 1B. He hit .292 in 100 games that year and was sent to the White Sox at the 1959 deadline for Harry Simpson and a minor league player as Chicago was looking for some stretch run help. Both teams got him at the downside of his career; a back injury in 1956 left him worse for wear and he never hit double-digit homers in a season again after having launched 171 bombs from 1953-56. 
• 1927 - OF Robert “Brandy” (his middle name was Brandon) Davis was born in Newark, Delaware. He signed with the Pirates in 1952 after spending time at Duke. Davis was a burner (in 1951, he stole 82 bases in 85 tries in the minors) but in his 1952-53 tour of duty with the Pirates, he hit just .187. His 2005 obituary in the Wilmington News-Journal noted that “He was forced from the league after it was discovered that he could not successfully steal first base.” Brandy went on to coach, manage and scout for 10 major league teams over the course of his 52-year career. He was a 1989 inductee in the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame and later a 1999 inductee of the Delaware Baseball Hall of Fame. 
• 1928 - RHP Bob Garber was born in Hunker, near New Stanton in Westmoreland County. Garber only got two games with the 1956 Pirates for his career resume, doing pretty well - he gave up a run in two outings on three hits in four innings with three strikeouts and three walks while working mostly out of Hollywood. He was a hit on the farm - in a nine year career, he twice won 20 games before retiring in 1958, missing a couple of years thanks to the Korean conflict. After baseball Bob was a salesman before retiring in 1991. He and his wife then jumped into the RV and traveled the country, visiting some 30 states and 40 national parks before he passed away. 

Burleigh Grimes - photo via Detroit Public Library

• 1934 - Hall of Famer Burleigh Grimes, closing out his career, got his last MLB win in relief as the Pirates beat the NY Giants 9-7 at the Polo Grounds. Grimes went two innings and gave up a run to claim his 270th victory. 
• 1938 - It was a rough start at Sportsman Park in St. Louis as Russ Bauers started and didn’t retire a single Redbird before being sent to the showers, while his replacement, Russ Bauers, was only marginally better as the Cards took a quick 6-0 lead after three innings and were up 7-3 going into the sixth before Lloyd Waner’s bases loaded triple that frame pulled the Pirates within a run. Then the Buc bats exploded in the eighth for eight runs, keyed by Al Todd’s bases-loaded three-bagger (only the second time that the Pirates had hit two bases-jammed triples in a game; the first was in 1898) and Pittsburgh coasted to a 14-7 win. Todd also homered and had five RBI’s on the day while Lee Handley (who scored four times) and Johnny Rizzo each had three hits. The Pirates third hurler, Mace Brown, got the win, his 15th of the campaign, by tossing four innings of no-hit, one walk ball.

9/10 From 1940 Through the 1970’s: Don't Boo Stu; 11 In-A-Row; Game Stories; HBD Chad

• 1940 - The Bucs rolled 11 in consecutive games, sweeping a twin bill from the Phillies by 11-3 and 11-1 scores at Shibe Park. In the opener, Maurice Van Robays homered with four RBI while Arky Vaughan smacked two triples and drove in three runs to allow Joe Bowman to cruise to victory. Rip Sewell tossed a six hitter with lots of support in the closer. Van Robays had a double and three more RBI, Al Lopez went 2-for-2 with three runs driven in, Vaughan added four more hits and Bob Elliott homered. 

Big Stu 1958 - photo Jay Publishing

• 1958 - Dick Stuart banged a two-run, two-out 10th-inning homer, atoning for an earlier error that allowed a run to score, to give Bob Friend his 20th win of the year as the Pirates beat the Giants 6-4 at Forbes Field. Roberto Clemente added three hits, a run, RBI, stolen base and threw out a runner at third. Friend finished the year at 22–14 to lead MLB in victories, and became the first Buc pitcher to win twenty since Murry Dickson (20-16) in 1951. The victory guaranteed the ‘58 Pirates a winning record, snapping a nine-season drought during the “Rickey-Dinks” era. 
• 1960 - Bob Friend wasn’t at his sharpest, but he sure had his sinker working. He scattered nine hits to the Cubs but got the Chicago nine to bounce into five DPs (Billy Maz was in on every one of them) to claim a 4-1 victory at Forbes Field. The Pirates scored three times in the fourth of Bob Anderson thanks to a pair of Cubbie errors and added another run thanks to Dick Stuart’s homer, one of three hits he had during the game. 
• 1973 - Willie Stargell and Richie Zisk combined for nine hits and Jim Rooker cruised on the bump as the Pirates blasted the Cubs 11-3 at Wrigley Field. Pops (4-for-4 w/two walks) was on a tear and was on a 14-of-17 roll at the plate; Zisk (5-for-6) was in a zone, too, banging out 14 hits in his last 27 at bats. Bob Robertson added three knocks while Rennie Stennett, Richie Hebner, Scoops Oliver and Manny Sanguillen each had a pair of raps. The Pirates collected 21 hits off five Chicago pitchers as they moved 1/2 game behind the Cards. 
• 1974 - The Pirates went on rampage in Chicago, scoring all their runs in the first five innings on the way to a 12-4 win at Wrigley Field. Richie Hebner led the way with fours hits, including a homer, three RBI and two runs scored while Rennie Stennett and Manny Sanguillen each had three knocks and score five times between them. Ken Brett got the win with some late help. 

Chad Hermansen - 2001 Fleer Tradition

• 1977 - OF Chad Hermansen was born in Salt Lake City. The first round (10th overall pick) of the 1995 draft straight out of high school, Hermansen played in parts of the 1999-2002 seasons with the Pirates. Considered the Bucco center fielder of the future, he hit only .199. Chad bounced around the league, mostly as a AAA player, until 2008, and is now a scout for the LA Angels.

9/10 From 1980: AVS #1,000; Cutch Hallmark Homers; Mack Whack; Game Stories; HBD Neil & Chad

• 1983 - The Bucs had their rally hats on as they overcame a pair of late deficits to drop the Phils 6-5 in 10 innings at TRS. Philadelphia was coasting with a 3-0 lead when the Bucs tied it up in the sixth by turning a walk, three singles and a sac fly into three runs. The Phillies came right back with two more scores to chase Larry McWilliams; the Pirates knotted it up in the eighth on a Brian Harper double, Tony Pena RBI knock and Dale Berra two-bagger. In the 10th, Gene Tenace walked and Doug Frobel came in to run; a one-out rap by Milt May sent Doug on his way to third. Gary Mathews throw to the hot corner skidded past Mike Schmidt & into the stands, and the umps waved Frobel home for the victory. Kent Tekulve got the win after Cecilio Guante had pitched two scoreless frames before him in relief of McWilliams. The victory left Pittsburgh one game out of first place as four teams - the Expos, Phils, Bucs and Cards - were with 1-1/2 games of the top in a horse race for the flag. 

Neil Walker - 2014 Topps Heritage

• 1985 - 2B Neil Walker was born in Gibsonia. The switch-hitting Pine-Richland grad, called The Pittsburgh Kid, was a three sport star in HS, and was drafted in the first round of the 2004 draft. Playing mostly catcher and third in the minors, he got his shot in 2010 at second base after Akinori Iwamura fizzled and never looked back. He was sent to the Mets in 2016, the season before his walk year, and ended the season with September back surgery. Still, NY inked him to a one-year, $17.2M qualifying deal. Walker later suffered a hammy injury, missed some action and was dealt in August to Milwaukee, then moved on to the Yankees in 2018 and is currently with the Marlins. 
• 1988 - Dave LaPoint spun a complete game six-hitter for his fourth win in five starts as a Buc in a 5-1 victory over the Phils at TRS in front of 29,831. Five of the first six Pirates batters reached in a three-run third inning; the game then remained tight until the eighth when two walks and a Philly miscue allowed two more Buccos to cross the plate. It would be LaPoint’s last win as a Pirate - he struggled some in his next three outings and the Pirates let him walk to the Yankees, who doubled his salary. In the pregame ceremonies, the Pirates commemorated the 40th anniversary of the Homestead Grays victory in the last Negro League World Series. The club honored 11 members of the Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords, who were led onto the field by Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonilla, then raised a pennant banner for the 1948 Homestead nine that flew for a week beside the Pirates championship flags. 
• 1992 - RHP Chad Kuhl was born in Newark, Delaware. The Pirates drafted him in the ninth round of the 2013 draft from the U of Delaware. Kuhl made his major league debut on June 26th, 2016, as the he & the Pirates defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers & Clayton Kershaw on ESPN 4-3. Chad joined the rotation full-time in 2017, overcoming a slow start by adding a little velocity and learning to work past lefties to become one of their more dependable pitchers during the campaign. His 2018 campaign was bumpy, and ended in late June with a lengthy DL stint followed by TJ surgery. 
• 1993 - Andy Van Slyke collected his 1,000th hit as a Pirate (he finished with 1,108 hits as a Bucco) at TRS when Pittsburgh lost 9-8 in 11 innings vs Colorado. He homered, singled and drove in three runs. It was an exciting finish; the Rox scored three times in the top of the 11th, but the Bucs answered with a pair and AVS was on second as the equalizer when Dave Clark bounced into the final out of the game. Van Slyke had collected his 1,000th MLB hit (he spent his first four seasons in St. Louis) on May 10th, 1991 in a 5-2 Pirate win against the Atlanta Braves. 

Whack-A-Mack - 2003 Topps Total

• 2003 - The Bucs were down to the last three outs at GABP, down 2-1 to the Reds. Craig Wilson opened the ninth with a single. Rob Mackowiak grabbed a bat to hit for Jason Bay against RHP Chris Reitsma and sent a 1-2 fastball over the wall to give the Pirates the lead. Mike Gonzalez and Julian Tavarez put the game away in exciting fashion: Gonzo got a K, but the pitch escaped Jason Kendall and the runner reached first. Tavarez coolly served up a DP ball and whiffed Wily Mo Pena to ice the win in a game started by Ollie Perez. Mack’s dinger would be the last a Pirate pinch-hitter smacked when the team was trailing in the ninth or later as the go-ahead blow until Sean Rodriguez repeated the heroics in 2016 with a three-run jack. 
• 2014 - Andrew McCutchen hit the first inside-the-park home run of his career and the Bucs pounded out 13 hits in a 6-3 win over Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park. Cutch was one of six Pirates with two hits - Josh Harrison, Starling Marte, Russ Martin, Travis Snider and Jordy Mercer joined him - and Martin added a long ball as Vance Worley claimed the win. 
• 2015 - With an eighth inning homer that tied the game at 3-3, Andrew McCutchen became the second player in franchise history to produce at least 150 career home runs and 150 career stolen bases, joining Barry Bonds as the only two to accomplish the feat. It wasn’t enough, though, as the Bucs went down in 12 innings to the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park by a 6-4 count. Radhames Liz, the Pirates eighth pitcher (Milwaukee also used eight; September features some pretty well-stocked bullpens) took the loss while 47 different players made the box score. Fran Cervelli was an on-base machine with three hits and two walks during the match.

Bucs Save the Best For Last; Come Up Big In the Ninth To Take 6-4 Win Over the G-Men

Madison Bumgarner fanned two of the first three Bucs. A walk, bunt and single put G-Men on the corners against Trevor Williams; another knock put SF up 1-0. The Pirates got a Joey O walk and Stalls single in the second without denting the scoreboard. It was a clean frame for Willy. The Bucs made no noise in the third. The Giants banged out back-to-back raps with an out, but an around-the-horn DP cleaned that up. Joey O was robbed of extra bases by Kevin Pillar in the fourth around a pair of garden variety outs. Willy bopped a batter with two gone; he was quickly erased by Jake trying to steal. Stalls celebrated by leading off the fifth with a dinger; Erik Gonzalez also singled but to no further avail. Too bad; Willy gave it back and some. With a knock and a walk on second and third thanks to a double steal, Brandon Belt's two-out, two-strike, two-bagger plated the pair and it was 3-1 Giants. Consecutive doubles to leadoff by B-Rey and Melky got a run back in the sixth, but the Bucs couldn't get the equalizer home. The Giants came right back; a double/single combo and a tapper plated an answering tally. After a two-out walk, Michael Feliz came on to get the final out.

Jake had a pair of raps, including a four-bagger - photo Joe Robbins/Getty

The Pirates opened the seventh with a Tuck double and Gonzalez walk. Two pop ups and a K left them anchored. Yacksel Rios climbed the hill and tossed a quiet frame. Tyler Rogers threw a 1-2-3 eighth; Ric Rod gave up a two-out rap in a scoreless effort. Fernando Abad took over in the ninth. He gave up a knock to Kevin Kramer, and an out later walked J-Bell. Eli dropped a single into left to juice the sacks. Starling came in to run for Josh, Jandel Gustave took over the hurling duties, and K-Man kept the party going with a two-run, game-tying rap. B-Rey had a true pro at bat, ripping the ninth pitch for a single and the lead. Melky bounced into a first-blush force, but upon review, the ball was muffed at second, leaving the sacks packed. It gave the Bucs an unearned insurance run on Joey O's sac fly, niftily scored on a snaky slide by Newman. Felipe Vazquez was waved in, and two whiffs and a bouncer later, it was time to raise the Roger.

Well, goes to show that you can't always prejudge the result by the lineup. It was the usual suspects who primed the late rally, but it all started off with Kevin Kramer's rap. Nice win for the boys; even nicer to see the bullpen putting up zeroes (looking at you, Yacksel) to give the gang a chance to thump their chests.

Notes:

• Reynoldo and Stalls had two hits each; Erik Gonzalez had a knock and a walk.
• Bryan Reynolds tied Paul Waner's club mark for most doubles by a rookie when he banged his 35th two-bagger in the sixth. Big Poison's mark was set back in 1926.
• Greg Brown, from the broadcast booth, said that Starling will be down for at least a couple of more days and maybe longer.  
• Tony Watson has been diagnosed with a slight fracture in the wrist of his pitching hand. He’ll be sidelined for at least 10 days, with the remainder of his season in jeopardy.

Willy v Mad Bum, Lineup & Notes

Game: The game at Oracle Park starts at 9:45 and will be broadcast by AT&T SportsNet & 93.7 The Fan.

Lineup: Kevin Newman 2B, Bryan Reynolds CF, Melky Cabrera RF, Jose Osuna 1B, Pablo Reyes LF, Jake Stallings C, Cole Tucker SS, Erik Gonzalez 3B, Trevor Williams P. Yep, it's September and the Pirates are 19 games out of first. We know Starling has a bum wrist that's day-to-day and hopefully there's nothing wrong with J-Bell (it's supposed to be another down day and not injury-related). Fraze and Redbeard are down against a lefty.

Willy opens on the coast - image Positively Pittsburgh

Pitchers: RHP Trevor Williams (7-6/5.16) takes on LHP Madison Bumgarner (9-8/3.81). Willy is starting to round into form, slashing 2-0/2.37 in his last three outings. He last faced SF last year and shut them out on five hits over seven innings. Bumgarner has been human this year, so that's a plus. The Bucs put up a four-spot in six innings against him earlier in the year; he's 2-3/3.22 lifetime versus the Corsairs.

Notes:

• The Bucs took 2-of-3 from the Giants at PNC Park in April. Bryan Reynolds, who was part of the Cutch trade during the offseason with SF, debuted and went 1-for-2. Since taking his bow, he's been under .300 for just two days of his career, the last on May 16th.
• Since sweeping Arizona in mid-August to get a game over .500, the Giants have gone 6-12 to drop 7-1/2 games back for the second wild card.

9/9 Through the 1890’s: HBD Frankie, Dots, Schoolboy, Dashing Dan, Abner & Doc

• 1857 - LF Abner Dalrymple was born in Gratiot, Wisconsin. He had a long and illustrious career in early baseball - he was the first hitter to be issued an intentional walk with the bases loaded - but spent just two seasons (1887-88) at the backend of his 12-year career with the Alleghenys. Abner his just .215 with Pittsburgh, but got the team’s first NL at-bat against the White Sox on April 30, 1887, a 6-2 win at Recreation Park that is considered by the Pirates to be the beginning of the franchise. 

Dots Miller - 1910 American Caramel

• 1886 - IF Jack “Dots” Miller was born in Kearny, New Jersey. He played with Pittsburgh for five seasons, from 1909-13. He drove in 87 runs for the 1909 Series champs and had a .263 career average with the Pirates. According to Bucco lore (and the SABR Biography Project), he got the nickname "Dots" after a reporter asked Honus Wagner the whereabouts of the new kid. Wagner pointed to him in a corner and replied in his German accent, "Dots (That's) Miller." Another version has Miller himself pronouncing “dot” for “that” as a youth, and it stuck. 
• 1897 - 1B Wheeler “Doc” Johnston (sometimes referred to as Johnson) was born in Cleveland, Tennessee. Doc was bought for $7,500 from Cleveland in early 1915 to cover first base after starter Ed Konetchy jumped leagues, joining the Pittsburgh Burghers of the Federal League. Doc had a decent opening campaign, batting .265, but slumped the following year and was dealt after the 1916 season to Birmingham of the Southern Association as part of the Burleigh Grime package. Johnston played 11 years in the show, finishing his career with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1922. 
• 1891 - OF “Dashing Dan” Costello was born in Jessup, PA, in Lackawanna county. The LH hitter played three years (1914-16) for the Bucs as a reserve outfielder and utility man. He hit .241 as a Pirate. Pittsburgh released him in August of 1916, “...as he had been mixed up in several near fights because of his remarks to opposing players.” He also had authority issues, as the Pittsburgh Press added “...his attitude (bad) toward club officials and policy was well known,” probably not a wise tack for a .240 hitter of any era. As far as his nickname, we have not a clue - he was speedy and/or perhaps charming, or it may be a sort of perverse recognition of the bench jockeying he was was noted for around the league. 

Dashing Dan - 1916 M101

• 1898 - Bucco skipper Frankie Frisch was born in the Bronx. He spent his Hall of Fame playing days with the NY Giants and St. Louis’ Gas House Gang. The Fordham Flash managed the Pirates from 1940-46, leading the club to five winning seasons and a second place finish in 1944, ending up with a 539-528 slate in Pittsburgh. He was a track star in college at Fordham, which earned him the nickname "Fordham Flash.” 
• 1899 - RHP and Hall of Famer Waite “Schoolboy” Hoyt was born in Brooklyn. Best known for his NY Yankee years, he tossed for the Bucs from 1933-37 as a multi-role arm, compiling a record of 35-31-18/3.08 as a Pirate, winning 15 games in 1934. He got his nickname when John McGraw signed him to his original contract when Hoyt was a teenager and he became known as "The Schoolboy Wonder.”