8/27 Games: Bobby Hustle, Pitching Beauties, Rallies, Higbe Homer, Van Lingo Mungo...

• 1925 - The Bucs tossed their second straight shutout against Boston at Braves Field, winning 1-0. The Pirates Vic Aldridge and Boston’s Larry Benton traded four-hitters; Pie Traynor drove in Eddie Moore in the third with the game’s only run. The day before, Lee Meadows threw a nine hit, 2-0 whitewash of the Braves, and did it without striking out a soul. 

Lee Meadows (graphic 1925 Pittsburgh Press)

• 1936 - The Pirates beat the Brooklyn Dodger 6-3 at Forbes Field. The highlight came after the game, when losing pitcher Van Lingle Mungo, in a snit because of the four errors the Dodgers made that led to four unearned runs, left the team and returned to Brooklyn. He would later become famous when the 1969 song "Van Lingle Mungo" by Dave Frishberg hit the charts. 
• 1948 - The Phillies lost on a walk off homer by Bucco pitcher Kirby Higbe, who went long in the ninth at Forbes Field to give himself a 4-3 win after working a scoreless inning of relief behind Elmer Riddle. It was the last of three career homers for Higbe. 
• 1965 - The Bucs scored six times in the ninth at Forbes Field to take the Astros into extra frames, eventually winning their seventh game in a row in 11 innings 10-9. Andre Rodger’s two-run knock was the key blow in the ninth; Harry Walker sent him up to pinch hit for Willie Stargell against lefty Danny Coombs. Al McBean, the Pirates sixth pitcher, took home the win. Roberto Clemente threw out a runner going from first to third the hard way. The Pirates ran a wheel play with runners on first and second, and Bob Lillis rolled the ball through the vacant infield. Bill Mazeroski described what followed to Les Biederman of the Pittsburgh Press "Roberto raced in from right field, dove for the ball, and with his face in the dirt threw out the (back) runner going to third base!" Walker told Biederman that “Clemente made the doggondest (sic) play I ever saw.” It kept the ‘Stros from running away with the game; Houston banged out two more hits after his play. 

Lee Tunnell 1984 Topps

• 1983 - Lee Tunnell and Ken Dayley tossed five-hitters at TRS with the Bucs coming out on top 2-0 behind a two-run blast by Bill Madlock in the third inning. Both hurlers were in complete command. Tunnell, who went the distance, faced down his only real threat in the second when he left the bases loaded with an out by whiffing the pitcher and getting a Brett Butler bouncer to escape. Lee Lacy had two hits for Pittsburgh and scored ahead of Mad Dog’s dinger. Both teams were leading their divisions at gametime but would finish the year in second behind the Phils and Dodgers. 
• 2009 - The first and last Bucco hits left the yard, and that was enough for a 3-2 win against the Phils and future Bucco JA Happ at PNC Park. Cutch opened the game with a long ball, and Garrett Jones ended it with a two-run walkoff shot in the ninth. Denny Bautista got the win in relief of Charlie Morton, with Matt Capps earning a save.

It's A Bird...It's A Plane...No, It's...Gerrit Cole! Bucs Ride Cole Train To 1-0 Victory

Great games tossed by Gerrit Cole and Luis Castilla. The only early scoring chance was for the Bucs in the fourth when J-Bell doubled with two outs and then tried to score on Freeser's knock to left, only to be cut down at home by Adam Duvall (who leads the NL with 13 outfield assists). It was an aggressive send of a slow runner, but with two outs a no-brainer wave. The Reds then threatened by putting runners at second and third with two away in the fifth, but Cole Train escaped with a bouncer to second. Gerrit took things into his own hands by hammering the first pitch of the sixth over the wall. He worked another frame before exiting; he went seven shutout frames, giving up five hits and whiffing six on 100 tosses. Wandy Peralta put away the Bucs in the eighth; Juan Nicasio did the same in return. Mike Lorenzen did the honors in the ninth for the Redlegs and Felipe Rivero booked it by striking out the side.

He was a one man gang tonight (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Cole was Superman tonight; kept his cool, tossed a gem, and the only home run on his blotter was his own. He was the name of the game.

Notes:

• Oh, surprise: the Pirates placed Cervy on the DL with left quadriceps irritation & recalled Elias Diaz, who must be dizzy by now. This will be Amore's fourth trip to the DL this year.
• Perhaps the key play: in the seventh, Scooter Gennet lined a ball to right, and the sometimes defensively indifferent Fraze made a nice play and throw to keep him at first; two pitches later, the Reds bounced into a DP to erase the last Cincy runner of the night.
• This was the first time Cole had defeated the Reds in his career; it took 10 starts to earn.
• The Pirates had four hits and whiffed 10 times tonight; that's 25 K in two evenings.
• Gerrit Cole's homer was the third of his career and first of the year. Per Elias Sports: Cole is only Pirates pitcher ever to homer in 1-0 win and the first in MLB since the Rays’ Nate Karns v the Phillies (July 2015).
• Huddy and Steven Brault were down for maintenance today and not available from the pen.
• RHP Casey Sadler has been promoted to Indy.

Saturday: Bucs at GABP, Cole v Luis Castillo, Lineup, Notes

Tonight: The game from GABP starts at 6:40 and will be on AT&T SportsNet and 93.7 The Fan.

Lineup: Starling Marte LF, Josh Harrison 2B, Cutch CF, Josh Bell 1B, David Freese 3B, Adam Frazier RF, Jordy Mercer SS, Chris Stewart C, Gerrit Cole P. Fran's out today and we're wondering if this is going to turn into one of the 3-4 day episodes like so many injuries have this year. The Bucs seem have been bitten with a lot of tweener ouchies during the campaign.

Cole Train looking for win #1 v the Reds (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Pitchers: Gerrit Cole (10-8, 4.16) matches up with Luis Castillo (2-6, 3.45). Cole has gone 7-2/3.55 in his last 13 outings and has won his last seven verdicts on the road. But his last start was a no-decision in a 12-inning loss to the Dodgers Monday night when he couldn't hang on to a 3-0 lead. And if it weren't for bad luck, Gerrit would have no luck at all v Cincy. His career line is 0-6, 5.14 in nine starts (Pittsburgh has lost all nine). He's got a no decision this year, surrendering three runs (two earned) in six innings for a no-decision in a 4-3, 10-inning walkoff loss in May at Great American. Cole Train went 0-2/6.10 in two starts last season. He's also had an issue with long balls; he's given up 26 in 27 starts. Castillo has a live arm (98 MPH) with a sinker, slider and change. The 24-year-old Dominican rookie has been steady at the helm; he hasn't given up more than four runs in any start and has a strong, if small sample size, reverse split, holding lefties to a .186 BA. He can be waited out; he only lasted four innings in his last outing after hitting 90 pitches (albeit with eight whiffs).

Notes:

• J-Bell has gone 20-for-50 (.400) with three doubles, two triples, three home runs and 17 RBI in his last 16 games.
• Fraze has hits in nine of his last 10 games and reached base safely in all 10.
• The last Pirates pitcher to win seven straight decisions on the road prior to Gerrit was Jeff Robinson in 1988. The last Bucco pitcher to win eight consecutive road decisions was Don Robinson in 1982.
• Wade LeBlanc is slated to toss a two-inning sim game today.

8/26 TRS-PNC Era: Everybody Get One, HBD Eric, Kison Slam, K-Ball Battle, Giles Deal, Ike To The Rescue

• 1975 - The first eight Pirates hit safely against the Braves’ Jamie Easterly and Ray Sadecki - Frank Taveras (triple), Rennie Stennett (single), Al Oliver (single), Willie Stargell (single), Richie Zisk (single), Dave Parker (single), Richie Hebner (single) and Duffy Dyer (single) - before P Larry Demery flied out‚ tying the MLB record. The Bucs scored six runs in the frame on their way to an 8-2 victory at TRS. 

Bruce Kison 1979 Topps

• 1979 - Bruce Kison tossed seven strong innings and smacked a grand slam off Bob Shirley, the first Bucco hurler since Al McBean in 1968 to launch a grannie, to lead the Bucs to a 9-2 win over San Diego at Jack Murphy Stadium. He’s one of five Pirates twirlers to hit a grand salami, joining McBean, Deacon Phillippe (1910), Don Robinson (1985) and Denny Neagle (1995). Bill “Mad Dog” Madlock had a big day at the dish with four knocks, a pair of RBI, and two runs. 
• 1985 - C Eric Fryer was born in Columbus. He came to Pittsburgh as part of the Eric Hinske deal in 2009 and got a couple of cups of coffee with the Bucs in 2010-11, getting into 16 games as a C, PH, & OF. He returned in 2016 when injuries cut down the Pirates catching depth and is now with the Cards. 
• 1992 - Pirate rookie Tim Wakefield defeated Tom Candiotti of the Dodgers 2-0 in the first matchup of knuckleballers in the NL since 1982 when Phil Niekro and Joe Niekro faced off in a Braves-Astros game. Wakefield scattered six hits for the victory. Jose Lind provided the offensive spark with a pair of hits, an RBI and a run scored. 

Jason Bay 2005 Donruss Studio Stars

• 2003 - The Pirates shipped Brian Giles to San Diego for Jason Bay, Ollie Perez, and Corey Stewart. Pittsburgh had wanted Xavier Nady in the deal, but SD refused and threw in Bay instead. He worked out pretty well, as Bay ended up the NL Rookie of the Year in 2004 and the Bucs reeled in the X-Man in 2006 from the Mets. 
• 2014 - Gerrit Cole pitched six no-hit innings at PNC Park, but a seventh inning St. Louis rally tied the score at 2-2. Things looked bleak when both Andrew McCutchen and Pedro Alvarez left the game with injuries soon after, but Ike Davis brightened up the room in the eighth. With Gaby Sanchez and Starling Marte aboard, he crushed a two-out, two-strike change up from Seth Maness off the back fence in right center 442’ away to lead the Pirates to a 5-2 win. Tony Watson got the win and Mark Melancon earned a save.

8/26 Expo Park-Forbes Field Era: HBD Sparky, Big Poison 6-for-6, Pie Granny, Crawfords Rule ASG, Game Stories

• 1892 - The Bucs mauled the Philadelphia Phils 11-3 at Exposition Park. Elmer “Mike” Smith, Doggie Miller and Jake Beckley led the way with a pair of hits each. Smith, usually an OF’er, was the pitcher (he appeared in 17 games, starting 13), and per the Pittsburg Press, the “(Phils Ed) Delahanty found a package of lard in centerfield and the Phillies tried to work up a story that the ball had been greased...” The Pirates pleaded innocent, and the game stood. 

Mike Smith Ars Longa Art Card

• 1894 - 2B Earl “Sparky” Adams was born in Zerbe, Pennsylvania. He played in Pittsburgh in 1928-29, filling in around the infield as needed and even taking some innings in the pasture while hitting .272 in 209 games. He was well thought of; he came from the Cubs in a trade for Kiki Cuyler. His Pirates time was in the middle of his 13-year career; he went on to have several good campaigns with the Gashouse Gang in St. Louis until a bad knee finally forced his retirement after the 1934 season. He got his nickname because he was a little bundle (5’4-1/2”) of energy on the field. 
• 1910 - It was a great day for outfielders to work on their tans at Forbes Field. Babe Adams tossed a six-hitter to top Carrick native Elmer Knetzer (who came home in 1914-15 to pitch for the Pittsburgh Rebels) and Brooklyn 4-2. The Dodger and Pirate outfielders combined for one putout and one assist all afternoon (Pittsburgh’s Chief Wilson gloved a fly to right and the Dodgers’ LF Zack Wheat threw out Bobby Byrnes trying to stretch a double into a triple) to set the MLB record for the least pasture action for two teams in a game. 
• 1912 - In a doubleheader split against Boston at Forbes Field, Chief Wilson collected three triples. He finished the year with 36, which is still the league standard. Pittsburgh won the opener 5-4 and dropped the evening game 8-4. 

Paul Waner 1993 Conlon/The Sporting News

• 1926 - Paul Waner went 6-for-6 with two doubles and a triple as the Pirates beat the New York Giants 15-7 at Forbes Field. He used six different bats to collect the hits. Pie Traynor and George Grantham each had three hits; Traynor and Johnny Rawlings added three RBI apiece. 
• 1927 - The Boston Braves defeated the Pirates‚ 6-4 at Braves Field. Paul Waner‚ who went 4-for-4 the day before‚ started off with three more consecutive hits off two Brave pitchers before ending his streak at seven. 
• 1934 - Chester Williams of the Pittsburgh Crawfords led the East with three hits in the East-West Negro League All-Star game at Comiskey Park. The East won 1-0 in front of 30,000 fans when Jud Wilson drove in Cool Papa Bell in the eighth inning, giving Satchel Paige the win. 
• 1935 - Player-manager Pie Traynor blasted a grand slam and ended the day with five hits and six RBI as the Bucs battered the NY Giants 10-2 at the Polo Grounds. Woody Jensen and Tom Padden also homered to plow the road for Ralph Birkofer’s win. 

Wally Westlake 1947 Exhibits

• 1947 - The Pirates scored four times each in the first and second innings and added seven more in the fifth as they rolled over the Brooklyn Dodgers 16-3 at Ebbets Field. Wally Westlake homered, doubled, and drove home five runs as Billy Cox and Cutley Rikard added long balls. Ralph Kiner went 5-for-5 with a walk and Frank Gustine added four hits to help Fritz Ostermueller cruise to victory. Brooklyn’s Dan Bankhead, via the Negro League Memphis Red Sox, became the first black pitcher to work an MLB game when he came on in relief of Hal Gregg. The Bucs beat him up on the hill, scoring eight runs in his 3-1/3 frames, though he did swat a two-run homer in his first big league at-bat to help even out his rough debut. 
• 1951 - The Pirates scored eight runs in the seventh frame to overcome a 9-2 fifth inning deficit and rally past the Dodgers‚ 12-11 at Ebbets Field in the opener of a twin set. Pete Castiglione and Bill Howerton had three RBI each to lead the comeback; Pete homered twice and Bill once. The club dropped the nitecap 4-3 in 10 innings with Preacher Roe topping Ted Wilks, pitching in relief of Bob Friend.

Too Little, Too Late: Pirates Fall To Reds Again 9-5

Robert Stephenson struck out the first six Bucco batters; a double-triple-sac fly combo in the second off Ivan Nova gave the Reds a quick 2-0 lead. The Pirates cut the lead in half in the third when Fraze singled home Cervy, who had walked; unfortunately, Marte ended the inning caught in a rundown trying to advance to third on the hit. Oh, and Fran's out of the game - he blew a wheel; looks like Eli's coming again. JJ tied it in the fourth when Billy Hamilton had trouble getting to his ball, allowing it to drop for a double to score J-Bell, aboard on an infield single. Cincy came right back; a J-Hay boot followed by three straight singles made it 3-2 and left the bases jammed with no outs. Ivan took care of that by K'ing the next three Redleg batters with an unfortunate wild pitch (with two out and two strikes, smh) thrown in to make it 4-2. The wheels came off completely in the fifth. Adam Duvall went long, then with two gone and the bases clean, a walk and a Scott Schebler dinger put the Fat Lady on notice.

J-Bell is still ringing loud and clear (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

With two away and the bases loaded, Tim Adleman replaced Stephenson and Joey O hit for Ivan. He K'ed, swinging through a changeup. Huddy came on and struck out the side. A walk, double and J-Bell dinger chased Adleman in the seventh. Hudson loaded the bases via a walk and back-to-back two-out plunks and Schugs was called on to face pinch hitter Patrick Kivlehan. Unlike the Bucs, the Reds cashed in on the opportunity when Kivlehan dinked a hit 'em where they ain't double the opposite way to plate a pair. A walk filled the bags again but the third time was the charm for AJ. The rest of the game went by quietly. Can't pitch, can't win.

Notes:

• Per the Pirates: "Francisco Cervelli was removed from this evenings game due to left quad discomfort. His status is day-to-day."
• J-Bell had four hits, Jordy added a pair with a walk, Fraze had a knock and two walks while JJ had a rap and a walk.
• The Buc batters struck out 15 times.
• Josh Bell should be the Bucs top rookie HR hitter in franchise history when the smoke of the season clears. He has 22 bombs, behind just Jason Bay (26-2004), Ralph Kiner (23-1946) & Johnny Rizzo (23-1938).
• Pittsburgh has lost 10-of-13 despite scoring five or more runs in six of the last seven games. In those last 13 contests (116 IP), Pirates pitching has given up 81 runs (74 earned/5.74 ERA) on 127 hits (25 homers), 61 walks (two intentional), nine hit batsmen and tossed five wild pitches.
• In a minor league match tonight, ex-Bucco C Mike "The Fort" McKenry was called on to pitch the ninth inning of a mercy-rule match; he faced old matey Pedro Alvarez, who took him deep.  Oh, the humanity...

Friday: Bucs at Reds, Nova v Robert Stephenson. Lineup (Cervy Back, Eli Gone), Notes

Tonight: Pittsburgh is at Cincinnati with first pitch at 7:10. AT&T SportsNet and 93.7 The Fan will air the game. And it's the start of Players Weekend. The teams will wear alternate uniforms and each player is allowed to wear his nickname on the back of his jersey with a patch on his sleeve to pay tribute to a person or persons, like during last week's Little League Classic. The monikers and patches selected by the Bucco's are listed here, compliments of MLB.com's Adam Berry.

Lineup: Starling Marte CF, Josh Harrison 2B, Adam Frazier LF, Josh Bell 1B, David Freese 3B, John Jaso RF, Fran Cervelli C, Jordy Mercer SS, Ivan Nova P. Starling got a day off, now it's Cutch's turn so Fraze will get his first shot from the three-hole this season. Fran's also back.

Ivan on the bump (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Pitchers: Ivan Nova (11-10, 3.81) vs. Robert Stephenson (1-4, 6.13). Ivan won a 6-3 decision against St. Louis Sunday night in the Little League Classic in Williamsport. While he's had a bumpy ride this year, he has been a boon to the bullpen. Nova's pitched at least six innings in 21 of his first 25 starts. He may be rounding back into shape, allowing four earned runs over his last two outings (11-2/3 IP). Super Nova is 3-4 /4.20 in seven career starts against the Reds, with not much success this season. He's gone 0-2/5.25 in two starts. losing 9-3 and 4-2. Stephenson has been on a roll; in his last three outings, he's 1-0/1.42, fueled by an unsustainable .118 BABIP.  This will be his second start since coming off the DL with a bruised rotator cuff. He's allowed five runs in 10-1/3 innings over three games (one start) versus Pittsburgh this year. That start was at the beginning of August and he was excellent, holding the Buccos to a run on two hits over 5-2/3 IP.

Notes:

• Cervy passed his baseball activities test today and was reinstated from the DL; Elias Diaz was returned to Indy.
• Cincy is 11-11 in August; the Pirates are 10-12 after losing 9-of-12. The Reds are 8-2 v the Pirates, yet seven games behind them...strange brew.
• Felipe Rivero has not allowed a hit to a left-handed hitter in 40 straight at bats.
• Cutch has 1,431 career hits, tying him with Bill Virdon for 15th place on Pittsburgh’s all-time hit list. Dick Groat is 14th on the list with 1,435 hits and Dave Parker is 13th with 1,479. He should make a move on them this weekend - Andrew has reached base safely in 34 consecutive games at GABP, a streak dating back to September 27th, 2013.

8/25 TRS-PNC Era: Redus Cycle, Cutch's First Walkoff HR, HBD Junior, Game Stories

• 1974 - OF Gary “Junior” (he’s Gary Matthews’ son) Matthews Jr. was born in San Francisco. He put in 12 big-league years with nine stops, spending 46 games in Pittsburgh in 2001 when he was taken off waivers from the Cubs. He hit .245 and was sold to the Mets in the off season. Known for defensive flair, he also made the All-Star team in 2006, joining his dad as the 14th father-son combo to appear in the Midsummer Classic. 

Gary Matthews Jr 2002 Topps Heritage

• 1978 - Major League umps staged a one-day strike, its first walk-out, to air a laundry list of grievances they had with MLB; semipro and amateur arbitrators were used as replacements. The umpires walked out again at the beginning of the 1979 season. The Major League Umpires Association authorized several disruptive events on behalf of the boys in blue, including the ill-fated mass resignation of 1999, leading the umps to decertify the MLUA and start a new unit called the World Umpires Association, recognized in 2000 and still the umps’ bargaining unit. 
• 1979 - The Bucs scored twice in the ninth after two were out and no one aboard to send the game into extra innings, eventually winning 4-3 in 19 frames over the Padres at Jack Murphy Stadium. Dave Roberts pitched out of a pair of bases loaded jams to earn the win. He wriggled off the hook with the sacks juiced and no one away in the 17th inning after escaping in the 16th, when the bases were juiced with two outs and he went 3-0 to opposing pitcher John D'Acquisto. The Friars stranded 26 runners in the match, one short of the MLB record. The contest lasted six hours and twelve minutes, the longest Pirate contest until the Jerry Meals 19-inning game at Atlanta in 2011. 
• 1982 - The Pirates gave up a 4-1 lead at TRS, allowing San Diego to edge ahead in the eighth. But they tied the game in their half when Tony Pena’s grounder scored Lee Lacy and walked off with a ninth-inning victory over the Padres when Jim Morrison singled in Enrique Romo, running for Willie Stargell, with the game winner. Kent Tekulve claimed the W. It was a doubly dark day for the Padres; they not only lost the game but also Tony Gwynn, who broke his wrist diving for a fly ball. 

Mike Dunne 1987 Fleer Update

• 1987 - Mike Dunne fired a two hitter as the Bucs defeated the Cincinnati Reds 1-0 at TRS. Dunne made a first inning Johnny Ray RBI single that scored Andy Van Slyke stand up. He struck out seven, allowed just one runner to reach second, and retired the last 10 batters. 
• 1989 - OF Gary Redus hit for the cycle in a 12-3 win over the Reds at Riverfront Stadium, scoring three times and driving in four runs as the Pirates won their fifth game in a row. Barry Bonds homered and Andy Van Slyke banged a pair of doubles to pave the road for Jeff Robinson and Mike Smith. 
• 1991 - Pittsburgh banged out four homers from Cecil Espy, Jay Bell, Andy Van Slyke and Bobby Bonilla to whip the SF Giants 8-3 at TRS. Bell scored three times with a pair of RBI while Espy added three RBI and a run to back John Smiley’s win. 

Andy Van Slyke 1992 Leaf Preview

• 1992 - Andy Van Slyke had three hits, including a homer and double, and drove home four runs while scoring twice as the Bucs beat LA 10-3 at Dodger Stadium. Leadoff hitter Alex Cole had three hits and scored three times as Danny Cox got the win in relief of Danny Jackson. 
• 1997 - Joe Randa and Mark Smith homered in the ninth inning for a 4-3 walk-off win over the Dodgers at TRS to give the Bucs a DH split. Both blows came off Todd Worrell, who didn’t record an out, giving up a walk and then the back-to-back bombs. Marc Wilkins, who worked the last two frames, got the win. Pittsburgh was clobbered 8-2 in the opener. 
• 2009 - Andrew McCutchen hit his first walk off homer in the ninth to beat Philadelphia and Brad Lidge 6-4 at PNC Park. Brandon Moss had tied the game moments earlier with a single and trotted home with the winning run ahead of Cutch. Matt Capps gave up a pair in the ninth for the rare daily double of a blown save and win.

8/25 Expo Park-Forbes Field Era: HBD Tony, Sam & Euclides; Cooper, Klu Deals; Happenings...

• 1892 - 3B Norman “Tony” Boeckel was born in Los Angeles. He spent the first two years (1917, 1919) of his career as a Pirate, batting .259 in 109 games. He was hurt early in his first campaign, and got in just 65 games, in the Navy for the second, and lost his job to his 1919 replacement Walter Barbare and was waived to Boston. He prospered there from 1920-23, where he was the starter. But he was struck down in early 1924, dying in a car accident at age 31 in San Diego; the Yankees Bob Meusel was riding with him, but was uninjured. Boeckel was the first active MLB player to die in a car wreck. 

Bobby Byrne 1910 Tip-Top Bread

• 1910 - In the 12th inning at Washington Park, Bobby Byrne legged out a hustle double, stole third, then swiped home to beat the Brooklyn Superbas, 4-3. It was the NL's first twentieth century extra-inning steal of home. The Superba’s skipper, Bill Dahlen, decided to intentionally walk the bases loaded after the steal of third (a decision that did not sit well with his pitcher, George Bell) to set up the force rather than face Fred Clarke and Hans Wagner. Bell got two strikes on John Flynn, then Byrnes took matters in his own hands and bolted home; the 0-2 pitch was wide and eluded the catcher, so Byrne’s timing was right. As for the Superba strategy, Ralph Davis of the Pittsburg Press wrote “...fans were calling Dahlen a dub, whereas if his plans had worked out right, they would be hailing him as a real genius and wonderful thinker.” 
• 1912 - The Pirates traded for 20 year old LHP Arley Wilbur Cooper from Columbus of the American Association for a pair of PTBNL. He was arguably Pittsburgh’s best franchise pitcher. He’s the Pirates all-time leader in wins with 202, lasting 13 seasons (1912-24) as a Bucco, starting 369 games and appearing in 469 outings with a 2.74 ERA. He began his pro career in 1911 with minor league Marion, a club that was owned by newspaper publisher and future US President Warren Harding. Legend has it that Harding was the person who recommended Wilbur to the Pirates. 
• 1913 - Coach Sam Narron was born in Middlesex, North Carolina. Narron spent most of his playing career in the minors as a converted OF’er turned catcher, tho he appeared in parts of three seasons (1935, 1942 and 1943) with the St. Louis Cardinals, playing in 24 games and getting just 28 at bats. After his playing career ended in 1948, he became the bullpen catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers for two years, then followed GM Branch Rickey to the Pirates (and outlasted him by quite a bit) as the Buccos bullpen coach from 1951 through 1964 for managers Bill Meyer, Fred Haney, Bobby Bragan, and Danny Murtaugh. He lasted until Harry Walker became skipper and axed all of Murtaugh’s coaching staff, and Sam retired to the farm. 

Sam Narron 1980 TCMA

• 1929 - The fans were able to hear the calls of home plate umpire Cy Rigler, who was wired for sound, a first in major league history. Wearing a mike and metal-plated shoes, standing on a flat metal sheet, Rigler's calls were broadcast over the Polo Ground speakers as he somehow avoided electrocution. The Giants topped the Pirates, 10-5 as the Bucs committed three errors and allowed six early unearned runs as the clang of their mitts resounded unaided throughout the Polo Grounds. 
• 1952 - 18 year old RHP Bill “Ding Dong” Bell tossed his third no-hitter as a member of the Pirates Class D Appalachian League affiliate Bristol, winning 4-0 in a seven inning game against Bluefield. Bell is one of two professional pitchers to toss three no-hitters in the same season. He was called up in September by the Bucs after posting an 11-3/2.09 slash, though he did have one big red flag - in 112 IP, he had 194 whiffs, but also 113 walks. Ding Dong made it back to Pittsburgh for a short while in 1955, but his wildness continued - Bell was 0-1, 4.32 in his MLB career with 14 walks in 16-⅔ IP. 
• 1959 - The White Sox sent 3B Bob Sagers and OF/1B Harry "Suitcase" Simpson packing to Pittsburgh in exchange for vet 1B Ted Kluszewski, looking to improve their bench. Klu hit .297 during the rest of the season and .391 with three homers in the World Series for the Sox. Simpson retired after the season and Sagers was a career minor leaguer. Per SABR, Harry wore a size 13 shoe, and a sportswriter dubbed him “Suitcase” Simpson based on a character by that name with feet as large as suitcases from the comic strip “Toonerville Folks.” 

Bob Friend was an active player's rep - 1993 Topps Archive

• 1962 - The Pirate players called off a threatened walkout in objection to a rained out game that was rescheduled as part of a Saturday doubleheader with another doubleheader already scheduled on Sunday. Bob Friend, team rep, was irked that the players were bypassed in rescheduling the game. Friend lost the opener 3-2 to St. Louis at Busch Stadium, giving up a run with two down in the ninth. The Bucs took the second game 4-0 behind Earl Francis, who tossed a three-hitter and was backed by homers off the bats of Dick Groat and Dick Stuart. They also split the next day’s twinbill. 
• 1967 - Euclides Rojas was born in Havana. He was the Cuban National Team's all-time leader in saves before he left his homeland by raft in 1994, was rescued by the US Coast Guard, and emigrated to America. He’s been the Buccos bullpen coach since 2010, having served in the same position for the Red Sox and briefly, the Marlins. Rojas spent six years (2005-2010) as the Pirates Latin American Field Coordinator and also worked for Pittsburgh as a roving minor league instructor in 2002 with an emphasis on the club's Latin American program. Prior to that job, Rojas spent five seasons as a coach in the Florida Marlins organization.

Pirates Crack Under Dodger Pressure, Fall 5-2 In Finale

It was a bad Chad first frame with a hit, couple of walks and couple of whiffs, though he escaped without a run. Same routine in the second for Kuhl Whip, as a couple of walks were mixed in with a couple of hits to make it 1-0. The Bucs used that formula to tie it off Hyun-Jin Ryu with a walk and a pair of knocks, with Jordy's two-out single scoring S-Rod. The third was a broken record for Kuhl with another walk and two more hits (that's five of each) but S-Rod cut down a runner at home to keep it knotted. In the fourth, it was again advantage LA when Curtis Granderson, who has turned into Superman against the Bucs this series, hit a two-out homer. Steven Brault came on in the fifth (Kuhl was already at 92 pitches) and then got into a sixth-inning jam thx to a ground ball single, double off Fraze's mitt on a tough play but one you'd expect to see made, and *sigh* another walk. He did wiggle out; the Dodgers have stranded more runners in the past two days than Santa has elves on his payroll.

The broad side of a barn was safe from Chad's missiles today (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

The Dodgers added another in the seventh when Yusiel Puig's at 'em liner to center was misread by Cutch, who broke in and then saw the ball carry over him for two bases; a single scored Puig. Later in the inning, plate ump Paul Emmel started his arm up to call strike three on a two-out, full-count delivery by John Barbato but changed his POV when batter Chris Taylor jogged toward first. That act got Clint ejected as the boys in blue continue to hasten the era of robo-umps with their performances. Jordy answered with a one-out double off Josh Fields, scoring when Fraze singled off Tony Watson and sent a runner to third, but Pedro Baez came in to get Cutch swinging. Angel Sanchez got a rude welcome in the eighth, giving up b-2-b homers to Yasmani Grandal and Adrian Gonzalez Puig. There was no more scoring and chalk up another series for Big Blue.

Angel had a devilish MLB start (Robbie Rogers/Getty)

Losing three out of four to LA isn't an unexpected result. The Pirates MO wasn't pretty, though. The bats disappeared in the final two games, walks/homers dogged the staff, and - did ya notice? - the only game they made all the plays in the field was the game they won. But we're glad to see the young guys get some playing time, even with the inevitable training wheel spills; the FO has some figuring out to do for the 2018 campaign and they have to start by knowing what's in their own pipeline.

Notes:

• Jordy had two hits; J-Hay and Freeser had a knock and a walk.
• The Dodgers haven't lost back-to-back games since July 20-21. They became the third team to reach 90 wins by August 25th, joining the 2001 Mariners & 1998 Yankees.
• There were 22,115 at the yard this afternoon.
• The Pirates have reportedly signed 28-year-old RHP Johnny Hellweg from indie ball and will assign him to Altoona. Hellweg had a brief stop with the Brew Crew in 2013 and spent the last two seasons with the New Jersey Jackals after undergoing 2014 TJ surgery. The closer is a strikeout machine but his other stats (3.79 ERA, 1.421 WHIP) aren't much to write home about. We're guessing the FO is just trying to juggle rosters with September call-ups and minor-league playoffs around the corner.
• Casey Sadler, now at Altoona, tossed his first-ever pro complete game in a 2-1 win over Bowie.