6/15 From 1970: Game Tales - Cutchin', Kris' 1st Zip, Carlos Crackin', Jeff & Mo Follies, Dome Rainout; HBD Jake, Josh & Erik
- 1971 – The Bucs scored twice in the ninth to beat Houston, 3-0, at the Astrodome behind Steve Blass’ six hitter. But Roberto Clemente’s catch was the highlight reel. Ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the eighth with one on and one out, Clemente first robbed Cesar Cedeno with a sliding, shoestring catch. The next grab off Bob Watson was even better when he leaped and pulled in his liner from over the wall with his back to the plate, crashing into the fence at full throttle. He landed dazed; CF Al Oliver had to take the ball from him. Per BR Bullpen, UPI’s Darrell Mack caught Watson’s reaction: “I never saw one like that…he hit it (the wall) wide open. He never slowed up. I don’t see how he could keep the ball in his glove. The thing that makes him so great is that he does it all in a jam. He’s one of the best clutch players in the game.” The fans in Houston gave him two ovations; one after the catch and once again in the ninth when he batted. As for the game, Al Oliver’s seventh inning homer broke up a scoreless duel between Blass and Larry Dierker; Richie Hebner and Manny Sanguillen knocked home the insurance markers.
- 1976 – The Bucs were in effect rained out of a game at the Houston Astrodome. Though the field was fine and the teams took their pre-game warmups, flooding after 10” of rain prevented the umps from reaching the yard. Both teams’ players and Houstons’ staffers shared their clubhouse buffet on the field, with several brunchers wearing flip-flops. A couple of dozen fans made it to the game, and they were treated to a cafeteria meal for their loyalty. It was the only time in Houston and MLB history that a game under a dome was called off because of bad weather. The only other previous cancellation at the dome was for Dr. King’s death, and other roofed places have banged games because of building issues, but it was the first time a dome lost a match to rain.
- 1980 – C Erik Kratz was born in Telford, Pennsylvania. The journeyman made his second appearance as a Bucco in 2016; he caught nine games in 2010 as a rookie. Defensively, he did a fine job, throwing out 50% (8-of-16) wanna-be base larcenists, but hit just .111. Pittsburgh was one of nine teams the backstop played for (he was rostered by three squads twice) in 10 MLB seasons with a .209 career BA until he announced his retirement in 2020.
- 1987 – RHP Josh Lindblom was born in Lafayette, Indiana. He pitched regularly for the Dodgers and Phils from 2011-12 as part of a trek that included stops at five MLB teams, seven minor league towns and two Korean nines. The Pirates liked him; they claimed him off waivers in 2014 only to release him to the Lotte Giants of the KBO, then signed him again when he returned after two years. He spent most of his time at Indianapolis, getting into four 2017 Pirates contests and giving up nine runs in 10 plus innings. He went back to Lotte, then twirled for the Doosan Bears before finishing in 2022 in the Milwaukee Brewers system.
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| Jake Elmore – 2020 photo Joe Sargent/Getty |
- 1987 – IF Jake Elmore was born in Dothan, Alabama. Jake played for six teams in six years – Arizona (they drafted him in 2008), Houston, Cincy, Tampa Bay, Milwaukee and for the Bucs in 2019. Jake played every position in the field at one point or another, even pitching and catching, but his lifetime .215 BA (he hit .213 as a Pirate while filling in at four spots) has kept him around as just a depth/role player. He’s with Philly now as a minor league coach.
- 1987 – In a 3-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, Jim Morrison set an MLB record by getting caught stealing home twice in the same inning. He was first caught in a rundown and Terry Pendleton dropped the throw to third, with Morrison being credited with a caught stealing and Pendleton an error. Mo tried to swipe again – some guys never learn – and was caught cleanly the second time. He was picked up by Mike Diaz, who went deep, while the Pirates who came over from St. Louis in the Tony Pena deal wreaked a little revenge on the Redbirds – Andy Van Slyke and Spanky LaValliere doubled home runs to back Mike Dunne’s complete game three-hit outing at Busch Stadium.
- 1992 – Jeff King was also caught stealing twice in the same inning at Three Rivers Stadium. The first time he was given 1B after being picked off but then collided with Phillies P Terry Mulholland during the rundown. Mulholland was called for interference, and King was charged with a caught stealing. He was nailed later in the frame trying to steal third. (Jeff lost his dubious honor a few days later when the league determined that the interference call nullified the first CS). The Bucs lost, 4-1. The day opened as a hybrid twin bill when Team USA defeated Nicaragua, 4-1, in a warm up contest before the ‘92 Olympics. Neither team medaled, although the US finished fourth.
- 1995 – Carlos Garcia extended his hitting streak to 10 games as he chased home six runs with a three-run homer and bases-loaded double to help power the Pirates past the Dodgers at Three Rivers Stadium by an 11-7 count. Mark Johnson added his own three-run blast, and the Bucs needed the runs. Dan Miceli gave up three ninth-inning scores to LA and had the tying run swinging in the on-deck circle before he got the third out to preserve Denny Neagle’s sixth win.
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| Kris Benson – 2000 Upper Deck |
- 2000 – Kris Benson continued to turn heads by tossing his first MLB shutout, a six-hit, 2-0 win against Atlanta at Three Rivers Stadium. In his prior 10 starts, Benson slashed 5-2/2.08 and looked poised for a breakout, but starting in mid-July, he went 2-6/5.01 and never won more than 11 games in any single season of his nine-year career. The Bucs bled out their two runs, scoring on a pair of two-out infield hustle hits, one by Benson and the other by Pat Meares.
- 2008 – The Bucs squandered a 4-2 lead in the ninth inning, allowing the Orioles to score twice, but came back in the 10th to claim a 5-4 win at Camden Yards. Jason Bay walked to start the extra frame and scored on Adam LaRoche’s single. Matt Capps, the Pirates fourth hurler who had frittered away the lead by giving up a two-run, two-out homer to Bip Roberts, struck out a pair of Birds in the 10th to be credited with both a blown save and a win.
- 2010 – The Pirates lost to the Chicago White Sox, 6-4, at PNC Park, but don’t blame Andrew McCutchen. He had his seventh three-or-more hits game, with a walk, a run scored and an RBI, while stealing three bases for the second time. In one sequence, Chicago’s Matt Thornton threw to first 14 times to keep Cutch close – and he still swiped second. Brad Lincoln lost, and for the Bucs, it was their ninth consecutive defeat during a 105-loss campaign.
- 2010 – No Red/Blue split in baseball: The Pennsylvania House passed a bill honoring the Pirates 1960 championship team, doing its part for the club’s 50th anniversary celebration. It was approved by a 197-0 vote and was sponsored by 64 members in a rare bipartisan display.
- 2022 – The Pirates snapped a nine-game losing streak when they topped the Cards, 6-4, at Busch Stadium. Pittsburgh jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second, thanks greatly to some shoddy fielding by the Redbirds, only to see St. Louis put up a three-spot in the fifth to tie it. Then two Buc stalwarts came to the rescue: Bryan Reynolds banged his 11th homer, a two-run, two-out shot in the seventh inning on the eighth pitch of his at bat, to regain the lead, then David Bednar toed the slab for the final 2-2/3 innings to ice Wil Crowe’s win, whiffing four while yielding just an infield single. Trivial pursuit: the last Pirate pitcher to record a save of at least eight outs in a game decided by two runs or fewer was Jason Christiansen on July 22nd, 1998.
Source: https://oldbucs.blogspot.com/2025/06/615-from-1970-game-tales-cutchin-kris.html
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