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Game Recap: Tyler Anderson Goes Eight, Pirates Barely Hang On For Win
May 9, 2021
No Quarter / Recaps
The surprising Tyler Anderson turned in the longest outing by a Pirate starter this year as the Bucs hung on to salvage the last game of their series at Wrigley Field, 6-5. The back end of the bullpen nearly blew a four-run lead in the ninth, but it turned out to be a good time to get some regression out of the way. Anderson went eight innings on 102 pitches, 70 strikes. He gave up just four hits and a walk, and fanned six. On the year, he’s allowed 31 hits in 41.1 IP. The Cubs just managed to scratch out two runs off Anderson. One came in the second on a two-out, looping line drive by Joc Pederson that drove in Kris Bryant, who’d doubled. The other scored on a ground out in the fourth. Anderson retired the last 13 batters he faced. The Pirates had taken the lead well before any of that. They got four in the first off the pitcher formerly known as Kyle Hendricks, with some help in the field. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases before anybody was retired. New cleanup hitter Jacob Stallings grounded out to drive in one run. With two out, Wilmer Difo blooped a ball to left-center. Cubs’ center fielder Jake Marisnick, chasing the ball, fell flat on his face as if he’d been harpooned by the BABIP gods. The resulting single drove in two runs. Todd Frazier then bounced a regressional grounder through the right side to send Difo to third. Troy Stokes, Jr., making his major league debut, beat out a slow grounder to short, scoring Difo. Initially ruling it a hit, the hometown scorer changed the play to an error, which was sad as it deprived Stokes of his first hit and RBI. He finished the day 0-for-4. The Cubs’ second-inning run made it 4-1, but the Pirates picked up two more in the third, with more help. Difo tripled to drive in Erik Gonzalez, then third baseman Matt Duffy drop-kicked Todd Frazier’s grounder, letting Difo score. With Anderson in command, the score stayed where it was apart from the Cubs’ second run. Kyle Crick came out to start the ninth, but was having one of those wild days. A hit batsman, a walk and a fly ball left runners at the corners with one out. Richard Rodriguez came on to fan the first hitter he faced, but Pederson dribbled a weak grounder through the right side to drive in one run. That was just the second hit off Rodriguez all year, the first since April 12. It wasn’t the last, though, as Ildemaro Vargas doubled to plate two more, leaving the score 6-5. Fortunately, Rodriguez got pinch hitter Javier Baez to ground out on the eighth pitch of the at-bat. Anderson evened his record at 3-3. Difo was 3-for-5 with three RBIs. Rodriguez got his sixth save. It wasn’t the most elegant save ever, but considering that those were the first runs allowed this year by Rodriguez, or Crick for that matter, it was fair enough....
Live Game Discussion: Pirates vs Cubs, 2:20 PM
May 9, 2021
Live Game Discussion
The Pittsburgh Pirates (13-19) are at Wrigley Field for a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs (17-16). Tyler Anderson gets the ball in the finale on Sunday afternoon. He has a 3.24 ERA in six starts, with 31 strikeouts and a 1.14 WHIP in 33.1 innings. Right-handed pitcher Kyle Hendricks gets the ball for the Cubs. He has a 6.07 ERA in 29.2 innings over six starts, with a 1.62 WHIP and 27 strikeouts. Ke’Bryan Hayes was transferred to the 60-day IL earlier, along with a few other injury updates you can read about here. The Pirates acquired Ben Gamel off waivers, with some corresponding moves here. Troy Stokes Jr., who came up today as part of the series of moves, will make his MLB debut today. Here are the lineups: Pirates Troy Stokes Jr. will make his Major League debut this afternoon.#LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/rgeukKH07E — Pirates (@Pirates) May 9, 2021 Cubs Kyle Hendricks is on the mound as we wrap up the homestand! #CubTogether pic.twitter.com/n3QXrYOJ6u — Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 9, 2021...
Pirates Claim Ben Gamel Off Waivers, Designate Michael Feliz For Assignment
May 9, 2021
No Quarter / Transactions
The Pirates keep making moves this morning. The team just announced that they’ve claimed outfielder Ben Gamel off waivers from Cleveland. To make room on the 40-man roster, right-handed Michael Feliz has been designated for assignment. The Pirates also recalled right-handed pitcher Geoff Hartlieb from Indianapolis. Gamel was 1-for-14 this year with the Indians. In the previous four seasons, he has been around a .710-.735 OPS hitter, with speed and decent defense at the corners. The Pirates announced earlier that Bryan Reynolds was day-to-day, and they’ve been in need of outfielders with so many players banged up. Feliz has decent numbers, but with a $1 M price tag and likely very little trade value as a middle reliever, he could have a chance at passing through waivers. Hartlieb has pitched two games in Indianapolis, and looked good during his time in Spring Training....
Injury Updates: Ke’Bryan Hayes Transferred to the 60-Day IL
May 9, 2021
Transactions
The Pittsburgh Pirates have transferred third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes to the 60-day IL, per Jake Crouse of MLB.com. Injury updates from Shelton: Ke'Bryan Hayes going to 60-day IL (nothing new with injury, same progression, more time) Colin Moran going to 10-day IL (groin), T Fraz getting majority of reps at 1B Troy Stokes Jr. recalled, as Bryan Reynolds has lower body soreness (day to day) — Jake Crouse (@JakeCrouseMLB) May 9, 2021 Hayes went down with a wrist injury on April 3rd, and suffered a setback on April 22nd. He has since been taking swings, and there was some hope he could return by mid-May. This move will keep him out through the start of June. Also on the injury updates, Colin Moran goes to the 10-day IL with a groin injury. Crouse notes that Todd Frazier will get the majority of reps at first base. Troy Stokes Jr. was recalled, due to lower body soreness from Bryan Reynolds, which has Reynolds day-to-day....
Prospect Watch: Indianapolis Gets No-Hit, Bradenton Bats Go Crazy, Peguero Leaves Early
May 9, 2021
Pirates Prospects / Prospect Watch
Your daily Pittsburgh Pirates Prospect Watch article for recaps of all of today’s games. Be sure to pick up your copy of the latest Prospect Guide in our store, available as an ebook or a limited edition paperback. INDIANAPOLIS Season preview Boxscore Starting Pitcher: Miguel Yajure 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO Notable Performances: Travis Swaggerty 0-for-3, BB Cole Tucker 0-for-4 Kevin Kramer 0-for-4 Will Craig 0-for-3 Anthony Alford 0-for-3 Game Recap: Indianapolis was no-hit on Sunday by a combo of four Iowa pitchers who had 15 strikeouts and three walks. The only Indianapolis hitters to reach base were Travis Swaggerty, Dustin Fowler and Chris Sharpe, who each walked once. Miguel Yajure got the start, his first of the season. He went six innings, allowing just one run on four hits and two walks, while striking out six batters. Yajure threw 60 of 92 pitches for strikes and he had a 6:2 GO/AO ratio. Steven Wright followed with two innings, allowing an unearned run on one hit, two walks and four strikeouts. His own error caused the unearned run. ALTOONA Season Preview Boxscore Starting Pitcher: Notable Performances: Game Recap: Altoona was rained out GREENSBORO Season Preview Boxscore Starting Pitcher: Carmen Mlodzinski 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO Notable Performances: Liover Peguero 1-for-1, 2B, SB Nick Gonzales 0-for-3, HBP Jack Herman 0-for-4 Matt Gorski 0-for-4 Jared Triolo 1-for-4, RBI Game Recap: Carmen Mlodzinski made his pro debut on Sunday and threw three no-hit/scoreless innings, giving up one walk, while striking out four batters. Despite allowing just one runner, he needed 58 pitches to complete his short day. Grant Ford followed and retired all six batters he faced. Cristofer Melendez allowed the first hit with two outs in the seventh, but otherwise he retired the other six batters he faced. Hickory came through with a run in the eighth to break the shutout, but Bear Bellomy picked up the save with two innings pitched. The big story here could be Liover Peguero leaving the game early. He had a double and steal in the first inning, then left for a defensive replacement in the third inning. Aaron Shackelford had the big hit of the game, belting a three-run homer in the first inning. This game was 3-1 going into the bottom of the eighth when Greensboro broke things open. They scored a run on an error to make it 4-1, then Fabricio Macias hit a two-run single, followed by an RBI single by Jared Triolo to cap the scoring. Both Macias and Shackelford had two hits and a walk in the game. BRADENTON Season Preview Boxscore Starting Pitcher: Adrian Florencio 2.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO Notable Performances: Sammy Siani 3-for-4, 2 2B, HR, 5 RBI, 2 BB Jasiah Dixon 2-for-5, BB Dariel Lopez 2-for-4, 4 RBI, HBP Endy Rodriguez 2-for-5, 2 2B Alexander Mojica 2-for-5, HR, 3 RBI, HBP Maikol Escotto 3-for-4, 2B, 4 RBI, 2 BB Sergio Campana 0-for-5 Eli Wilson 0-for-2, 2 BB, HBP Game Recap: Bradenton had almost the entire lineup clicking on Sunday, as they put up 18 runs to close out their first week of action with a 3-3 record. Sammy Siani was the biggest of the big bats, with two doubles, a homer, two walks and five RBIs. Coming into today, he had one hit (a double) and no RBIs. Maikol Escotto wasn’t far behind Siani with a double, two singles, two walks and four RBIs. Dariel Lopez also drove in four runs and Alexander Mojica had a homer and three RBIs. Endy Rodriguez collected two doubles, while Norkis Marcos scored four runs. He had two singles, a walk and a HBP. The Marauders had 16 hits, ten walks and four hit batters. The big offense hid a bad overall game for the pitchers, though most of the damage came against one of the six arms used. Starter Adrian Florencio debuted with one run over 2.2 innings, then Oliver Mateo tossed 1.1 scoreless frames. Austin Davis came out next on rehab and gave up one run over two innings, while striking out four batters. Estalin Ortiz followed and allowed six runs without recording an out. He gave up two homers, two singles, two walks and he hit a batter. Steven Jennings was out next and he allowed one run over two frames. Logan Hofmann came out for the ninth and retired the side on ten pitches for the 18-9 win. There were a total of 49 base runners in the game....
Game Recap: Anemic Offense Leaves Pirates With Another 3-2 Loss
May 8, 2021
No Quarter / Recaps
The veteran presences in the Pirates’ lineup made their presences felt in the wrong way again as the Pirates dropped their second straight 3-2 game to the Cubs. They’ve lost three in a row and eight of their last nine. The lack of offense wasn’t much of a surprise. Derek Shelton rested Bryan Reynolds and went with an outfield of two infielders and a DH: Wilmer Difo, Phillip Evans and Ka’ai Tom. With Jacob Stallings also getting a break and Colin Moran leaving in the first inning (more later), Adam Frazier was no doubt left wondering . . . Well he should wonder. Frazier got on base four times, going 3-for-4 with a walk, but his efforts were wasted. The three batters behind him — Difo, Evans, Moran (one AB) and Todd Frazier — combined to go 0-for-13. Difo was 0-for-5 and stranded six runners. The Pirates wasted a good start by Wil Crowe. At first, it didn’t look like he’d last long. He gave up two, one-out singles in the first, the second an infield hit on which Moran failed to come up with the throw. A walk and hit batsman forced in a run. Jason Heyward then hit a line drive right at Moran, who caught it and dove toward first trying to catch the runner off base. He came up limping with a groin injury and had to be helped off the field. Moran is considered day-to-day, which means the Pirates get to play in their preferred, shorthanded mode. Crowe pitched well after that, going six innings and allowing four hits and a walk. He fanned five. The only other problem came in the fourth, when two singles put runners at the corners with one out. Eric Sogard hit a fly to shallow center, where Shelton had stationed Difo due to his having played nine innings there before this year. Difo should have had a good shot at the runner, but despite his vast experience in making throws from center, it took him several tries to get the ball out of his glove and the runner just beat the throw. That run tied the game, as the Pirates had gone ahead in the top of the inning. Tom followed a single by Erik Gonzalez with his first career home run, giving the Pirates a shortlived, 2-1 lead. Other than that, the Pirates’ offense was every bit as effective as you’d expect from a lineup featuring batting averages of .222, .037, .212, .188, .194 and .143. Todd Frazier, once he replaced Moran, went 0-for-4 to run his average to .032. Sam Howard replaced Crowe for the seventh. He walked the first batter he faced, but fanned the next two after falling behind 3-1 and 3-0. With the runner on second following a steal, Clay Holmes came in to face Matt Duffy. He hit a weak bloop off the end of the bat that dropped just beyond Adam Frazier, putting the Cubs up, 3-2. David Bednar threw a quick eighth inning, but the Pirates made no noise in the eighth or ninth. They got just a two-out walk in each inning. Todd Frazier popped out to end the game. The Pirates stranded 11 total and went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position....
Prospect Watch: Nick Gonzales Continues His Hot Hitting; Jasiah Dixon Shows Off His Speed
May 8, 2021
No Quarter / Pirates Prospects / Prospect Watch
Your daily Pittsburgh Pirates Prospect Watch article for recaps of all of today’s games. Be sure to pick up your copy of the latest Prospect Guide in our store, available as an ebook or a limited edition paperback. INDIANAPOLIS Season preview Boxscore Starting Pitcher: Miguel Yajure Notable Performances: Game Recap: POSTPONED (Rain) Game will be made up in August ALTOONA Season Preview Boxscore Starting Pitcher: Osvaldo Bido 2.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO Notable Performances: Ji-Hwan Bae 0-for-3, RBI, BB Rodolfo Castro 3-for-5, 2B, RBI Mason Martin 1-for-5, RBI Cal Mitchell 0-for-3, BB Canaan Smith-Njigba 0-for-2, 2 BB Game Recap: Altoona won 8-4 over Bowie in game five of their series, giving the Curve a 2-3 record. Altoona got on the board early with a sacrifice fly by Ji-Hwan Bae, which scored Jonah Davis, who hit a lead-off triple. Rodolfo Castro hit his third double of the season, then scored on a Mason Martin single. Arden Pabst brought in the third run with a bases loaded walk. Bowie tied it with two runs in a second and another in the third. It the fourth inning, the Curve took the lead back with a solo homer by Pabst. Bowie tied it again in the fifth, then Pabst hit a two-run double to make it 6-4. Josh Bissonette followed with an RBI single, then Castro topped off the scoring with an RBI ground out in the eighth inning. He has an 1.140 OPS through five games, one point higher than Jonah Davis, who went 2-for-5 in the game. Osvaldo Bido had a rough debut, giving up three runs on four hits and three walks in 2.2 innings, while throwing 64 pitches. Cam Vieaux followed with one run over 2.1 innings. Will Gardner got the win with two scoreless innings, while Hunter Stratton struck out five batters over the final two frames for the save. GREENSBORO Season Preview Boxscore Starting Pitcher: Omar Cruz 2 IP, 1 H, 4 ER, 5 BB, 4 SO Notable Performances: Lolo Sanchez 1-for-5 Nick Gonzales 3-for-3, 2 2B, BB Jack Herman 0-for-4 Jared Triolo 0-for-4 Game Recap: Omar Cruz made his debut with the Pirates and it was a wild one. He allowed four runs in the first inning and only lasted two innings. He gave up just one hit, but he walked five batters and picked up four strikeouts. He was one of five players included in the Joe Musgrove deal. Will Kobos followed with three perfect innings on 28 pitches. Colin Selby was out next and he was perfect too for two innings except for one batter reaching on an error. Oliver Garcia finished out the night with two shutout frames. After going down 4-0 in the top of the first, Greensboro held the opposition to no runs over the final eight innings. However, their offense could manage just two runs in the 4-2 loss. Francisco Acuna hit a solo homer in the fifth inning and Aaron Shackelford had an RBI double in the sixth inning. Nick Gonzales reached base all four times with two doubles, a single and a walk. He’s hitting .467 each on, with a 1.396 OPS. Fabricio Macias was the only other Grasshopper to reach base twice. He collected two singles. BRADENTON Season Preview Boxscore Starting Pitcher: Jose Maldonado 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 SO Notable Performances: Jasiah Dixon 2-for-3, RBI, 3 SB, BB Sammy Siani 0-for-4, BB Hudson Head 2-for-5, SB Endy Rodriguez 2-for-4, 2 RBI Dariel Lopez 1-for-4, RBI, BB Jase Bowen 1-for-5 Game Recap: Bradenton won 7-2, to give them a 2-3 record this season. Jose Maldonado started and he went three shutout innings on one hit, no walks and six strikeouts. Eddy Yean, who couldn’t make it out of the first inning in his start earlier this week, followed Maldonado. He threw two shutout innings and picked up the win. Yean allowed one hit, one walk and he struck out two batters. Cameron Junker had a rough debut, allowing two runs on three hits and three walks in 1.2 innings. He also hit a batter. Denny Roman came on and stranded two inherited runners in a big spot in the seventh. He then tossed two more shutout frames to close out the win. The Marauders got on the board in the first on an RBI single by Jasiah Dixon, who stole three bases in this game, giving him five steals on the year. Bradenton scored a run in the second on a bad pick-off throw. In the fourth, Endy Rodriguez hit a two-run single to make it 4-0. A wild pitch brought in Dixon with the fifth run. In the eighth inning, Dariel Lopez made it 6-2 with an RBI single. A seventh run scored on a wild pitch, so three of the seven runs ended up being gifts. Jase Bowen collected his first hit, but he also struck out four times. Will Matthiessen went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts, as the Marauders struck out 15 times on the night. Matthiessen had 12 strikeouts and four hits in 17 at-bats this year. Bradenton leads the league with 72 strikeouts in 166 at-bats....
Live Game Discussion: Pirates at Cubs, 2:20 PM; Moran Leaves with Injury
May 8, 2021
Live Game Discussion
The Pittsburgh Pirates (13-18) are at Wrigley Field for a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs (16-16). Wil Crowe gets the ball in game two on Saturday afternoon. He has a 4.66 ERA in two starts and a relief appearance, with seven strikeouts and a 1.66 WHIP in 9.2 innings. Right-handed pitcher and former Pirates Trevor Williams gets the ball for the Cubs. He has a 6.00 ERA in 27 innings over six starts, with a 1.74 WHIP and 29 strikeouts. Here are the lineups: Pirates Getting ready for some Saturday afternoon Bucco baseball. We're on PIT2 today: https://t.co/PKk86T1tKo pic.twitter.com/7jLMasWZMl — Pirates (@Pirates) May 8, 2021 Cubs #Cubs Lineup 05/08/21 1. Joc Pederson LF2. Kris Bryant CF3. Javier Baez SS4. Anthony Rizzo 1B5. Willson Contreras C6. Jason Heyward RF7. David Bote 3B8. Eric Sogard 2B9. Trevor Williams P Starting Pitcher : Trevor Williams — Daily MLB Lineups (@DailyMLBLineup) May 8, 2021 Yesterday’s umpire scorecard. That inside the zone accuracy…. Umpire: Mark CarlsonFinal: Cubs 3, Pirates 2#CubTogether // #LetsGoBucs#CHCvsPIT // #PITvsCHC pic.twitter.com/Oq7T0MwZFo — Umpire Scorecards (@UmpScorecards) May 8, 2021 UPDATE: Colin Moran left the game in the first inning with what looked like a hamstring or a groin injury. He walked off under his own power, but it was noticeable pain and a slow limp. I’ll post an update when the Pirates give one after he gets looked at. Todd Frazier replaced him at first base. Colin Moran left the game with left groin discomfort, the Pirates announce. — Jake Crouse (@JakeCrouseMLB) May 8, 2021...
Game Recap: Veterans Lead Pirates to 3-2 Loss
May 7, 2021
No Quarter / Recaps
The Pirates’ veteran presences continued to show the young ‘uns how it’s done in the opener of their series in Chicago. Trevor Cahill ran his record to 1-4 and Todd Frazier got his batting average to .037 as the Pirates lost to the Cubs, 3-2. Cahill didn’t put the Pirates in a first-inning hole this time, instead spreading it out over three innings, one run at a time. The first one, though, wasn’t his fault. It scored when Phillip Evans flubbed a two-out fly ball with a runner on third. But that one shouldn’t be credited to Evans. Credit it to Ben Cherington and Derek Shelton, and their iron determination not to put three outfielders in the outfield. The other runs off Cahill came on a two-out single in the second and a sacrifice fly in the third. He left after five, having allowed eight hits. The Pirates were facing Zach Davies, who came in with an ERA of 8.22. Davies didn’t even find the Pirates a challenge, allowing just five singles over seven shutout innings. The one chance the Pirates had against Davies came in the seventh when they loaded the bases with nobody out. That brought up Frazier, who bounced back to the mound for a force at the plate. Ka’ai Tom followed by hitting into a double play. The Pirates’ bullpen did its job. Michael Feliz threw two scoreless innings and Luis Oviedo had a 1-2-3 eighth. In the ninth, the Pirates showed some sign of life. Colin Moran led off with a single and, after Evans fanned, Jacob Stallings doubled him to third. That brought up Frazier and Tom again. Frazier hit at easy two-hopper to short, which brought Moran home. Tom looped a single over second to make the score 3-2. Wilmer Difo followed with a single and Adam Frazier got hit with a pitch to load the bases. Bryan Reynolds, though, flied out to right. Todd Frazier went 0-for-4. His average is now less than half what Anthony Alford’s was and less than a quarter of Dustin Fowler’s. All of which raises the question, If he’s so great in the clubhouse, why can’t he stay there? Maybe bang on trash cans or something. Erik Gonzalez also went 0-for-4. He’s now on a 5-for-40 tear and has an OPS of .551. That makes him the ideal #3 hitter in Derek Shelton’s lineup. The Pirates have now lost seven of eight....
Prospect Watch: Strong Pitching from Max Kranick and Michael Burrows; Rodolfo Castro Stars for Altoona
May 7, 2021
No Quarter / Pirates Prospects / Prospect Watch
Your daily Pittsburgh Pirates Prospect Watch article for recaps of all of today’s games. Be sure to pick up your copy of the latest Prospect Guide in our store, available as an ebook or a limited edition paperback. INDIANAPOLIS Season preview Boxscore Starting Pitcher: James Marvel 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO Notable Performances: Cole Tucker 2-for-5 Kevin Kramer 1-for-4, 3B Will Craig 1-for-5, 2B, 3 RBI Braeden Ogle 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO Game Recap: Indianapolis lost 4-3 in ten innings on Friday night. James Marvel allowed two runs in the first inning, then threw four shutout innings to close out his night. Kyle Keller made his first appearance with the Pirates and he tossed a scoreless sixth. Braeden Ogle handled the next four outs without issue, then Shea Spitzbarth allowed a run to tie the score. Tyler Bashlor threw 1.2 innings, allowing the winning run, which was the runner who started extra innings on second base. Cole Tucker had his second straight two-hit game, but he got thrown out of the game in the tenth after a call at first base. Will Craig collected his first hit of the season, a two-run double in the sixth. He also picked up an RBI on a ground out in the fourth inning. Kevin Kramer had a triple and run scored. Travis Swaggerty grounded into a double play as a pinch-hitter in the ninth. ALTOONA Season Preview Boxscore Starting Pitcher: Max Kranick 5.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO Notable Performances: Oneil Cruz 2-for-5, 2B, RBI Mason Martin 0-for-4, BB Rodolfo Castro 3-for-5, HR, 2 RBI, SB Cal Mitchell 2-for-3, 2B, BB, SB Yerry De Los Santos 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO Game Recap: Altoona won 5-4 on a walk-off single by Rodolfo Castro to lead-off the bottom of the tenth inning. Max Kranick got the start and was outstanding through five shutout inning, before giving up two runs in the sixth. According to the Altoona announcers, Kranick hit 99 MPH with his fastball. Brad Case came on to finish the sixth, then allowed two runs in the seventh, before tossing a scoreless eighth. He walked three batters, a mark he has reached just four times as a starter in two seasons since being drafted. Yerry De Los Santos pitched two shutout innings for the win, allowing one runner on a hit batter. The Curve had a rough game at the plate, striking out 17 times, including three strikeouts each by Oneil Cruz, Mason Martin and Arden Pabst. Rodolfo Castro had three hits, including his first home run. Cal Mitchell reached base three times on two hits and a walk. Jonah Davis had a homer, a double and he reached via hit-by-pitch. Altoona stole five bases. GREENSBORO Season Preview Boxscore Starting Pitcher: Michael Burrows 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 SO Notable Performances: Liover Peguero 1-for-4 Nick Gonzales 1-for-4 Lolo Sanchez 0-for-3, RBI, BB Matt Gorski 0-for-4 Jack Herman 0-for-3 Game Recap: Michael Burrows had an outstanding performance against Hickory on Friday night, but the back-end of the bullpen fell apart in an 8-4 loss. Just one runner reached against Burrows on an error by Liover Peguero to start the fourth inning. He retired each of the other 12 batters, eight on strikeouts, including six strikeouts in the final two innings. He threw 46 pitches, with 38 going for strikes. Trey McGough followed with two no-hit innings, sending the game to the seventh with no hits for Hickory. Austin Roberts came on and allowed three runs in his first inning and two more runners in the eighth before Garrett Leonard replaced him with no outs. Both runs scored, leaving Roberts with five runs over one inning of work. He gave up just one hit, but he walked four batters. Leonard gave up three runs of his own over the final two innings, serving up two homers. Aaron Shackelford’s two-run homer in the fourth inning was the big hit for Greensboro. He also drove in a run in the sixth on an RBI single. The other Grasshoppers run scored on a Lolo Sanchez ground out. BRADENTON Season Preview Boxscore Starting Pitcher: Domingo Gonzalez 3.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO Notable Performances: Jasiah Dixon 0-for-4, BB, SB Hudson Head 1-for-4 Endy Rodriguez 0-for-4 Sergio Campana 0-for-4 Sammy Siani 0-for-3, BB Alexander Mojica 2-for-4 Jase Bowen 0-for-3 Maikol Escotto 2-for-4, 3B JC Flowers 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO Game Recap: Bradenton had a great chance to tie/win in the ninth inning, but instead they dropped to 1-3 with a 2-1 loss. They loaded the bases with one out in the ninth on a Sammy Siani walk, an Alexander Mojica single and a Will Matthiessen walk. Another walk to Claudio Finol made it a 2-1 game, but Maikol Escotto and Jasiah Dixon each struck out to end the game. Escotto and Mojica each had two hits, while the rest of the lineup went 1-for-25 with 12 strikeouts. Domingo Gonzalez got the start and lasted 3.2 innings. He gave up two runs, though one was unearned due to an error on Mojica. Alex Aquino and JC Flowers followed with 5.1 scoreless innings, combining for one hit and one walk. Flowers threw three shutout innings in his season debut, also allowing one hit....
1925 Pirate Replay, October 10: Pirates Drop Close Game, Trail Senators in Series
May 9, 2021
1925 Season Replay / Uncategorized
The Pirates held the lead for much of the game, but a late rally by Washington left them with a 4-3 loss in game three of the World Series. The Bucs now trail, two games to one. The pitching matchup seemed to favor the Pirates, with 17-game winner Ray Kremer facing Washington’s Alex Ferguson. A journeyman with a career record of 44-52, Ferguson was a late-season pickup for the Senators. Bucky Harris chose to start Ferguson over 18-game winner Dutch Ruether and the move worked out well for the home team. As in each of the first two games, the visiting team scored the first run in the top of the second. This time it was the Bucs, as Pie Traynor led off with a triple and Glenn Wright brought him in with a fly ball to left. Washington tied the score in the bottom of the third, but the Pirates quickly took the lead back. Joe Judge tied the game with a two-out double, driving in Sam Rice. The Senators had a chance to take the lead when Wright threw away a grounder by the next batter, Joe Harris, but first baseman George Grantham recovered the ball quickly enough to throw Judge out at the plate. The Pirates quickly made it 2-1 after Kiki Cuyler led off the top of the fourth with a double. Clyde Barnhart singled to drive him in. Barnhart took second on the throw and the Bucs eventually loaded the bases with two out, but Kremer struck out. In the sixth, the Pirates extended the lead after Wright reached on a one-out error by Roger Peckinpaugh. It was the fourth miscue for the star shortstop. Wright scored when Earl Smith singled and Kremer followed with a ground ball through the middle, making it 3-1. Washington, however, cut the gap to one again when Goose Goslin led off the bottom of the inning with a home run to right-center. Kremer stranded two runners after Goslin’s longball, but he couldn’t get by the eighth. Nemo Leibold, batting for Ferguson, led off with a walk. After a fly out, the Senators loaded the bases. Bucky Harris beat out a roller toward third and Washington’s big slugger, Goslin, surprised the Pirates with a bunt single. Judge tied the game for a second time with a sacrifice fly. With two out, Joe Harris grounded a single to left, scoring Bucky Harris to give the Senators a 4-3 lead. The Senators went to their relief ace, Firpo Marberry, for the last two innings. He had an easy eighth, but the Pirates got an opportunity in the top of the ninth. With one out, two singles and a hit batsman loaded the bases, but Barnhart popped out to the catcher and Traynor flied to center, giving Washington the win. Game four will be tomorrow, with the Pirates sending Emil Yde against the great Walter Johnson, who stymied the Bucs in the opening game. Yde will be making his first career post-season appearance as the Pirates’ ace, Lee Meadows, may not pitch again in the series....
Card of the Day: 1952 Topps Tony Bartirome
May 9, 2021
Card of the Day
Rarely is a Major League player better known for something else besides being a player, and usually the outliers are Major League managers, such as Connie Mack, Walter Alston, Tommy Lasorda, Sparky Anderson and Danny Murtaugh, just to name a few. Tony Bartirome was a 20-year-old starting first baseman for the 1952 Pittsburgh Pirates. When the season ended, so did his big league career. He played in the minors for quite some time after 1952, but he is better known for his 19 seasons as a trainer for the Pirates, including the 1971 and 1979 World Series champs. Despite playing just one season, Topps put him in two sets, and his 1952 Topps card is both rare and pricey. Here’s the front of the card: The 1952 Topps set is iconic. It’s the first major set produced by Topps and it includes the “rookie” card of Mickey Mantle, which is one of the most valuable cards in existence. I quoted rookie because he had a 1951 Bowman card, but some people still consider his first Topps offering to also be his rookie, and it’s worth much more than the Bowman card. Mantle wouldn’t have carried the set to an iconic status if it didn’t also offer great artwork for each player, along with a nice design that included the Pirates name, facsimile autograph and the team logo. Team logos will always get you extra points. The main issue here is that Topps apparently didn’t get the memo from four years earlier that the Pirates dropped the blue from their uniforms. The Pirates hats in the 1952 set are show as having the “P” in white, yellow and red. The artists were working off of black & white photos obviously and there wasn’t a lot of uniformity in the uniforms. Here’s the back of the card: The back tells you a little about the printing date here. We are used to cards coming out long before the season now. If that happened back then, Bartirome wouldn’t have a 1952 Topps card. In the early days of Topps, they released cards in multiple series, allowing the later series cards to include players who weren’t in the majors during the previous year. This card tells you that he was with the Pirates in April of 1952. That wasn’t a lucky guess by Topps. They printed the final series some time after April. Back in the early days, Topps thought it was a good idea to include eye and hair color on the players. I guess if most people were seeing the players in black&white, then it was interesting to know more about them. All of the players in the set had one year of stats (1951) and then their lifetime stats. Bartirome shows you how Topps handled players with just one season in pro ball. The limited stats, which included fielding stats, left room for a nice bio section for each player. As mentioned up top, this card is a very tough card from the 1952 set. It’s from the sixth series, which was already short-printed. The story goes that Topps massively overestimated the interest in their final series and ended up throwing out cards (some say they got dumped in the river), so the cards from the final series are very rare, unless they were one of the double printed cards. There is also a collector out there who is “hoarding” Bartirome cards, making them even harder to find. That has led to some big prices for his cards. Right now on Ebay, there are four for sale. One is heavily trimmed and it’s still $433. Two are low grade in the $1300-$1400 price range. A fourth is high grade and the asking price is $6,700. Ten have sold on Ebay in the last three months and all of them went for over $1,000....
This Date in Pittsburgh Pirates History: May 9th, Traynor Finds a Trainer
May 9, 2021
This Date in Pittsburgh Baseball History
Three former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, plus a game of note from 1937. The Players Tony Bartirome, first baseman for the 1952 Pirates. Before becoming the long-time trainer for the Pirates, Bartirome played one full season in the majors with Pittsburgh. He was a local kid, born and raised in Pittsburgh. He was signed as an 18-year-old by Pie Traynor, on behalf of the Pirates, early in 1951. Bartirome played just one season in the minors before joining the Pirates in 1952, making his Major League debut three weeks before his 20th birthday. For Hutchinson of the Western League in 1951, he batted .282 with 30 extra-base hits in 123 games. The jump to the majors from Class-C ball then would be considered the same jump from short-season ball to the majors now, so it’s no surprise that he didn’t excel at the plate at such a young age in Pittsburgh. Bartirome hit .220 with the Pirates and was not your typical first baseman. He had 13 extra base hits in 124 games, none of them were homers. Despite the poor season at the plate, he accomplished something pretty impressive by not hitting into a double play all season. He was considered to be above average defensively in the minors, but modern metrics credit him with -0.5 WAR on defense during his only big league season. Bartirome spent all of the 1953-54 seasons serving in the Army before returning to the Pirates in 1955. He promised at the time to fight to get back his old job at first base but he ended up spending the next nine seasons in the minors before he retired as a player. His first season back in the minors was spent at Class-B Burlington-Graham of the Carolina League, the equivalent of Low-A now. He batted .328 in 96 games, though he had just ten extra-base hits, all doubles. Bartirome moved up a level to play for Williamsport of the Eastern League in 1956 and hit .305 in 115 games, winning the league batting title. There was a thought that he might be able to make the majors again in 1957 after he followed up that solid minor league season at Williamsport by hitting .377 in Panama over the winter, where he won another batting title and an MVP award. The Pirates never even gave him a look during Spring Training though. He played in the Pacific Coast League in 1957, where he batted .316 in 71 games, at a level considered to be one step below the majors. He always hit for average, and started to draw more walks later in his career, but the fact that he hit just 11 homers in 11 seasons, including five in 1951, held him back from the majors. While he wasn’t short at 5’10”, he tipped the scales at just 155 pounds, despite attempts to put on muscle to help his case to get back to the majors. After he retired as a player following the 1963 season, Bartirome became a minor league trainer for three years, before joining the Pirates big league staff in 1967. It was a spot he would hold until after the 1985 season, when he moved on to the same job in Atlanta, moving along with Chuck Tanner, who was fired after the 1985 season. Culley Rikard, outfielder for the 1941-42 and 1947 Pirates. He had a baseball career that began at 21 years old in 1935 and it ended 17 years later, but his big league time consisted of just one full season and two partial seasons, all spent with the Pirates. Rickard debuted in the Class-C East Dixie League, where he put up a .310 average over 130 games in his first season. In 1936, he moved to another Class-C league, playing for Cleveland of the Cotton States League. That year he hit .327 with 46 extra-base hits. Despite two years of solid stats, Rickard was right back in Class-C ball, playing for three different teams in 1937. He didn’t advance a level until playing half of the 1938 season with Memphis of the Southern Association, where he hit .288 in 70 games. He also added a .362 average in 86 games for Greenville of the Cotton State League that same year. He spent the next two full seasons at Memphis, hitting well each time. Rickard batted .323 in 127 games in 1939, then showed more power in 1940, hitting .301 with 50 extra-base hits. He played seven seasons in the minors before joining the Pirates on September 20, 1941. Rikard had hit .339 with 73 extra-base hits that year, playing for Memphis of the Southern Association. The first day he was with the Pirates, he started in left field during the second game of a doubleheader, going 2-for-4 with a double. Rikard played a total of six games that year and then 38 games during the 1942 season, with half of those games coming as a pinch-hitter. He had his arm broken by a line drive in July of 1942 when he was throwing batting practice. He returned later that season for just one game and that was only as a pinch-runner. Shortly before the 1943 season started, Rikard was called to serve during WWII. He returned to baseball in 1946, spending the season with the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League. He hit .325 in 144 games for Hollywood, then rejoined the Pirates for the 1947 season. That year he played 109 games, hitting .287 with 50 walks, 53 runs scored and 32 RBIs. Rikard split his playing time between right field and center field, in what would turn out to be his last season in the majors. On January 27, 1948, he was released outright to Indianapolis, ending his time with the Pirates. He played five more years in the minors before he retired. His first season back in the minors was a big one. Rickard drove in 107 runs for Indianapolis, adding 85 walks and 99 runs scored. In each of the next three years, he played partial seasons with Indianapolis. In his final season of pro ball, he dropped down to a Class-C team and batted .353 with 54 extra-base hits in 131 games. His actual name was Culley, making him the only known Culley in the majors or minors. Dan Sullivan, catcher for the Pittsburgh Alleghenys on April 18, 1886. On Opening Day of the 1886 season, the Alleghenys and the St. Louis Browns played a doubleheader. Sullivan caught the opener, his first game with Pittsburgh. It would also be the last game he played with the team and the last of his Major League career. He actually played a Sunday exhibition game with the Alleghenys a week after his debut. Pittsburgh just got done losing three-of-four games to the Cincinnati Red Stockings, so the two teams played an exhibition game on the scheduled off-day, with 2,500 fans still showing up. Sullivan didn’t start, but he was forced into action when outfielder Tom Brown got injured in the fourth inning running out a ball that ended up going foul. Sullivan was released in early June without playing another game for the Alleghenys. He then played for Savannah of the Southern Association briefly in the minors that year, though his pro career ended before the season was over. He got married while in Pittsburgh and when Savannah started having financial trouble in early August, he left the team to return home. He said at the time that he didn’t care if he got blacklisted from baseball because he was done playing. His pro career ended at 29 years old and he passed away within seven years of his last game. His obituary said of his time after baseball “He came (back) to Pittsburgh and started a saloon business without success. Then he disappeared and was not heard from again until the notice of his death.” The saloon business actually belonged to his wife, who was widowed before she married Sullivan. Sullivan played a total of five seasons in the majors (all in the American Association). The first 3 1/2 years (1882-85) were spent with Louisville. Sullivan hit .273 in 67 games as a rookie, putting up a .610 OPS, which would end up being his career high. He hit .214 over 36 games in 1883, then batted .239 with 26 RBIs and 27 runs scored in 63 games in 1884. He split the 1885 season between Louisville and St Louis, combining to hit .144 in 30 games. In his only game with the Alleghenys, he went 0-for-4 with two errors. Sullivan was a .233 hitter in 197 big league games, with zero home runs to his credit. His pro career began with the New York Metropolitans of the Eastern Championship Association in 1881, the season before the American Association started up. The Game On this date in 1937, the Pirates took on the Boston Braves (also referred to as the “Bees” during this period) at Braves Field. The managers that day were Pie Traynor (Pirates) and Bill McKechnie. Traynor was one of the greatest players in team history, while McKechnie was not only a former Pirates player, but at the time, he had led them to their last World Series title in 1925. Traynor wasn’t playing at that time and he never took the field in 1936, but he did play five more games later in that 1937 season before his Hall of Fame playing career officially ended. The Pirates lineup included a couple other big names in Pirates history. Out in right field stood Paul Waner, while Arky Vaughan manned the shortstop position. At first base was Gus Suhr, the man who some consider to be one of the best first basemen in Pirates history. The Braves lineup was loaded with players with Pirates connections, some before this game, some afterwards. Deb Garms, who batted lead-off and played left field, won a batting crown while with the Pirates in 1940. Al Lopez, batting cleanup, caught for the Pirates from 1940 until 1946. Vince DiMaggio batted fifth, he played five seasons (1940-44) with the Pirates in center field. Elbie Fletcher batted sixth and played first base that day. He played seven seasons for the Pirates. Tommy Thevenow, batting seventh and playing second base, had played five seasons with the Pirates already and would rejoin the team during the 1938 season. The Braves even went to the bullpen for another former Pirates player, Guy Bush, who played for the 1935-36 Pirates. Pittsburgh won the game that day behind the complete game of Ed Brandt, a former long-time Boston Braves pitcher. Paul Waner scored two runs, while Arky Vaughan added two hits and an RBI. The Pirates scored two runs in the third, fifth and seventh innings, while Boston scored all their runs in the first three innings, one coming from DiMaggio, who hit a solo homer. At the close of play, the Pirates stood in first place with an 11-3 record. Here’s the boxscore....
1925 Pirate Replay, October 8: Aldridge, Pirates Even Series
May 8, 2021
1925 Season Replay / Uncategorized
The Pirates got a stellar pitching performance from Vic Aldridge and all their scoring came on round-trippers as they beat Washington, 3-2. The win evened the World Series at a game apiece. For the second game in a row, the Senators scored first on a second-inning home run. Yesterday it was Joe Harris, today it was first baseman Joe Judge clouting one to right field. The game was mostly quiet after that, until the bottom of the fourth. With two out, Pirate shortstop Glenn Wright tied the game with a blast to left off Washington starter and 20-game winner Stan Coveleskie. Aldridge had to pitch out of big trouble in the next half-inning to keep the game tied. Two singles started the inning, then a failed attempt to get the out at third on Coveleskie’s sacrifice bunt loaded the bases with nobody out. Aldridge, though, got Sam Rice to bounce back to the mound for a force at home, then Bucky Harris grounded to Wright for another force at the plate. The third out followed on a grounder by Senators’ slugger Goose Goslin. Through the top of the eighth, the only real threat came when the Pirates got Max Carey to third with two out in the sixth. Wright grounded out to end the inning. Finally, in the bottom of the eighth, leadoff hitter Eddie Moore reached on an error by the Senators’ star gloveman, shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh. After a ground out, Kiki Cuyler homered to right-center, putting the Pirates up, 3-1. Peckinpaugh made another error later in the inning, his third of the series, but that one didn’t cost Washington. The top of the ninth started off in familiar fashion, as Washington loaded the bases with nobody out. It happened with a pair of walks sandwiched around a single. Bill McKechnie stuck with Aldridge and the decision paid off. Pinch hitter Bobby Veach, batting for catche Muddy Ruel, hit a sacrifice fly to center to narrow the gap to 3-2. Bucky Harris sent Dutch Ruether up to hit for his fellow pitcher, Coveleskie, but Aldridge struck him out. A groundout by Rice ended it. The teams are off tomorrow as the series shifts to Washington. The Senators will start Alex Ferguson against the Pirates’ Ray Kremer in game three....
Card of the Day: 1989 Topps Orestes Destrade
May 8, 2021
Card of the Day
Today’s Card of the Day comes from a player who had an odd career path, coming to the Pittsburgh Pirates as a prospect, going to Japan to establish himself, then coming back to the U.S. for one big season. Orestes Destrade had a 15-year career in pro ball and hit over 300 homers. He was a rookie prospect for the New York Yankees, who was blocked at first base by Don Mattingly. He came to the Pirates in a trade just prior to Opening Day in 1988 and got a small trial before being sold off to Japan. When he returned in 1993, he was the first baseman for the expansion Florida Marlins in 1993, where he hit 20 homers and drove in 87 runs. Just as quick as he was good in the majors, it went away. By 1995, he was back in Japan for his final season of pro ball. Destrade was with the Pirates long enough to get two cards. One was a Score Traded/Rookies card in late 1988, and the second was a 1989 Topps card, which many people were getting in packs after he was already in Japan. On his 59th birthday, here’s a look at his 1989 Topps card. Here’s the front of the card: I’ll be honest here, I wanted to use his 1988 Score card, but I couldn’t find good enough scans. It’s not that the Score card is any better looking (I like this one better for looks), it’s just that there is a big difference in the production numbers of the two sets. The 1989 Topps set was massively overproduced. You could buy 100 full sets, burn those 79,200 cards, and it wouldn’t do a single thing for the value of the remaining cards. No one would miss them. If you did that to an equal amount of 1988 Score Traded/Rookies cards, someone would notice. I’m glad I ended up with this card though because it has an error version that I didn’t know about. Nothing major as you will see in the back and price sections below, but I like when I am also learning about cards when I write these articles. I wasn’t a big fan of the 1989 Topps cards when I first saw them, but it has grown on me since then. Possibly it’s because I like seeing older uniform styles and when I first saw this set that was the current style. However, I now like the Topps cards that used team colors in the design. If they used team colors and put a team logo on the front, then it’s an automatic win, regardless of the rest of the design. I like the gold border around the photo, and the use of gray and black for the player/team name. It’s basically like the road jersey colors from that time. Here’s the back of the card: I’m in the middle on the backs here. Nothing fancy, as Topps was fairly boring with backs during this time. I always appreciate the full pro stats for a player when possible. I also like the throwback game-winning RBI stat, which was a big thing for a time until owners got upset about players using it in arbitration to get more money, then it went away. At least that’s how I remember it happening, could be wrong, but I like the story so I’m not looking it up. You could have guessed that a first baseman born in Cuba in the 1960s liked Hall of Famer Tony Perez as their favorite player. He was a favorite of a lot of people, even those who didn’t play first base (or third base, as he spent five seasons there too). This card is the corrected version, and remember, I said it wasn’t major. See that “F*” on the bottom. That’s what is supposed to be there. The error version said “E*F*”. Those letters refer to the printing sheet cards were produced on, so you wouldn’t have two letters for one card unless it was an error. This card is easy to find on Ebay and there are plenty of examples in the $2-$3 range, some even slightly cheaper. The error/corrected versions don’t differ in value and many people don’t know about it, so it’s usually not even mentioned in the listing. There are a few autographed copies available (done after the cards were released), which adds about $5-$10 to the value....
This Date in Pittsburgh Pirates History: May 8th, DiMaggio-for-Rizzo Deal
May 8, 2021
This Date in Pittsburgh Baseball History
Four former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date and one major trade from 1940. The Trade On this date in 1940, the Pirates traded left fielder Johnny Rizzo to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for outfielder Vince DiMaggio. The headlines of the Pittsburgh Press that day declared “Straight swap of players brings strikeout king of majors here.” DiMaggio was the brother of Joe and Dom, who were star players of their time, but Vince was a fine ballplayer as well. He was a defensive wizard with a strong arm, which is why the Pirates acquired him. He played two years with the Boston Braves, leading the league in strikeouts each season, before being traded to the New York Yankees in 1939. They sent him to the minors until a trade in August brought the 26-year-old back to the National League with the Cincinnati Reds. He hit just .111 in ten games with Cincinnati, split between the end of 1939 and the beginning of the 1940 season. Rizzo, as a 25-year-old rookie in 1938 hit .301 with 111 RBIs, while setting the Pirates single season home run mark with 23 round trippers. His numbers took a huge dip in 1939, and he started off the 1940 season slow, hitting .179 in nine games. After the trade, Rizzo lasted just over a month with the Reds before they dealt him to the Philadelphia Phillies. In Philadelphia he hit twenty homers in 103 games, but that was followed by two down years, three years serving in the military during WWII, and then four seasons in the minors when he returned. DiMaggio became an All-Star player for the Pirates, spending five seasons in Pittsburgh and making two All-Star teams. The strikeouts were still there (three times he led the National League), but he played strong defense in center field and he hit 79 homers in 670 games. He also drove in 100 runs during the 1941 season. Right before the 1945 season started, he was traded to the Phillies for pitcher Al Gerheauser. DiMaggio put up 11.2 WAR in his five seasons in Pittsburgh. The Players Jason Davis, pitcher for the 2008 Pirates. He was a 21st round pick of the Cleveland Indians out of Cleveland State CC (which is in Tennessee) in the 1999 draft. That’s a school that has produced four Major League players through the draft, but also three (out of three) first round picks who didn’t make the majors. Davis was a draft-and-follow player back when teams had longer to sign draft picks. He didn’t sign with the Indians until May 18, 2000. He did not get off to a great start in pro ball, putting up a 4.40 ERA over 45 innings in the low-level Appalachian League. That quickly changed the next year in Low-A, where he had a 14-6, 2.70 record in 160 innings over 27 starts. Davis had an odd 2002 season, where his results got better as he moved up. He had a 4.15 ERA in 17 starts at High-A, a 3.51 ERA in ten starts at Double-A, then a 1.84 ERA as a September call-up to Cleveland. Davis spent all or part of six seasons in the big leagues with the Indians before they traded him in May of 2007 to the Seattle Mariners. His only full season in the majors was 2003, when he went 8-11, 4.68 in 165.1 innings over 27 starts. He made nine starts in Triple-A in 2004, and he went 2-7, 5.51 in 114.1 innings over 19 starts and seven relief appearances with the Indians. Davis spent more than half of the 2005 season in Triple-A, where he made 16 starts. With Cleveland, he went 4-2, 4.69 in 40.1 innings, making four starts and seven relief appearances. The next year he switched to full-time relief and dominated in Triple-A, allowing one earned run in 16.2 innings. In the majors over 39 appearances and 55.1 innings, Davis posted a 3.74 ERA. He allowed six runs over 11.1 innings in 2007 before his trade to the Mariners. After the deal, he had 6.31 ERA in 16 relief appearances and he also made five starts in Triple-A. Davis became a free agent following the 2007 season and he signed with the Texas Rangers, who ended up releasing him at the end of Spring Training. He signed with the Pirates the next day and began the year in the minors. Prior to joining Pittsburgh, he had a big league record of 20-22 with a 4.78 ERA in 130 games, 52 were as a starter. Davis joined the Pirates in late July as a reliever. He eventually got four starts among his 14 total appearances. He went 2-4, 5.29 in 34 innings. The Pirates re-signed him to a minor league contract and he pitched in Triple-A during the 2009 season, where he went 0-8, 6.06 in a swingman role, making seven starts and 28 relief appearances. He was released following the season, ending his playing career at 29 years old. Orestes Destrade, first baseman for the 1988 Pirates. He originally signed with the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1981. It took until 1987 before he made his MLB debut and he was blocked at first base during that time by All-Star Don Mattingly. Destrade had a good walk rate and showed power in the minors, hitting 122 homers before reaching the big leagues. Born in Cuba, he was actually a 23rd round pick of the California Angels in 1980, but did not sign. He inked a free agent deal with the Yankees 11 months later and started his career in the Appalachian League, where he hit .274 with 14 homers and 48 walks in 63 games. He struggled the next year while splitting his season between Low-A and the New York-Penn League, combining to hit .212 with five homers in 107 games. Destrade moved up to High-A in 1983 and batted .292 with 18 homers and 82 walks. He split the 1984 season between High-A (95 games) and Double-A (35 games), hitting a combined .226 with 79 walks and 18 homers. Destrade spent 1985 in Double-A, where he had 24 doubles, 23 homers and 86 walks, to go along with a .253 average. The 1986 season was spent in Triple-A, where he .276 in 98 games, with 44 extra-base hits and 40 walks. In 1987, Destrade had 54 extra-base hits, 79 walks and a .256 average in Triple-A, then he hit .263 in nine September games for the Yankees. The Pirates were able to acquire him at the end of Spring Training in 1988 in exchange for pitcher Hipolito Pena. He began the season in Triple-A, hitting .271 with 12 homers through 77 games when the Pirates called him up to the majors. He was used mostly in a pinch-hitting role, batting .149 in 36 games. After getting off to a poor start in Triple-A in 1989, the Pirates sold him to Japan. He had instant success in Japan, showing more power, to go along with the high walk totals. Destrade had a 1.006 OPS in 83 games in 1989, then racked up 42 homers and 106 RBIs the next season. Over the next two seasons combined, he hit 80 homers and walked 195 times over 258 games. After four seasons overseas, he returned as the starting first baseman for the 1993 Florida Marlins in their first year of existence. He hit .255 with twenty homers and 87 RBIs in 153 games that year. It ended up being his only big league success. Destrade played for the Marlins in 1994 and hit just .208 in 39 games, then finished his career in Japan in 1995, where he hit .245 with six homers. In his 15-year pro career, he hit a total of 321 homers and drove in 996 runs. Bill Powell, pitcher for the 1909-10 Pirates. After going 20-8 in 1908 for the Springfield Ponies of the Connecticut State League, Powell joined the Pittsburgh Pirates for the 1909 season. He was taken in the Rule 5 draft and the Pirates hoped to get him in September of 1908, but Springfield wouldn’t let him go early because they were fighting for the pennant at the time. For a time it was suggested that he may end up playing first base for the 1909 Pirates because he had success with the position in the minors, especially on the defensive side. At 6’2″, he was a big target at first base for the day. Powell had the nickname “Big Bill”, which is a bit ironic because the man who played first base full-time for the 1909 Pirates was Bill Abstein, who also had the nickname “Big Bill”. Powell was with the Pirates during the 1909 World Series but never got into a game. In fact, he pitched just three games all year and one was as the starter in game three of the regular season. Powell was very wild during that first game, taking the loss to the Cincinnati Reds by giving up three hits in five innings, with five walks, a hit batter and a wild pitch. In an outing nearly a month later it was said that he had nothing on the mound. He walked a batter in relief, forcing home a run before serving up a pitch that was hit hard, but right at a fielder. Powell must’ve shown great improvements during the next season because he made nine starts and three relief appearances before he was sold to the Kansas City Blues of the American Association on July 26th. It was said at the time that he was very inconsistent on the mound, and wasn’t noted for the effort he put forth, but more for his carelessness in the way he played. The paper also noted “his disposition was always against him.” Powell ended up pitching two more games in the majors, one for the 1912 Chicago Cubs and one for the 1913 Reds. He had success with Kansas City in the minors, going 19-12 in 249 innings in 1911, followed by 27-12 record in 340.1 innings in 1912. His pro career began in 1905 with Homestead of the Ohio-Pennsylvania League. He spent 1906 in East Liverpool, Ohio, which is where he ended up living after his playing days. Powell played for two different teams in the Western Pennsylvania League in 1907 before his breakout season in 1908 with Springfield. Powell was said to be a star basketball player during his time with the Pirates. Prior to the 1909 off-season, basketball teams in the Central League were bidding for his services, and he was called the best player in the league. Eddie Boyle, catcher for the 1896 Pirates. He last caught for the Pirates on September 16, 1896 during the first game of a doubleheader. Connie Mack was the manager and he replaced starting catcher Bill Merritt with Boyle late in a blowout loss. The amazing part about that game was the fact that Mack pinch-hit for Boyle in the ninth inning of an 11-0 loss. It was not only his last game for the Pirates, it was his last Major League game. It was noted years later that he couldn’t play anymore in 1896 due to an ankle injury. He played in the minors during 1897 with Minneapolis of the Western League, but there is no record of him playing after that season. He was taken by the Pirates after the 1897 season in the Rule 5 draft, but refused to sign for 1898, forcing him to sit out the entire year. He decided to return with the Pirates in 1899 and actually made the Opening Day roster, but never got into a game. He was released on May 12th, after sitting for 21 games. Platoon catchers Frank Bowerman and Pop Shriver were both doing so well that the Pirates decided that they didn’t need a third catcher, so they released Boyle. Boyle, who was 22 years old when he first joined the Pirates, had two years of minor league experience before making his big league debut. He played for two teams during the 1894 season, seeing most of his time with Atlanta of the Southern Association, where he batted .249 in 57 games. He also hit .304 in 15 games with Sioux City of the Western League. He spent the 1895 season back in the Western League, this time with St Paul, where he hit .283 with 20 extra-base hits and 60 runs scored in 84 games. Boyle began the 1896 season with the Louisville Colonels, getting into three games before he was traded to the Pirates on May 1st, along with Joe Wright (the guy who pinch-hit for him in his final game) in exchange for infielder Billy Clingman. Boyle went to the Eastern League for the majority of the year, returning to the Pirates in September. In his first game, he batted ninth and failed to get a hit, but he did throw out the legendary Cap Anson, who tested his arm early. In Boyle’s five game Major League career, he went 0-for-14 at the plate, reaching base twice via walks. His brother Jack Boyle was a catcher in the majors for thirteen seasons. Eddie Boyle was very big for the era, standing in at 6’3″, 200 pounds. His brother was actually an inch taller, making him one of the tallest players/catchers of the 19th century....
1925 Pirate Replay, October 7: Pirates Run Over by the Big Train in Series Opener
May 7, 2021
1925 Season Replay / Uncategorized
The Pirates got a good start from their ace, Specs Meadows, but they couldn’t handle Washington’s. Walter Johnson held the Bucs to five hits and Washington won the opener of the World Series, 4-1, at Forbes Field. Meadows came into the Series with some concerns about his sore shoulder, but he gave the Pirates eight innings while allowing only six hits. He also didn’t walk anybody. Senators’ manager and second baseman Bucky Harris started veteran Joe Harris in right field, moving Sam Rice to center to replace the usual center fielder Earl McNeely. The move quickly paid dividends. After Meadows retired the first four batters he faced, Joe Harris homered to right-center, giving Washington the game’s first run. Washington extended its lead to 3-0 in the fifth. The first three batters singled to load the bases. Meadows almost escaped, as he struck out catcher Muddy Ruel and Johnson, but Rice grounded a single up the middle to plate two runs. Johnson had little trouble with the Pirates through the first four innings. Their only hits were singles by Pie Traynor and Kiki Cuyler, and Cuyler got picked off. After the Senators took their 3-0 lead, Traynor led off the bottom of the fifth with a home run. That was the Pirates’ last hit, though, until Earl Smith singled in the eighth. Pinch runner Carson Bigbee stole second, but was stranded there. After Bill McKechnie sent up a pinch hitter for Meadows in the eighth, he sent Johnny Morrison for the top of the ninth. Washington picked up a run on a two-out, RBI single by third baseman Ossie Bluege. In the bottom of the ninth, the Pirates got two runners on base for the only time in the game. Johnson hit Max Carey for the second time on the day, and Clyde Barnhart hit a one-out single. Johnson got Traynor on a fly ball and Glenn Wright on a popup, ending the game. For the game, Johnson struck out ten Pirates. The feat was especially impressive because the Pirates struck out the least often of any team in baseball besides Cincinnati, averaging fewer than two and a half strikeouts per game. Game two is tomorrow, with the Bucs’ Vic Aldridge facing the Senators’ other 20-game winner, Stan Coveleskie....
Card of the Day: 1928 Exhibit Glenn Wright
May 7, 2021
Card of the Day
On this date in 1925, Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Glenn Wright turned an unassisted double play on a ball hit by Hall of Fame first baseman Jim Bottomley of the St Louis Cardinals in the top of the ninth inning of a 10-9 games. The Pirates still ended up losing, but Wright forever etched his name into the baseball record books that day. Three years later, Wright was featured on a card put out by the Exhibit Supply Company. The cards are now know by just the name Exhibit, and card #28 in the 1928 set features Glenn Wright. Here’s the front of the card (the back is blank): The cards are much bigger than your standard card size now. They are 3-3/8″ by 5-3/8″, compared to the 2-1/2″ by 3-1/2″ size you usually find these days. As mentioned, the back here is blank, though some of the cards had what is classified as postcard backs and those are tougher to find. The Exhibit cards were not fancy with their designs. The front of the card is all photo, no borders of any kind. The only thing on the front is the player’s name and team in the bottom left corner and then small writing telling you very little about the Exhibit Supply Company in the bottom right. Notice that his first name is spelled wrong on this card. That second N in his name was frequently left off. Also notice that the team name is “Pittsburgh NL”. Back when these cards were released, the city name followed by the league was needed for teams from New York, Chicago, Boston, St Louis and Philadelphia because those five cities had ten of the 16 Major League clubs. Pittsburgh really didn’t need the NL designation after their name. If you didn’t know that they were in the National League, then you probably didn’t know what NL stood for anyway. The only times Pittsburgh had two Major League clubs was briefly in 1884 (Union Association and American Association), 1890 (Player’s League and NL) and 1914-15 (Federal League and NL). I guess that fact has technically changed now with the recent MLB ruling that the Negro Leagues are now considered to be Major Leagues and the Pittsburgh Crawfords and Homestead Grays are now Major League teams, but that wouldn’t have retroactively changed the designation on a card from back then (also, the Crawfords weren’t around in 1928). This is an interesting photo in that they didn’t get Wright in his regular uniform. It doesn’t even to appear to be some type of warm-up jacket either, but that definitely looks like a baseball field and I’m assuming that he’s wearing a Pirates hat. Perhaps it was a team issued item of clothing though. Here’s a photo of Wright and Hall of Fame manager Bill McKechnie, who looks to be wearing the same thing as Wright in the above photo: The 1928 season was Wright’s last year in Pittsburgh and his worst full season with the team. It wasn’t that he didn’t do well (he had an .800 OPS), but he was limited to 108 games due to separate issues. The first one was when he was given rest due in early July for two weeks due to a bad cold that followed being weakened by the flu earlier in the season, which was effecting his early season play. The other was after a collision into teammate Fred Brickell in August. There is only one example of this card on Ebay right now and it’s the one shown above, which lists for $70 plus shipping, There aren’t any sales within the last three months either, so I can’t really give a good price range. Ten of these cards have been graded by PSA (not the one shown above), and included in that group is three of the postcard back variations, so while the Wright card seems to be rare, it’s not extremely rare. Looking at other commons from the set, they have sold for between $20-$30 recently in decent lower grades (ungraded), so that’s a good price range for Wright in the same condition. He was no common player during his time in Pittsburgh, but he’s considered one now....
This Date in Pittsburgh Pirates History: May 7th, Triple Play and a Hall of Fame Trade
May 7, 2021
This Date in Pittsburgh Baseball History
We have two Pittsburgh Pirates trades on this date, three former players, and one very special game to cover from 1925, with something you don’t see everyday. The Trades On this date in 1941, the Pirates traded future Hall of Fame center fielder Lloyd Waner to the Boston Braves for pitcher Nick Strincevich. Waner had been with the Pirates since 1927, but he was coming off of his worst season in 1940, when he hit .259 in 72 games with just three RBIs. At age 35, he had played just three games with the Pirates in 1941. Strincevich was a 25-year-old rookie in 1940 for the Braves. He went 4-8, 5.53 in 32 games, 14 as a starter, throwing a total of 128.2 innings. He had pitched poorly in 1941 for Boston, allowing five runs in 3.1 innings over his three relief appearances. The trade worked out well for the Pirates, although not right away. Waner never returned to his Hall of Fame form. He hit well for Boston, batting .412 in 19 games, but they quickly traded him to the Cincinnati Reds. By June of 1944, after being released by the Brooklyn Dodgers, Waner re-signed with the Pirates and was used off of the bench for the rest of 1944 and 1945. Strincevich didn’t pitch much for the Pirates between 1941-42 and he spent all of 1943 in the minors, but the Pirates were rewarded for sticking with him. He won a total of 40 games from 1944 until 1946, and pitched nearly 600 innings. He fell off in 1947 and was sold to the Philadelphia Phillies a month into the 1948 season. You can read more about him in our Obscure Pittsburgh Pirates feature. On this date in 1962, the Pirates traded pitcher Wilmer “Vinegar Bend” Mizell to the New York Mets for first baseman Jim Marshall. Mizell was in his ninth season in the majors and third with the Pirates during the 1962 season. He was a hard-throwing lefty with a 90-86 career record, six times winning in double digits. At the time of the trade, the 31-year-old had a 1-1, 4.96 record in four games, three as a starter. Marshall was just shy of his 31st birthday at the time, playing well for the expansion Mets during their first season in existence. In his four previous seasons, he never hit above .252, and he topped out at 11 homers. He was hitting .344 with three homers in 17 games for New York at the time of the deal. After the trade, Marshall really fell off at the plate, hitting .220 with two homers for the Pirates in 55 games. At the end of the season they released him and he never played in the majors again. Mizell was no better. He pitched 17 games for the Mets, a total of 38 innings, finishing with a record of 0-2 with a 7.34 ERA. New York would release him in early August, ending his big league career. A trade that seemed to be significant at the time turned out to be nothing for either team. The Players Keon Broxton, outfielder for the 2015 Pirates. Broxton was acquired by the Pirates as a minor leaguer in 2014 from the Arizona Diamondbacks in a cash deal. Arizona signed him as a third round draft pick in 2009 out of Santa Fe Community College. The year before he was selected in the 29th round oout of high school by the Philadelphia Phillies. Broxton debuted in pro ball in the Pioneer League, where he showed big power numbers, but also had huge strikeout numbers as well, leading to a low average/OBP. He moved up to Low-A in 2010 and had the same issues, hitting .228 with 172 strikeouts in 133 games, but he managed to collect 19 triples. Strikeouts were a major concern in 2011 at High-A (with a brief stop in Low-A) but he drew 69 walks and stole 33 bases. On the flip side though, his second straight 172-strikeout season was accompanied by a .248 average and 28 extra-base hits in 130 games. The power seemed to be a major issues because he was playing in the hitter-friendly California League. He repeated High-A for the entire 2012 season and hit .267 with 19 homers and 21 stolen bases. In 2013, he moved up to Double-A and hit .231 in 101 games, with just five steals and a .655 OPS. He played winter ball in Australia and put up nearly identical average/OPS numbers in 31 games. In 2014, Broxton joined the Pirates and went to Double-A Altoona. He hit .275 with 46 extra-base hits, 59 walks and 25 steals in 127 games. He batted .302 in a brief stint at Altoona in 2015, then played 88 games with Triple-A Indianapolis, where he had a .776 OPS and 28 steals, earning a trip to the majors in September. Broxton played just seven games with the Pirates, seeing brief time at all three outfielder spots, while going 0-for-2 at the plate. He was used as a pinch-runner six times and scored three runs. After the 2015 season, he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers, where he split three seasons between Triple-A and the majors. In 2016 he put up a .784 OPS and 23 steals in 75 games for Milwaukee. Most of the 2017 season was spent in the majors, and he played full-time as well, hitting .220 with 20 homers and 21 steals in 143 games, though he also struck out 175 times in 463 plate appearances. He hit just .179 in 53 games during the 2018 season. Broxton played for three different teams in 2019, seeing time with the New York Mets, Seattle Mariners and Baltimore Orioles. Between all three stops, he had a .167 average and a .517 OPS. He then re-signed with the Brewers as a free agent during the 2019-20 off-season and the Minnesota Twins for the 2021 season, but has not appeared in the majors since 2019. He’s a career .209 hitter in 376 games, with 39 homers and 60 steals. Mark Smith, outfielder for the 1997-98 Pirates. He was a first round draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles in 1991, taken ninth overall out of USC. and made his Major League debut three seasons later. Smith began his pro career by playing 38 games in High-A during his draft season. He was in Double-A to start his first full season in pro ball, where he hit .288 with 32 doubles, 15 steals and 62 RBIs in 128 games. He moved up to Triple-A the next year and put up solid starts, hitting .280 with 40 extra-base hits in 129 games, but he didn’t get a shot at the majors. He repeated Triple-A for most of the strike-shortened 1994 season, hitting .247 with 27 doubles and 19 homers in 114 games. He had a brief stint with the Orioles in May, getting into his first three big league games. Most of the 1995 season was spent in Triple-A, though he played 37 games with the Orioles and hit .231 with three homers. Smith was injured for part of 1996 and played 73 games total between the majors and three levels of the minors, which included rehab stints at lower levels after taking a foul ball off of his left shin. The foul ball ended his big league time for the season. Smith played a total of 67 games with the Orioles before they shipped him to the San Diego Padres in January of 1997. Just two months later, the Pirates acquired him, along with Hal Garrett, in exchange for Trey Beamon and Angelo Encarnacion. Smith began the season in the minors, getting called up in mid-June for good after getting a one-game shot in May. He would hit .285 with nine homers and 35 RBIs in 71 games for the Pirates. None of those homers would be more dramatic than the one he hit on July 12th against the Astros. He came to bat as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the 10th inning with no score and two men on base. With two outs and an 0-1 count, Smith took a pitch from the Astros John Hudek and deposited it over the left field wall for a walk-off homer. Smith was batting for Ricardo Rincon, who just threw the Pirates 10th no-hit frame in the top of the inning. Francisco Cordova threw nine no-hit innings before he was pulled. The next season, Smith struggled at the plate, hitting just .195 with two homers in 59 games and the Pirates let him leave via free agency after the season. After leaving Pittsburgh, he spent 1999 in Japan. Smith played for the 2000 Florida Marlins, where he hit .245 with five homers in 104 games. He was with the Montreal Expos in 2001 for 80 games, hitting .242 with six homers. He played for the Marlins in Triple-A in 2002, then played his 33 big league games with the 2003 Milwaukee Brewers. Smith played in Triple-A for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2004, before finishing his pro career in Korea in 2005. In eight big league seasons, he hit .243 with 32 homers and 130 RBIs in 414 games. Dave Barbee, left fielder for the 1932 Pirates. He played briefly in the minors in 1925 after graduating from Oglethorpe University, a school that has produced nine Major League players, but none have appeared in the majors since the 1950 season. The next year, Barbee played 90 games for the Greensboro Patriots of the Piedmont League before joining the Philadelphia Athletics in late July. He hit .372 with 29 homers for Piedmont that year, but the success didn’t carry over into the majors. In 19 games for the Athletics, he hit .170 with one homer. That’s not a big surprise, as the Piedmont League was considered to be Class-C ball, which would be like making the jump from Low-A to the majors now. Barbee returned to the minors and surprisingly didn’t make it back until the Pirates came calling six years later, despite spending each year one step from the majors. He hit .262 with 14 homers for Reading of the International League in 1927, then moved to the Pacific Coast League in 1928. The full PCL stats aren’t available from that season, but they show that he had 32 doubles, 11 triples and 16 homers. In 1929, he played for Seattle of the PCL, where he hit .316 with 42 doubles, ten triples and 22 homers in 180 games. Barbee hit 30 doubles and 41 homers in the PCL in 1930, yet that didn’t earn him a big league job, so he hit .332 with 47 homers the next year playing for Hollywood of the PCL. The Pirates selected him in the Rule 5 draft on September 30, 1931. For the 1932 Pirates, Barbee saw plenty of time in left field, playing alongside Lloyd and Paul Waner. He was the everyday left fielder from May 6th through July 24th, starting 66 of 71 games during that time. He had zero starts in the first 19 games of the season and he started just ten of the team’s final 64 games. Barbee hit .257 with five homers and 55 RBIs in 97 games. It was said that he didn’t show the bat to stick in the majors, but even if he hit 40 points higher, his defense was still subpar. Modern metrics give him a 0.6 WAR for the season, with 0.0 on defense. Pittsburgh sent him to Toronto of the International League on option on February 14, 1933 and then in September, after he played half of the season with Tulsa of the Texas League, they decided not to pick up that option, which made him a free agent. Barbee ended up playing the next three years in the minors, then after a seven year layoff from pro ball (he played/managed semi-pro ball instead), he played one more minor league season at Class-D ball in 1942. The Play On this date in 1925, the Pittsburgh Pirates took on the St Louis Cardinals in what turned out to be a slugfest at Forbes Field. The Pirates had a comfortable lead going into the eighth inning. St Louis turned that 9-4 Pittsburgh lead into a one-run deficit and they held the Pirates scoreless in the bottom of the eighth inning. In the ninth inning, the Cardinals looked to add on to the score and they were getting help from Pirates pitcher Vic Aldridge. St Louis shortstop Jimmy Cooney walked to open the inning. Aldridge then walked one of the greatest hitters ever, Rogers Hornsby. That brought up future Hall of Fame first baseman Jim Bottomley and he worked the count to 2-2. That’s when some Major League history happened. Bottomley hit a line drive that looked like it was sure hit and the runners took off on the play. The Pirates shortstop that day was Glenn Wright and he made a magnificent leaping catch, then ran towards second base and touched the bag, then tagged out Hornsby as he reached the base. The crowd sat in a stunned silence, not knowing what had just happened because it transpired so quickly. That was until the players started running off the field, then Forbes Field erupted in cheer. It was just the sixth* unassisted triple play in baseball history (*After researching it, I believe the one by Paul Hines in 1878 to be legit, but some sources don’t count it). The ironic part of that triple play was the fact the first runner, Jimmy Cooney, was the next big league player to turn an unassisted triple play, and he did it against the Pirates two seasons later. Unfortunately for the Pirates that day in 1925, they still lost 10-9 to the Cardinals, but the 1925 season ended well with their second World Series title....
1925 Pirate Replay: Bucs Prepare to Face AL Champion Senators, Part 2
May 6, 2021
1925 Season Replay / Uncategorized
As with the hitters, the Pirates in the World Series will be facing a team with a few outstanding pitchers. The Bucs themselves, though, may have more depth. The pitching staffs are close to evenly matched. The Senators’ staff had the second-best team ERA in the majors, at 3.70. The Pirates were third at 3.87. The Pirates gave up more hits, but Washington’s staff walked a full batter per game more than the Pirates’. The AL champions’ staff is led by two veteran 20-game winners, 36-year-old Shamokin, PA, native Stan Coveleskie, and the great Walter Johnson, now 37. Coveleskie went 20-5, 2.84, and led Washington in innings pitched. He’s had five 20-win seasons and has won 194 games. Johnson doesn’t carry the huge burdens he did earlier in his career, but he still went 20-7, 3.07, and threw 229 innings. The Big Train has won 397 games and, next year, should become the only pitcher other than Cy Young to reach 400 wins. And that’s in spite of spending most of his career pitching for mediocre Washington teams. Aside from his pitching, Johnson also batted .433 and occasionally appeared as a pinch hitter. Washington had three other key pitchers during the regular season. Lefty Dutch Ruether went 18-7, 3.87, although he showed some signs of wearing down late in the season. Always a capable hitter, Ruether frequently pinch hit for manager Bucky Harris and batted .333. Another lefty, Tom Zachary, led the Senators in starts, but had less success than the others, going 12-15, 3.85. Washington also possesses a rarity in today’s game, a relief ace. Fred “Firpo” Marberry appeared in 55 games without starting a single one. Marberry went 9-5, 3.47, and frequently took the mound late in games to protect leads. One final pitcher, Alex Ferguson, played a key role for the Senators after they acquired him in mid-August to shore up their tiring veterans. A journeyman who pitched very badly earlier this year for the Red Sox and Yankees, Ferguson made six starts and one relief appearance for Washington and went 5-1, 3.25. The Pirates lack the star power of Johnson and Coveleskie, but they have a lot of depth. Five of their pitchers won 15 games or more, and all five threw at least 207 innings. There’s some concern with their ace, though. Lee “Specs” Meadows (19-10, 3.67) has thrown only one inning in the last three weeks and is rumored to have shoulder problems. He will, however, face Johnson in the Series opener. Down the stretch, the Bucs’ best pitchers have been Ray Kremer (17-8, 3.69) and Vic Aldridge (15-7, 3.63). Since the beginning of August, Kremer has gone 9-1. Aldridge won eight straight starts before losing his last game of the regular season. He had a 2.41 ERA in August and September combined. The Pirates’ other two key pitchers have been “Jughandle Johnny” Morrison (17-14, 3.88) and Emil Yde (17-9, 4.13). Morrison made 26 starts, but pitches in relief frequently as well, 18 times in all. Yde had a stretch of 15 wins in 16 decisions, including 11 in a row. He lost four straight in September, though, before winning his last two. The Pirates also can call on veterans Red Oldham and Tom Sheehan, as well as Babe Adams. The 43-year-old Adams will be making his first trip to the World Series since he won three games in the 1909 Series....
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