The Pittsburgh Pirates franchise is known for great hitters (although not recently) but their pitchers have produced some highlights, too. Thus, I present a totally subjective, completely unscientific look at the top 10 single-game pitching performances in Pirates history. So, let’s get to the first half without any further ado, without even bothering to question exactly what “ado” is and why it’s not needed any further.
Pirates Pitchers Have Produced Some Great Games
10. The Pirates’ Babe
October 16, 1909, Pirates 8, Detroit Tigers 0, World Series Game 7 at Bennett Park, Detroit (GSc* 75). “Far above all others on the tablet of baseball fame, marking the highest point ever reached in individual brilliancy and outshining the greatest previous achievements in the annals of the Nation’s sport, must be written to-day [sic] in large and blazing capitals the name of ADAMS,” trumpeted the October 17, 1909 Pittsburgh Daily Post. Hyperbole? Perhaps, but how else to react when a 27-year-old rookie shuts out the mighty Tigers on the road in Game 7 of the World Series?
That’s what left-hander Babe Adams did. Adams, who was 12-3 with a 1.11 ERA and 0.854 WHIP in 1909, was 3-0 in that Series. In Game 7, he pitched nine innings and gave up just six hits and one walk. These were the Tigers of Ty Cobb, Davy Jones, and Wahoo Sam Crawford, believed by many baseball historians to have been the greatest outfield in baseball history. In Game 7, they were a combined 1-for-12 against Adams. The trio combined to hit .335 during the season. It was Pittsburgh’s first World Series championship.
*The Game Score (GSc) was devised by influential statistician Bill James as a way to evaluate a single performance by a starting pitcher. It’s determined as follows: 50 + number of outs recorded + (2 x each inning completed after the fourth) + number of strikeouts – (2 x hits allowed) – (4 x earned runs allowed) – (2 x unearned runs allowed) – number of walks.
9. Pirates Pitchers Combine for No-Hitter
July 12, 1997, Pirates 3, Houston Astros 0 at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh (GSc 95). The 1997 Pirates were dubbed the “Freak Show” by broadcaster Greg Brown and unexpectedly captured the hearts of Pittsburgh fans. During the 1996 season, owner Kevin McClatchy revised his budget and decided he needed to cut payroll. Established players were dealt for prospects and no-names. His future Hall-of-Fame manager, Jim Leyland, asked out of his contract. Under new manager Gene Lamont, the 1997 Pirates and their $9 million payroll (less than the Chicago White Sox were paying Albert Belle) were in the race for the National League Central Division crown until there were four games left in the season, due to a weaker division and a few wildly improbable Pirates wins. One of those wins occurred on this night before the Pirates’ first non-Opening Day sellout crowd in 20 years.
“He Didn’t Make Many Mistakes”
Starter Francisco Cordova, a right-hander from Mexico, held the Astros hitless through nine innings. He allowed just two walks and a hit batsman. No Astro got as far as second base. Cordova spoke no English. The Astros hitters spoke for him. “He didn’t make many mistakes,” Astros first baseman Jeff Bagwell told Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “When he did make a couple, we were so surprised that we didn’t hit them.” Astros catcher Brad Ausmus asked Cook, “I don’t think we hit a ball hard, did we?” Nope.
The problem was that the Pirates hitters hadn’t scored, either. After 121 pitches, Lamont decided Cordova was through for the evening. Left-handed Ricardo Rincón, another Mexican who spoke no English, allowed a walk in the 10th but kept the no-hitter intact. Mark Smith, a little-known reserve, won the game in the bottom of the 10th with a three-run home run against John Hudek. The two Pirates pitchers had thrown the first combined extra-inning no-hitter in baseball history. Thanks to Smith’s blast, this is the only game from this list to also appear on my Top 10 Pirates Home Runs list.
8. Near-Perfection on Memorial Day
May 27, 1974, Pirates 6, San Diego Padres 0, Game 1 of doubleheader at Three Rivers Stadium (GSc 87). Pirates left-hander Ken Brett had a day to remember. It started with his complete-game, two-hit shutout over the Padres. It continued with Brett’s big pinch-hit triple in the second game. But let’s stick with the pitching performance. Pitching for an injury-decimated Pirates team, Brett had a perfect game through eight innings. He did it with a catcher (Ed Kirkpatrick) playing center field, a second baseman (Rennie Stennett) playing right field, and an error-prone shortstop in Frank Taveras. Alas, in the top of the ninth, catcher Fred Kendall led off by rolling a single between Taveras and third baseman Kurt Bevacqua, and Brett’s flirtation with baseball immortality was over.
7. Ellis, D. on LSD
June 12, 1970, Pirates 2, Padres 0, Game 1 of doubleheader at San Diego Stadium, San Diego (GSc 85). Something about the first games of doubleheaders against the Padres brings out the best in Pirates pitchers. Apparently, this is true even after the pitcher has taken large quantities of a hallucinogen. There have been no-hitters in Pirates lore that produced better pitching lines than Dock Ellis recorded on this date. In Ellis’s nine innings, he struck out six, walked eight, and hit one batter. The Padres stole three bases on him. But the fact that he did all this on LSD has to count for something, right?
The day before was an off day for the Pirates, so Ellis ventured to Los Angeles to visit some friends. Ellis and his friends dropped acid and he fell asleep, awakening from what he believed to be a brief catnap. Actually, it was the next day, and Ellis was due to pitch in San Diego in four hours. He got on a quick flight and made it to the ballpark on time. He completed his no-hitter with help from sparkling defensive plays from center fielder Matty Alou and second baseman Bill Mazeroski.
Tricky Dick and Jimi
Newspaper accounts from the time don’t indicate anything was “off” with Ellis. He spoke to the beat reporters intelligently, recalling a relief appearance from two years previous, telling tales of growing up in Watts, and lamenting his failures at holding runners closer to first base. Additionally, he had enough awareness to cover first base on the game’s next-to-last out. Years later, however, admitting he remembered little about the game, he told the New York Times, “I started having a crazy idea in the fourth inning that Richard Nixon was the home plate umpire, and once I thought I was pitching a baseball to Jimi Hendrix, who to me was holding a guitar and swinging it over the plate.” Picturing Nixon and Hendrix? That deserves a spot on this list.
6. The Big Hondo
October 5, 1971, Pirates 2, San Francisco Giants 1, Game 3 of National League Championship Series at Three Rivers Stadium (GSc 74). Pirates broadcaster Bob Prince called the six-foot-four right-hander “The Big Hondo.” Pirates fans called him the Big Disappointment. Before the season started, Bob Johnson was the key piece in a trade with the Kansas City Royals. The Pirates paid a steep price in pitcher Bruce Dal Canton, catcher Jerry May, and shortstop Freddie Patek to get Johnson along with shortstop Jackie Hernández and catcher Jim Campanis. Pirates general manager Joe L. Brown called Johnson “the pitcher we wanted.” Royals GM Cedric Tallis called Johnson his “best pitcher.” However, for the 1971 Pirates, the maddeningly inconsistent Johnson was 9-10 with a 3.45 ERA and 1.288 WHIP.
Johnson would finally prove his worth in the postseason. After two games in San Francisco, the teams were tied at a game apiece in the NLCS, then a best-of-five series. Game 3 would be pivotal. The Pirates’ scheduled starter was Nelson Briles, another offseason acquisition. But during his pregame warmup, Briles found that a pulled leg muscle was preventing him from throwing normally. Manager Danny Murtaugh told Johnson he’d be pressed into service as the Game 3 starter. Oh yeah, by the way, Big Hondo, your mound opponent will be the already-legendary Juan Marichal.
“I Threw Harder Than I Ever Did”
Johnson came through big-time, pitching eight innings, dueling his more famous counterpart, surrendering just one unearned run, five hits, and three walks. Not a bad day’s work when the heart of the Giants’ order is Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, and Bobby Bonds. Unfortunately, the score was tied 1-1 after seven-and-one-half innings, and Johnson gave way to a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the inning. Richie Hebner’s eighth-inning homer off Marichal made Johnson the winning pitcher. Dave Giusti recorded the save in the ninth.
After the game, Johnson told Charley Feeney of the Post-Gazette, “I think I threw harder than I ever did with the Pirates.” His catcher, Manny Sanguillén, agreed. “He was fast, and his control was good,” said the catcher.
On Deck
Part 2 will look at the top five performances by Pirates pitchers. It will be like an early Christmas for you. Stay tuned to this site.
Photo Credit: © Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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