10-RUN 6TH POWERS BUCS PAST CARDS
Stennett: 5 Hits, 5 Runs, 4 RBIs
PITTSBURGH, Aug. 3 (AP) - The Pittsburgh Pirates scored 10 runs in the bottom of
the sixth inning en route to a season best 16-run effort in a comeback 16-7
victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in the first game of a doubleheader at
Three Rivers Stadium. Rennie Stennett broke out of a season-long slump
with five hits including two doubles; Stennett also scored five runs and drove
in four. Stennett is just the second Pirates batter to amass five hits in
a single game and the first in a nine-inning contest; Al Oliver banged out five
safeties in a 13-inning loss to St. Louis on May 20 at Busch Stadium.
This marks only the third time this year that a team has scored as many as 10
runs in an inning, and the Pirates have done it twice. The New York
Yankees scored 10 runs in the fourth inning of a 19-6 win over Detroit on May 30
at Tiger Stadium. And Pittsburgh scored 10 runs in the fifth inning of a
14-6 victory over The Cincinnati Reds at Riverfront Stadium on July 10.
The early innings of the game were a back-and-forth affair. The Pirates
scored twice in the bottom of the first off St. Louis starter Eric Rasmussen
when Stennett drove home Frank Taveras, who walked and stole second base.
Richie Zisk then drove in Taveras with a base hit.
But the Cardinals scored three times in the second off Pittsburgh starter Jim
Rooker. Ted Simmons led off with a double and advanced to third on a base
hit off the bat of Joe Ferguson. A Hector Cruz ground out scored Simmons
and Ferguson came home on Vic Harris' double. One out and two batters
later, Don Kessinger drove home Harris with a base hit.
The Cardinals added a run, making it 4-2, in the top of the third on Cruz's
ninth home run of the season. The Pirates countered in the bottom half of
the inning when Dave Parker doubled and scored on Duffy Dyer's single and then
tied the game in the fourth when Stennett singled and scored on Willie
Stargell's double.
St. Louis regained a two-run lead with single runs in the top of the fifth and
sixth on RBI singles by Harris and Mike Anderson.
So Pittsburgh trailed 6-4 entering the bottom of the sixth. Manny
Sanguillen, who had entered the game in a double switch when Rooker was removed
in favor of reliever Kent Tekulve in the top of the sixth, led off with a single
and advanced to second on a passed ball. Taveras fouled out but Stennett
lashed a double to right-center, scoring Sanguillen. That was the end of
the line for Rasmussen who was replaced by left-hander Al Hrabosky. But Al
Oliver greeted the new pitcher by lining a game-tying single to right field,
with Oliver advancing to second base on the unsuccessful attempt to throw
Stennett out at the plate. Stargell then followed by lacing a single to
center, scoring Oliver and giving the Pirates a 7-6 lead. Parker followed
by driving a 1-0 pitch into the seats in right-center field for a two-run home
run and a 9-6 lead. Hrabosky then walked Zisk and Bill Robinson singled
him to third. That brought Tekulve to the plate. His swinging bunt
went for an infield hit, scoring Zisk and advancing Robinson to third. It
also spelled the end of a terrible appearance for Hrabosky, who faced six
batters and retired none of them. Eddie Solomon was brought on to replace
him and his first pitch resulted in a ground out off the bat of Sanguillen--now
batting for the second time in the inning--advancing the baserunners to second
and third. Solomon walked Taveras to load the bases and then Stennett
lined a double into the left-center field gap, scoring two runs, putting
Pittsburgh on top 12-6. Oliver then lined a base hit scoring both Taveras
and Stennett, putting the Pirates up 14-6. Stargell then ended the ten-run
inning by striking out.
The game was effectively over, but the scoring wasn't. The Pirates scored
two more times in the eighth and the Cardinals picked up a consolation run in
the ninth on Hector Cruz's solo home run, his second long ball of the
contest. But it was academic.
The 21 hits amassed by the Pirates represented only the seventh time in this
major league season that a team has reached that benchmark. The Pirates
are the only team to have reached the 21-hit plateau twice thus far this year.
8/3/1976, StL76-Pit76, game 1, Three Rivers Stadium 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 1976 Cardinals 0 3 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 7 12 3 9 0 1976 Pirates 2 0 1 1 0 10 0 2 x 16 21 1 11 0 Cardinals AB R H BI AVG Pirates AB R H BI AVG Mumphrey lf 4 0 0 0 .242 Taveras,F ss 4 2 1 0 .277 Kessinger ss 4 0 2 1 .238 Giusti p 0 0 0 0 .000 Anderson rf 4 1 2 1 .277 Stennett 2b 6 5 5 4 .220 Crawford,W ph 1 0 0 0 .271 Oliver cf 6 2 4 3 .324 Simmons 1b 5 1 2 0 .277 Stargell 1b 6 1 2 2 .244 Ferguson c 4 1 1 0 .234 Parker,D rf 6 2 3 3 .330 Solomon p 0 0 0 0 .000 Zisk lf 5 1 2 1 .302 Fairly ph 1 0 0 0 .172 Robinson,Bi 3b 4 1 1 0 .288 Cruz,Hec 3b 5 2 2 3 .201 Dyer c 3 0 1 1 .315 Harris cf 5 1 2 2 .182 Tekulve p 2 1 1 1 .250 Richard,L 2b 4 0 0 0 .120 Mendoza ss 0 0 0 0 .208 Rasmussen p 2 1 1 0 .056 Rooker p 2 0 0 0 .140 Hrabosky p 0 0 0 0 .000 Sanguillen c 3 1 1 0 .325 Rudolph c 1 0 0 0 .185 47 16 21 15 40 7 12 7 Cardinals INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Rasmussen 5.1 10 6 6 2 3 102 63 4.58 Hrabosky BS 5, L 3-4 0.0 5 6 6 1 0 22 11 3.38 Solomon 2.2 6 4 2 1 2 46 30 6.17 8.0 21 16 14 4 5 170 104 Pirates INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Rooker 5.1 10 6 5 2 0 83 49 3.33 Tekulve W 3-4 2.2 1 0 0 1 3 43 29 2.11 Giusti 1.0 1 1 1 0 0 10 6 3.90 9.0 12 7 6 3 3 136 84 StL: Rudolph inserted at c in the 6th Crawford,W batted for Anderson in the 8th Crawford,W moved to rf in the 8th Fairly batted for Solomon in the 9th Pit: Sanguillen inserted at c in the 6th Mendoza inserted at ss in the 9th E-Ferguson, Cruz,Hec, Solomon, Robinson,Bi. 2B-Simmons(30), Harris(3), Rasmussen(1), Stennett 2(24), Stargell(18), Parker,D(19). HR-Cruz,Hec 2(9), Parker,D(9). RBI-Kessinger(33), Anderson(12), Cruz,Hec 3(43), Harris 2(18), Stennett 4(29), Oliver 3(55), Stargell 2(54), Parker,D 3(41), Zisk(48), Dyer(10), Tekulve(1). SB-Taveras,F(38). K-Mumphrey, Harris, Rudolph, Stennett, Stargell, Parker,D 2, Rooker. BB-Mumphrey, Kessinger, Rasmussen, Taveras,F 2, Zisk, Robinson,Bi. PB-Ferguson. GWRBI: Stargell Temperature: 71, Sky: partly cloudy, Wind: out to left at 10 MPH.