By Bobster

Tuesday, September 6, 1960---The second-place Braves came into Pittsburgh for a 3-game series hoping to do some damage. And although the Pirates (82-51) won 2 of the 3, the Braves did indeed do some damage. Braves starter Lew Burdette hit Dick Groat on the left wrist with a first inning pitch. Groat remained in the game but by the third inning, the wrist had swollen enough that he was forced out of the game. Reserve infielder Dick Schofield batted for Groat in the third and singled. Skinner followed with an RBI-double and Skinner scored on a single by Stuart to put Pittsburgh ahead 2-0.

By Bobster

Monday, September 5, 1960---The second-place Braves came into Pittsburgh needing a sweep. But the teams split a Labor Day doubleheader to keep the Braves 6½ games behind. The first game matched Warren Spahn against Bob Friend. The Braves led 3-0 after their first 3 batters in the top of the first after Spangler walked, Crandall singled and Mathews went deep. The Bucs got 1 in the second when Smith tripled and Hoak singled to make it 4-1. When the Braves began the fourth inning with a triple by Bruton and a single by Logan to taker a 5-1 lead, Fred Green relieved Friend.

By Bobster

Sunday, September 4, 1960---A Pirate win over Philadelphia, combined with a Braves loss gave the Bucs (80-50) a 6½ game lead. The Pirates threatened in the first inning but didn’t score. Virdon led off with a walk and took third on a single by Groat. After Skinner fouled out to the catcher, Nelson was hit on the leg by a Jim Owens pitch. But Clemente struck out and Burgess popped out to end the threat.

By Bobster

Saturday, September 3, 1960---Phillies rookie Art Mahaffey (5-0) outdueled Vernon Law (19-6) and kept Law from winning his 20th. The Phillies won 3-2. Philadelphia got 2 unearned runs in the first inning after a Hoak error. But the Pirated made it 2-1 in the second on doubles by Burgess and Hoak. The Phillies added a run in the fourth to make it a 3-1 game. Dick Stuart struck out for Law in the sixth and Elroy Face pitched the final 3 scoreless innings of relief, yielding just 1 hit and striking out 5. The Bucs got a run in the eighth to make it 3-2 when Nelson and Clemente singled and Burgess hit a sac fly.

By Bobster

Friday, September 2, 1960---The Pirates were off on a Friday as they traveled back to Pittsburgh to host the Phillies. The Pirates led the Braves by 6½ games. First base coach Mickey Vernon was now activated for the September stretch run. Vernon, 42, had retired after the 1959 season after 19 years in the big leagues. He was a career .286 hitter who had spent most of his career with the Washington Senators. Vernon, a firstbaseman, was the A.L. batting champion in 1946 (.353) and 1953 (.337).

By Bobster

Thursday, September 1, 1960---Roberto Clemente homered for the third straight day as the Pirates (79-49) beat SF 6-1. Clemente hit a 3-run shot (his 13th) with Skinner (single) and Nelson (double) aboard in the first inning off Georges Maranda (1-3). The Giants got one back in the bottom of the first when Andre Rodgers tripled and scored on a Willie Mays single. The Giants were constantly threatening. Harvey Haddix struck out Willie Kirkland with 2 men aboard to end both the first and third innings.

By Bobster

Wednesday, August 31, 1960---The Pirates concluded a 21-10 August with a 7-4 win over the Giants in Candlestick Park. SF took a 1-0 lead against Mizell in the second inning and added 2 more in the fourth for a 3-0 lead. Mizell lasted only 4 innings as he was pinch hit for by Gene Baker in the fifth. Baker (.154) grounded out and Skinner was retired, but Clemente followed a Groat single with a 2-run HR (his 12th) off Giants’ starter Billy O’Dell to make it 3-2. Clem Labine pitched a scoreless fifth and the Pirates took the lead, 4-3, when Smith walked, Hoak singled pinch-runner Joe Christopher to second, Mazeroski got an RBI-single, and Skinner singled against reliever Sherman Jones to score Hoak.

By Bobster

Tuesday, August 30, 1960---The Pirates (77-49) beat the Dodgers 5-2 behind Bob Friend (14-11). With the Braves beating the Cardinals, the Bucs now led both teams by 6½ games. The Pirates took a 2-0 lead against Sandy Koufax (6-11) in the second inning. Stuart and Cimoli began the inning with singles but Smith bounced into a 5-4-3 DP.

By Bobster

Monday, August 29, 1960---The Pirates (76-49) broke their 4-game losing streak by clobbering the Dodgers 10-2 at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The Dodgers scored a run in the first inning against Vernon Law when Maury Wills doubled and scored on a single by Norm Larker. It remained 1-0 until the fourth when Stuart walked, Cimoli singled and Hal Smith drove a Johnny Podres (11-10) pitch over the stands for a 3-run HR (his 10th).

By Bobster

Sunday, August 28, 1960---St.Louis moved into a second-place tie with Milwaukee, 5½ games behind the Pirates (75-49), by sweeping the 3-game series against visiting Pittsburgh. It was the Pirates’ 4th consecutive loss. The Pirates took a 1-0 lead in the first when Clemente walked with 2 outs and came around from first to score on Stuart’s single combined with a throwing error by Julian Javier. But the Cards tied it 1-1 in the bottom of the first when Javier doubled and scored on Cunningham’s single.