On June 15 1962 – At Forbes Field Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente trade grand slams in a wild battle between the Braves and Pirates, but it is Clemente’s that ignites a seven-run rally in the 8th for a 9 – 8 Pirate victory.
Clemente’s blast — his second grand slam this season and the fifth of his career—overshadowed the performance of, Hank Aaron Aaron, who was four-for-five. had put the Braves ahead in the seventh on a grand slam.
Clemente noted for hitting bad balls. said after the game he wasn’t even sure what kind of a ball he had hit. He was looking for an inside ball, he said, but instead, got an outside pitch.
“I wasn’t very happy when I hit the home run,” he commented. “We were still behind I really felt happy when we tied the score and had a chance again.”
“Some people in the stands, you know, they thought we already lost the game and they started to leave.” Clemente said, “Then we got on base and I hit the home run and we came back. I bet a lot of those people are going to be surprised when they see in the paper that we won.”
The Pirates were losing 8-2 when two singles and a walk set up Clemente’s homer. A walk and three more singles put The Pirates ahead Dick Groat — celebrating his 10th anniversary in the major leagues Friday—drove in the winning run with a slashing single down the right-field line.
Jack Lamabe, the Pirates’ fourth pitcher, was credited with The victory, his first in The majors. Don Notterhart (0-2) took the loss. The win was the 7th in a row for the Bucs.
