The Pirates clinch the National League East with a 2 – 1 win over the Mets. A record crowd of 50,469 cheer on the Bucs. It’s New York who draws first blood, capitalizing on Pirate starter Dock Ellis’ 1st-inning wildness. Pittsburgh right fielder Roberto Clemente, whose sprained back has limited him to seven games in September and four in the last 23 days, helps erase the early 1 – 0 deficit. “The two-bagger Clemente rapped to the center-field wall in the 3rd was a key blow,” reports The Cumberland Evening Times. “Tommie Agee, who had a bad defensive series, turned the wrong way on the ball,” writes Jack Hernon of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “When he eyed the ball at the last second, he dropped it.” Dave Cash moves to third on the play and scores on Bob Robertson’s sacrifice fly. Cash’s own sac fly in the following frame will push across the deciding run. This will be the ailing Clemente’s final regular season game this season; though he’ll strap it up for the Championship Series against Cincinnati, he’s clearly just a shell of his normal self. In the game, New York’s Ken Boswell, who had played a record 85 games at 2B without an error, boots a grounder in the 5th for his first miscue in 389 chances.
The Pirates clinch the National League East with a 2 – 1 win over the Mets. A record crowd of 50,469 cheer on the Bucs. It’s New York who draws first blood, capitalizing on Pirate starter Dock Ellis’ 1st-inning wildness. Pittsburgh right fielder Roberto Clemente, whose sprained back has limited him to seven games in September and four in the last 23 days, helps erase the early 1 – 0 deficit. “The two-bagger Clemente rapped to the center-field wall in the 3rd was a key blow,” reports The Cumberland Evening Times. “Tommie Agee, who had a bad defensive series, turned the wrong way on the ball,” writes Jack Hernon of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “When he eyed the ball at the last second, he dropped it.” Dave Cash moves to third on the play and scores on Bob Robertson’s sacrifice fly. Cash’s own sac fly in the following frame will push across the deciding run. This will be the ailing Clemente’s final regular season game this season; though he’ll strap it up for the Championship Series against Cincinnati, he’s clearly just a shell of his normal self. In the game, New York’s Ken Boswell, who had played a record 85 games at 2B without an error, boots a grounder in the 5th for his first miscue in 389 chances.
