SUBSCRIBE NEWSLETTERS
ADVERTISE| CLASSIFIEDS| JOBS| E-TRIB
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS NETWORK TRIBLIVE LOCAL
Western Pennsylvania's trusted news source
Tim Benz: Former Pirates kill their old team. If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry. | TribLIVE.com
Pirates/MLB

Tim Benz: Former Pirates kill their old team. If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry.

Tim Benz
Tim Benz
1595116_web1_1595116-a99b7f7eb1a0488d9698d2aa5b20715e
AP
Philadelphia Phillies’ Sean Rodriguez follows through after hitting a winning home run off Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Michael Feliz during the 11th inning of a baseball game, Monday, Aug. 26, 2019, in Philadelphia.
1595116_web1_AP19239118448740
AP
Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Michael Feliz, left, walks off the field after giving up a winning home run to Philadelphia Phillies’ Sean Rodriguez during the 11th inning of a baseball game, Monday, Aug. 26, 2019, in Philadelphia.

In the latest “just laugh because, if you don’t, you’ll just cry” moment of the 2019 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates lost to the Philadelphia Phillies Monday night.

How?

Glad you asked. Because former Pirate Corey Dickerson homered to give the Phillies a lead in the eighth inning.

Then another former Pirate, Sean Rodriguez, homered to end the game in the 11th inning.

So Philadelphia won 6-5 after those ex-Bucco heroics. All that was missing was Sid Bream sliding across home plate.

This result caused me to pose the following question on Twitter.

The responses were exactly what I was expecting.

I loved Mike Diaz as a kid. God, did I love him. Irrationally. I’m still holding out hope he becomes the next Willie Stargell.

A softball player in a baseball union. Diaz had his best numbers against the New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, and Atlanta Braves. Bonus points for that.

Pfft! Obviously! He would’ve just been walked with the bases loaded to save to the humiliation. #Respect.

Those two would’ve injured each other in the postgame celebration at home plate.

Fun fact. All three of those guys actually have homered against the Pirates. Ross’ eight career homers against Pittsburgh are second-best in his career behind only his total against St. Louis.

Nah. Philadelphia races cheesesteaks. Not sausages.

Al would’ve hit that ball off Michael Feliz harder than he “hit Leroy Hoard back in 1986.”

I can see him pulling a calf muscle in his home-run trot as we speak.

Still playing. In a Canadian hockey beer league. But still playing.

Tike Redman set the Nashville Sounds franchise record for the most triples with 32. Go ahead. Impress the ladies with that one at the local bar tonight. That one is on me. Thank me later.

Would’ve been even better if the Pirates brought back Jon Niese to pitch the eleventh.

Actually, come to think of it, is Niese starting for the Bucs Tuesday?

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.

Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.

Get Ad-Free >

Categories: Pirates/MLB | Sports | Breakfast With Benz | Tim Benz Columns
";