8/22 Through the 1960s: Big 3, Hammerin' Hans, Swatfest, Tom & Vic Gems, Game Days, 50/50, Long Series, K-City, HBD Doug, Lyle, Swats, Howie & Ned

1857 - CF and manager Ned Hanlon was born in Montville, Connecticut. He played in 1889 and 1891 for the Pirates, hitting .252 with a year in between spent as a Pittsburgh Burgher in the Players League where he hit .278. He was a player/manager all three years, and “Foxy Ned” was credited with coming up with tactics such as the hit-and-run and the Baltimore chop. Hanlon was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans’ Committee in 1996.

1881 - RHP Howie Camnitz was born in Covington, Kentucky. The curveballer pitched nine seasons for Pittsburgh (1904-13), going 116-84 with a 2.63 ERA and posting three 20-win seasons. Camnitz was a member of the 1909 World Series club and spun 240+ innings for seven consecutive years. He finished his career by pitching a couple of years in the upstart Federal League for the Pittsburgh Rebels, earning his release in 1915 after a hotel fight (and a fading arm). Howie factoids: He was called “Rosebud” as a kid because of his red hair, tossed a curfew-shortened five inning no-hitter in 1907, was an early Bucco brother act with his sib Harry in 1909 and finally, became a car salesman after he retired.

1881 - 1B Harry “Swats” Swacina was born in St. Louis. Harry played the first two years (1907-08) of his four-year career (he played a couple of seasons in the Federal League) with Pittsburgh as a bench guy, batting .210 but earning a rep as a gold-glove defender. Per Brian McKenna’s book “Early Exits,” it wasn’t Swacina’s weak bat that ended his big league stay; it was a nasty letter to owner Barney Dreyfuss complaining about club practices that in effect got him blackballed. Swacina did carve out a long pro ball career from 1901-23 before he finally hung up the spikes. We assume his nickname is the shorthand form of his last name.

1893 - RHP Lyle Bigbee was born in Waterloo, Oregon. A farm boy with an imposing build, Lyle was a three-sports star at Oregon. Then he worked in the shipyards and the service before beginning his brief MLB career. In 1920, he worked for the Philadelphia A’s and the next year the Pirates brought him up from the minors where he joined his brother, Carson. The curveball whiz worked just eight IP for the Bucs, albeit with a 1.13 ERA, and was cast loose. His control was always an issue (he walked 29 hitters in 53 big league innings) and never made it back to the majors. He retired at age 30, playing semi-pro ball (he was a decent hitter & played some OF) while working as a farmer, watchman and in the shipyards for his daily bread.

Lyle Bigbee - 1922 American Caramel

1903 - The Pirates beat the last place Phillies 7-4 in the second game of a doubleheader sweep at Philadelphia. With that win, the Pirates had 1,409 wins and 1,409 losses since playing MLB in 1882, originally as the Alleghenys of the major league American Association (one of a couple of recognized-by-some Pittsburgh baseball birthdays). Even with several storm-tossed decades of losing ball, since the opener of that twin bill the Bucco franchise hadn’t dipped below .500 overall until 2025 and yo-yos back & forth now. 

1906 - Vic Willis edged the New York Giants’ Christy Mathewson 2-1 in a duel at Exposition Park. After falling behind in the first inning, the Pirates evened the score in the fifth on two errors followed by two walks, then took the marbles in the ninth when Claude Ritchey walked, was bunted to second, and scored with two down on Fred Clarke’s double to right center.

1907 - As the Pittsburgh Press reported “It was a regular swatfest from start to finish, the Buccaneers having no mercy...but hammering the ball to all corners of the lot” in a 20-5 win over the NY Giants at the Polo Grounds. George Gibson, Ed Abbaticchio and Alan Storke had four hits each while Tommy Leach and Fred Clarke had three. Lefty Leifield cruised to the win.

1910 - Honus Wagner led the Bucs to a 6-2 & 8-4 doubleheader sweep against the Philadelphia Phillies at Forbes Field, going 7-for-7 with two homers, three doubles and a sac fly. The Bucs set a record in the second game by being the first MLB team to hit three homers in an inning when pitcher Howie Camnitz (on his b-day), Vin Campbell and Hans connected. It was Camnitz’s only MLB home run, and some credit the outburst to the debut of the new cork-center NL ball.

Honus Wagner - 199 Brunner's Bread

1912 - Hans Wagner hit for the cycle in an 8-6 loss to the NY Giants at Forbes Field in the nightcap of a Forbes Field doubleheader played in front of 27,000 fans, a sell out. At the time, Hans was the oldest player in the league at age 40. In the twin bill's opener, Howie Camnitz out pitched Christy Mathewson for a 3-2 victory, with Hans going 3-for-4. On the day, the Dutchman had seven hits, scored five runs, plated four Buccos, and swiped two sacks.

1917 - The Pirates lost the longest game (by innings) that they ever played 6-5 in 22 frames to the Brooklyn Robins at Ebbets Field despite Carson Bigbee’s six hits (Bigbee set the MLB record with 11 at-bats in a single game). The game was the longest in National League history to that point. Poor Elmer Jacobs tossed 16-2/3 innings, giving up one run - and lost. The teams only used two pitchers each, and it took four hours and 19 minutes to complete the contest. The match was, as fate would have it, the opener of a double header; the second game went two innings before being called for darkness. It was the fourth straight extra-inning game for Pittsburgh, and third against Brooklyn. The Pirates set an overtime record by playing a total of 59 innings in those four games.

1925 - Pittsburgh swept a doubleheader from the second place NY Giants by 8-1 and 2-1 scores at the Polo Grounds behind the pitching of Lee Meadows and Vic Aldridge to take a five game lead in the NL race. Kiki Cuyler had three hits, including a homer, three RBI and two runs scored in the opener, while Glenn Wright’s two-run homer in the seventh was the difference in the nitecap. The Pirates pulled away from the Giants and won the pennant by 8-1/2 games.

1928 - The Bucs big three of Paul Waner, Lloyd Waner and Pie Traynor led Pittsburgh to a 10-3 win over the Boston Braves at Forbes Field. Big Poison and Pie had three hits and three RBI apiece while the Waner brothers each scored three runs. Erv Brame tossed a six-hitter for the win.  

Doug Bair - 1990 Homers

1949 - RHP Doug Bair was born in Defiance, Ohio. Doug was a second round pick of the Bucs in 1971 out of Bowling Green University, beginning and finishing his 15-year career in Pittsburgh. The middle reliever tossed here for a minute in 1976 as a rookie and closed out his 15-year career in 1989-90 with the Pirates, posting a Bucco line of 2-3-1/3.12 in 70 outings.

1952 - Ralph Kiner found a letter threatening his life unless $6,200 was stashed in a cab the next evening. Ralph called the police and then went out and hit his 27th homer of the year. He was under police guard for a while, and though the authorities suspected and questioned a taxi driver who they believed cooked up the plot, no one was ever charged and the case went cold.

1962 - Tom Sturdivant’s knuckler fluttered its way past the Colt .45 bats for eight whiffs as he tossed a three-hit, complete game whitewash against Houston at Forbes Field, winning 3-0. Bob Skinner’s two-run triple followed by Roberto Clemente’s sac fly in the third provided all the Bucco runs. Clemente preserved Snake’s shutout (he also had an outstanding curveball) by making a wall-crashing grab of Jim Pendleton’s ninth-inning drive with a runner on second.

1969 - Dock Ellis became the third straight Bucco starter to strike out 10 or more hitters in a game for the first time in club history when he K’ed 10 in a 8-2 win over Cincinnati at Forbes Field in front of 28,184 rooters, the biggest baseball crowd in Oakland since Opening Day. Roberto Clemente tripled and had four RBI while Al Oliver added a homer. The streak started when Luke Walker whiffed 11 in a 5-1 win against Houston on the 19th, followed by Bob Veale winning a 1-0 decision with 10 punch outs the next day against Denny Lemaster and the Astros, with both performances also tossed at Forbes Field. The whiff run ended in the second game of a twilight doubleheader when Steve Blass and Bruce Dal Canton came close but only could punch out nine, though the result was still good - the Bucs swept the twin bill by a 5-3 score on rookie Oliver’s two-run, ninth-inning walk off homer to extend their winning streak to six games.

8/22 From 1970: Candy & Nellie Gems, Boom Josh & Sid, Game Days, RIP Alfredo, Bucs HoF, Gregory Goes, HBD Chris & Drew

1970 - The Pirates beat Los Angeles 2-1 in 16 innings at Dodger Stadium. Roberto Clemente went 5-for-7 and scored the winning run when he led off the 16th with a single, stole second and came in on Jerry May’s two-out knock to left. Four Pirate pitchers scattered seven hits, with Bruce Dal Canton getting the win, but they kept it interesting by issuing 11 walks; they even allowed LA pitcher Don Sutton to steal the only base of his career. The Dodgers refused the visitor’s generosity, though - LA went 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position.

1972 - Nellie Briles tossed a one-hitter, giving up just a two-out, seventh-inning single to Ken Henderson, a high liner off of Willie Stargell’s mitt, to beat Juan Marichal and the SF Giants 1-0 at Candlestick Park. The game’s only score came in the first when Roberto Clemente reached on a two-out, two-base throwing error by 2B Tito Fuentes and came home on Pops’ double. Henderson was the only Giant baserunner; Briles didn’t walk anyone and whiffed six during his gem.

1974 - A sad day in Pirates history. The Salem Pirates of the Carolina League were playing the Rocky Mount Phillies at Salem's Municipal Stadium. Right fielder Alfredo Edmead charged in on a Texas League bloop, while 2B Pablo Cruz drifted back for the play. Edmead collided with Cruz - who, coincidentally, had signed Edmead to his first pro contract moonlighting as a part-time scout for the Pirates - striking his head on Cruz's knee, knocking Edmead unconscious. Phillies pitcher Jim Meerpohl related the incident to The Sporting News: "Cruz was seated on the ground, rolling up his pant leg, still very much in pain, but then we saw he had a knee brace, the old-fashioned kind with steel braces on each side. That damned steel had been like an axe to Edmead's head, with his left side of his skull from the frontal lobe across the top to the back of his skull sliced open about three-quarters of an inch and the bleeding was horrific." Edmead died an hour later from massive brain trauma and loss of blood at Lewis-Gale Hospital in Salem. At the age of 17, Edmead remains the youngest death of any professional baseball player in history, per Wiki. Still haunted, Cruz told Peter Gammons of Sports Illustrated in 2018 that “I have prayed for Alfredo every day since that night. I didn’t know that night how it happened. But it happened, and every day I think about Alfredo, I say a prayer for him, I grieve for him.”

Richie Zisk - 1975 Kelloggs 3-D Super Stars

1975 - Pittsburgh swept the Reds in a doubleheader at TRS by 7-2 and 4-2 tallies. In the opener, Richie Zisk homered twice and Rennie Stennett had three hits to support Larry Demery. John Candelaria spun a four-hitter in the second game, backed by homers smoked off the bats of Dave Parker and Richie Hebner. Both teams would go on to win their divisions, with the 108-win Reds sweeping the NLCS against the Bucs and then winning the World Series against the BoSox.

1979 - The Pirates scored twice in the seventh and added two more in the eighth to rally past the SF Giants at TRS, 8-6. Tim Foli had four RBI, and his two-out, two-run single up the middle drove in the winning runs in the eighth. Dave Parker also collected his 1,000th hit. Kent Tekulve, the last of four Pirate pitchers, got the win after tossing two scoreless innings of relief.

1982 - Charley Feeney of the Post Gazette wrote “Two bloops by the Pirates and one blooper by the Dodgers in the 14th inning capped a 4-3 win for the Bucs at Three Rivers Stadium.” The bloops were by Mike Easler and Dale Berra and the blooper made by LA’s Pedro Guerrero, who after a long run let Berra’s dink get past him, allowing The Hit Man to score the winning run. Easler had three hits while Berra and Jason Thompson had two apiece. Don Robinson, who worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the top of the 14th (LA stranded 13 runners), got the win. He followed Rick Rhoden, Enrique Romo, Rod Scurry and Kent Tekulve in the four-hour game. Richie Hebner started in right field, the first time he played an MLB game in the pasture. Chuck Tanner used The Gravedigger there 20 more times during the season to get his bat in the lineup.

1986 - The Pirates “Salute to the City” promo night at TRS looked more like a salute to Atlanta as the Braves jumped off to a 4-0 lead after seeing just 15 first-inning pitches from starter Larry McWilliams. But Jim Winn (who won) and Barry Jones combined to toss 8-2/3 frames of one-run ball (Pat Clements got the other out) and the bats came alive. Pittsburgh tied the game quickly, also plating four runs in the first, and then iced it when they tallied eight times in the sixth inning to surge a 16-5 romp. Sid Bream led the charge, going 5-for-5 with a homer, five RBI and four runs scored, getting a curtain call from the faithful (their love would later change). Johnny Ray had three knocks and scored four times, Jim Morrison went deep with three hits/three runs driven home, and RJ Reynolds also chased home three runs. 27,517 fans were in the house and got to see old Bucco skipper/current Brave manager Chuck Tanner get the thumb after starting a losing rhubarb with plate ump Tom Hallion during the Pirates sixth inning explosion.

Sid Bream - 1986 Topps

1990 - RHP Drew Hutchison was born in Lakeland, Florida. Drew was the return for Francisco Liriano plus minor leaguers Reese McGuire and Harold Ramirez in a 2016 contract-dump deadline deal with Toronto. He got into six games that year with no decisions and a 5.56 ERA, spent 2017 at AAA Indianapolis and then was DFA’ed at the end of the year. He bounced around and last played in 2024 in Mexico. McGuire was released by the White Sox in 2026 while Ramirez played for five MLB clubs and is now plying his trade in Mexico.

1990 - RHP Chris Stratton was born in Tupelo, Mississippi. A first round pick of the Giants in 2010, he went 15-14/4.63 for SF from 2016-18, then was traded to the Los Angeles Angels in 2019. He was beat up there, DFA’ed, and purchased by the Pirates who were thin in pitching after a rash of injuries. The converted starter was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals with Jose Quintana in 2022 and last pitched for the LA Dodgers in 2025.

1992 - It was a day of threes and twos for the Buccos in their 9-2 win over the Giants at Candlestick Park. Three Pirates homered, Barry Bonds and Jay Bell had three RBIs, and Bonds and Jeff King had three hits. Doublets registered were two-run homers by Bonds, Bell and Mike LaValliere, Spanky had two RBI, Alex Cole and Andy Van Slyke scored twice and Bell had a pair of knocks. It all added up to Doug Dabek’s tenth win of the campaign.

1998 - 45,082 fans jammed TRS to see Mark McGwire and weren’t disappointed; he got a big cheer when he stepped to the plate and an ovation when he sent a Francisco Cordoba offering 477’ for his 52nd homer, the first NL player to hit that mark since George Foster in 1977. With that out of the way, the Bucs rolled to their sixth straight win by a 14-4 count. Jason Kendall (three runs, two RBI) and Tony Womack (two runs, one RBI) had three hits while Kevin Young chased home four runners to pace the attack. Cordoba lasted six frames, giving up three long balls, but had plenty enough support to claim credit for the win.

Jason Kendall - 1998 Pacific Aurora

2007 - The Bucs bashed six homers (Nate McLouth - two, Freddy Sanchez, Xavier Nady, Jason Bay, Jack Wilson) to bang out an 11-2 decision over the Colorado Rockies and old matey Josh Fogg at Coors Field. Sanchez had four hits and three RBI to plow the road for Tom Gorzelanny’s win with Frankie Osoria and John Grabow finishing up the final three frames.

2009 - The Pirates won their fifth straight game, pounding the Reds 12-2 at PNC Park as Pittsburgh jumped out to a quick 3-0 first-inning lead on the strength of four ground-ball singles and never looked back. Ryan Doumit and Garrett Jones went 3-for-5, plating three RBI each, with Dewey coming up a triple short of a cycle and even swiping a base. Zach Duke won his 10th game of the season. The streak ended the next day and the Bucs finished the season out by going 11-29.

2013 - A seven-run fifth inning carried the Pirates to a 10-5 victory over the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. The Bucs had just four hits in the frame, the key blow being a Jose Tabata two-out double with the bases loaded, but three walks and a bopped batter kept the party going. Garrett Jones and Jordy Mercer each hit solo home runs off the Giants Matt Cain in the second inning. Tabata finished the night 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored while Jeanmar Gomez, the second of four twirlers, earned his third win by pitching three no-hit innings. 

2014 - Josh Harrison had a career-high five RBI, all coming with two outs, to lead the Bucs to an 8-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. He had a double and a homer while Andrew McCutchen added another moon shot. Jeff Locke went six innings for the win; he gave up just two hits though the Nibbler walked an unsightly six batters. The Pirate staff gave up eight free passes, while recording just one strikeout, but the Brew Crew stranded nine runners.

Josh Harrison - 2014 Topps Update

2015 - In front of a sold-out house at PNC Park, the Pirates took a 3-2 decision from the Giants in dramatic fashion. Gerrit Cole gave up a run on a walk, stolen base, error and broken bat single; Joakim Soria gave up the game-tying run in the eighth on a walk that came home on a two-out wild pitch. The Pirates scores came when Jung-Ho Kang homered off starter Mike Leake and then off reliever Hunter Strickland. George Kontos struck out the first two Bucco batters in the ninth, then Starling Marte ripped Pittsburgh’s third homer on a first pitch cutter to walkoff with the win, claimed by Mark Melancon, who spun a six-pitch ninth. The Pirates had just four hits, and thanks to a couple of caught stealing tries, left no runners on base. Kang became the third South Korean-born ballplayer with a multi-homer game, joining Hee-Seop Choi and Shin-Soo Choo. 

2021 - The Pirates placed struggling OF Gregory Polanco on waivers; the Pirates were the only organization Polanco had played with since he was signed in 2009. El Coffee was the last remaining player from the 2013-15 Pirates playoff years, but injuries to his knee/shoulder and performance had eroded his value: from 2019-21, he hit just .197 while compiling a WAR of -3.1, and his shoulder made him an outfield liability. He’s now playing in Japan.

2025 - You couldn't ask for much more from the young Bucco arms of winner Braxton Ashcraft (5 IP, one hit, 6 K) and Bubba Chandler (4 IP, two hits, 3 K), who was called up on this day and got the save in his first outing, in a 9-0 romp over Colorado at PNC Park. The attack was started early by Andrew McCutchen, who had four RBI with two 2Bs, while Tommy Pham, Spencer Horwitz and Alexander Canario homered. Ashcraft ran his slate to 4-2/2.70 while Chandler became the first Pirate and fourth player in MLB history to earn a four-inning save in his big-league debut since saves became a stat. The pre-game was solid, too, as the Pirates introduced their 2025 Hall of Fame class of Kiki Cuyler, Vernon Law & Al Oliver and also ran a scoreboard vid tribute to Clint Hurdle, who was warmly received by the crowd of 22,826 fans upon returning to the ‘Burg as a Rox coach. And if that wasn’t enough going on for a Friday night, lady ump Jen Pawol made her Pirates/PNC Park debut and was behind the plate two days later to call Paul Skene’s start against the Rockies. The whole shebang had a fitting finish - it ended with a fireworks show.

8/21 Through the 1960s: Frank & Donn Star, Run It Up, Pinch Lynch, Bob's #1000, Nick Knocks, Duelin', Game Days, Rowdy Busted, HBD Murry, Cobe, Preacher, Jim & Chief

1883 - OF John Owen “Chief” Wilson was born at his family's ranch in Bertram, Texas. (Chief, by the way, wasn’t a Native American.) Wilson set the organized baseball record of 36 triples in 1912, though oddly he never had more than 14 three-baggers in his other eight big league campaigns. Chief was a Pirate for six years (1908-13), driving in a league-leading 107 runs in 1911 and hitting .274 as a Bucco. He was the starting RF for the 1909 World Championship club. He played three final seasons for St. Louis and retired to his Texas ranch, passing away at age 70. His moniker has a couple of possible origins: one is that it was given by manager Fred Clarke, who thought the clean cut Wilson looked like a "Chief of the Texas Rangers." Another is that he and Hans Wagner attended a Wild West show when Wilson was a rookie, and that Honus thought the darkly tanned outfielder looked like one of the Indian chiefs in the act, per Ron Waldo in his book  “Honus Wagner and His Pittsburgh Pirates...” 

1902 - Sam Leever outdueled Christy Mathewson 2-0 in the opener of a doubleheader at Exposition Park; Leever surrendered three hits and Matty six. Tommy Leach and Hans Wagner each had a pair of hits and scored. The Giants bats woke up in the second game as New York earned a split on the day with an 8-1 victory. The Pittsburgh Press astutely noted that “(Deacon) Phillippe’s steady pitching was just to the liking of the Giants.”

1902 - Barney Dreyfuss announced the suspension of C Rowdy Jack O’Connor because he was recruiting players from the powerhouse Pirates club to switch leagues, under the direction of AL President Ban Johnson. O’Connor even held a meeting with Johnson, who claimed he was in Pittsburgh to do spadework for an AL franchise to compete against the Pirates, and to lure some teammates to the rival American League, which was coolly interrupted by manager Fred Clarke. The main target was Hans Wagner, who refused to bite even though the junior circuit was offering $1,000 signing bonuses and hefty $15-16,000 contracts over two years (Honus topped out at $10K at Pittsburgh) to prospective jumpers. Dreyfuss found out about the raid from Jess Tannehill, who blabbed about the conspiracy while under anesthetic to have a dislocated shoulder put back into place, per Ronald Waldo’s book “The 1902 Pirates: Treachery and Triumph.” Barney was wise to foil the machinations of Johnson and keep the club together; the 1903 team won 91 games and the National League flag, meeting Boston in what’s considered baseball’s first World Series.

1905 - OF Jim Mosolf was born in Puyallup, Washington. Jim played the first three of his four big league seasons as a bench bat for the Pirates from 1929-31, hitting .315 over that span mainly as a deluxe pinch-hitter. Jim spent eight years in the minors, mostly in the PCL, where he batted .321 over his career.

Preacher Hebert - 1943 via Out Of The Ball Park

1907 - LHP Wally “Preacher” Hebert was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Wally was the epitome of the wartime baseball warrior - the sidewinding southpaw tossed for three years for the St. Louis Browns and then returned after a decade-long stint in the Pacific Coast League to pitch for the 1943 Pirates at the age of 35, going 10-11/2.98 before retiring back to the bayou to farm and fish. His nickname, per Wikipedia, is a slightly twisted tale: Hebert got the nickname ‘Preacher’ in first grade when he wore a hat to school that his classmates thought was a preacher's hat. However, the travelog book “The Walk West, A Walk Across America 2” that included a visit to Wally has a different version. Hebert claims that he got his nickname from baseball, and that it was originally “Mississippi Mudcat.” However, another player had that moniker, so his teammates changed the nickname to “Preacher” and he never could figure out why.

1907 - SS Coburn “Cobe” Jones was born in Denver. Cobe played in just 26 games, all as a Pirate, from 1929-30, hitting .265 in 65 at-bats. His playing career was cut short by diabetes, diagnosed in 1929. Starting in 1932, he was director of boys programs for a hometown community center, managed Denver’s minor league club for a spell and scouted. Cobe, a four-sports star in HS, was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1973.

1908 - The Pittsburgh Press wrote that “Nick Maddox was pretty nearly the whole show at Exposition Park...” and the reporter was right. Maddox tossed a seven-hit complete game, had three hits and drove in both Bucco runs in a 2-1 win over the Brooklyn Superbas. It was Nick’s eighth straight win and put the Bucs in first place; they would finish the year with 98 wins, one game behind the Chicago Cubs in one of baseball’s most thrilling pennant races.

1916 - RHP Murry Dickson was born in Tracy, Missouri. He tossed five years (1949-53) for some sad Pirate teams, leading the league in losses in 1952-53. But he also won 34 games in 1951-52 for Buc squads that tasted victory just 106 times, so he was responsible for nearly 1/3 of the Pirate wins during that span. Murry finished with a Pittsburgh final line of 66-85/3.83 and was an All Star in 1953. The soft-tossing righty put in 18 big league years with five teams before retiring after the 1959 season. He became a carpenter after his playing days.

1943 - Al Lopez wasn’t much of a power guy, but he sure knew how to milk the drama with a long ball. The Pirates were losing 3-2 to the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds. Lopez was at the dish with a runner on first, two outs and two strikes on him when he bopped his first (and only) fence-clearer of the year to give the Bucs a 4-3 victory over the G-Men. Billy Brandt tossed the last two innings of the game (Xavier Rescigno started) for his first dub of the season.

Murry Dickson - 1953 Red Man

1953 - After 13 straight wins, the first place Brooklyn Dodgers finally lost, going down to birthday boy Murry Dickson and the last-place Pirates 7-1 at Forbes Field. Frank Thomas had a homer and four RBI to lead the batsmen.

1953 - The Pirates Ralph Kiner and the Yankees Allie Reynolds, the NL and AL player reps of the newly formed MLBPA, announced that they had hired New York Sports attorney J. Norman Lewis for $15,000 as an advisor after baseball had rejected their proposals for an increased minimum wage and greater pension contributions. Lewis wasn’t much help; the owners refused to meet with him. Now they don’t get along much better, but they do meet.

1962 - Down 6-4 in the ninth against the Mets at the Polo Grounds, the Pirates loaded the bases with one out on an infield single (Bob Skinner’s 1,000th MLB rap) and two walks. Danny Murtaugh called on Jim Marshall to pinch hit. He hit a grounder to third, but Felix Mantilla’s throw to first was airmailed, allowing Skinner, Howie Goss and a sliding Roberto Clemente to score. The Bucs added another tally to win by an 8-6 count, New York’s 14th straight loss, giving Diomedes Olivo the win after a Roy Face save. The Mets finally got into the win column in the nightcap in equally dramatic style when Marvelous Marv Throneberry, who had been coaching first (he was pulling double duty), came up to pinch hit with two outs in the ninth and belted an overworked Face’s fourth pitch into the right field upper deck to earn a 5-4 split for the Metropolitans.

1963 - Jerry Lynch set a MLB record for pinch-hit home runs when he hit his 15th to best George Crowe’s mark, a ninth-inning blast off Lindy McDaniel. He drilled a 3-1 fastball that gave the Pirates a 7-6 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Lynch retired in 1966 with 18 pinch-hit homers, the record until Cliff Johnson broke it in 1984. Matt Stairs holds the MLB mark with 23.

1968 - The Bucs lit up the Reds at Forbes Field by a 19-1 count, banging out 23 hits. They were led by the top and bottom of the order - leadoff man Matty Alou and eight-hole hitter Gene Alley each had four hits; Roberto Clemente homered twice and Donn Clendenon had five RBI with a dinger on the day. Steve Blass lasted for eight innings, with ElRoy Face sealing the deal in the ninth. Cincinnati didn’t leave empty-handed - Johnny Bench won a pre-game home run derby, netting $150 that was split among the three Redleg participants (the Bucs shared $100 among their trio of Donn Clendenon, Bill Mazeroski and Manny Jiminez).

8/21 From 1970: B-Rey Day, Rennie Hurt, Game Days, SI Dock, Big Daddy & Joey Bats Dealt, Giles POTW, Tabata Signs, Bucs HoF, HBD Luke, Jeff, Jesse, Ramon & Lou

1971 - Dock Ellis was featured on the cover of The Sporting News for the story “Sound Off.” That’s the year Ellis told the media that NL All-Star Team manager Sparky Anderson would "never start two brothers against each other" as Vida Blue was starting for the AL. Anderson surprised Ellis (or played into his hand) by naming him the starter. Dock may have been better off muted; he was the losing pitcher in the game, giving up a titanic shot to Reggie Jackson.

1973 - IF Lou Collier was born in Chicago. He began his eight-year career as a Bucco in 1997-97, hitting .235 after being selected in the 31st round of the 1992 draft from Kishwaukee College. He spent two years in Korea after his MLB days and retired from baseball in 2007. He founded the Lou Collier Baseball Association, recruiting Chi-town kids out of rec center/little league teams to showcase their skills. He’s also an area scout for KC.

1976 - IF Ramon Vazquez was born in Aibonito, Puerto Rico. He spent the final campaign of his nine-year career with Pittsburgh in 2009, hitting .230 while playing third, short and second. Since retiring, he’s coached for San Diego, Houston, and currently is with Boston, along with managing Santurce (Roberto Clemente’s old club) in the Puerto Rican League.

1977 - Rennie Stennett broke his right ankle sliding into second against the Giants at Three Rivers Stadium and was lost for the year. Rennie never recovered fully, and his best BA after the accident was just .244. At the time, Stennett was the NL’s #2 hitter, batting .336 and fell 12 at-bats short of qualifying for the title, though his .336 BA would have been nosed out by the eventual winner, teammate Dave Parker, who hit .338. To rub some salt into the wound, the Bucs lost the game, 5-4. The second baseman left the Pirates after the ‘79 campaign to join San Francisco, inking a big five-year deal, but was never the same player and was released after two seasons on the Bay at age 31.

Jesse Chavez - 2009 O-Pee-Chee

1983 - RHP Jesse Chavez was born in San Gabriel, California. He started out with the Pirates in 2008-09, going 1-5/4.48 from the bullpen after arriving as the return from Texas for Kip Wells. In turn, the Bucs sent him to Tampa Bay in 2009 for 2B Akinori Iwamura. Jesse tossed for nine teams in 18 seasons and was with the Braves when his MLB road ended in 2025. When he pitched for Oakland, they had converted him to the rotation, though most clubs preferred him out of the pen - in 657 MLB outings, he started 85 times. Jesse was pretty strictly a mid-inning guy; he earned just nine saves, although he won 51 games.  

1983 - 1B Jeff Clement was born in Marshalltown, Iowa. He was a highly touted power hitter from Southern Cal and was taken third overall in the 2005 draft by Seattle. The Pirates got him from the Mariners in 2009 as part of the return for Ian Snell and Jack Wilson. Jeff got a look-see in 2010 and again in 2012, putting up a .193 BA, and retired from baseball in 2014. 

1984 - Johnny Ray and Dale Murphy exchanged homers at TRS, and the Bucs and Braves had a 4-4 match going into the ninth. Don Robinson put the Bravos away (he fanned five-of-six batters he faced) and after a leadoff double by Denny Gonzalez to open the ninth, Gene Garber came on for Atlanta, giving up a sac bunt followed by a pair of intentional walks. Kinda iffy strategy for the Bravos, setting up a RHP v LHB situation against a guy who already had a pair of knocks, CF Marvell Wynne. It went the Pirates way as Wynne’s single was the walkoff hit, giving Robby a well-deserved 5-4 win.

1987 - Vet RHP Rick Reuschel was sent to the Giants for two pitchers, righties Jeff Robinson and Scott Medvin. Reuschel had two strong years on the Bay, winning 36 games and earning an All-Star berth. Robinson lasted three years in Pittsburgh as a fairly solid reliever/spot starter (20-19-17/3.98) while Medvin (3-1/5.03 in 23 Bucco outings) was traded to Seattle in May, 1990 after spending most of his Pirates time in the minors at Buffalo. 

Luke Walker - 1972 Topps

1993 - RHP Luke Weaver was born in DeLand, Florida. The St. Louis Cards selected Weaver with the 27th pick of the first round of the 2014 draft out of Florida State. Weaver has gotten around since - when the Pirates got him from the Mets in 2026 for Sammy Stafura, Pittsburgh became his eighth team in 11 MLB outings. He was a setup guy for NY, but should get a look at closing for the Pirates; he posted eight saves in '25, so he's been there. Luke makes $9.5M in ‘26 and is signed for $12.5M for 2027, so another plus was that he wasn’t a rental. 

1995- It was a pretty ho-hum 5-3 win by the Bucs over the Marlins at TRS, but it was a notable victory. Not only was it their first sweep of the year, but it was a five-game broom job, their longest winning streak of the season (they won the next contest, too, to make it a season-best six-game streak).

1998 - All nine Pirates starters had hits, eight had RBI and seven scored in a 14-2 romp over the Reds at TRS. Kevin Young banged out three knocks and five other Bucco had a pair of raps as the Bucs collected 17 hits and six walks. Al Martin and Jason Kendall homered; Pittsburgh whacked five doubles and a triple. Chris Peters went seven innings for the decision. The batfest was part of a 15-game streak of the Pirates scoring four or more runs.

2000 - OF Brian Giles was named the NL’s co-POTW, along with Todd Helton. Giles was 11-of-21 with three doubles, a triple and three homers, scoring six times and chasing home eight runs. It was the fourth time Giles had earned the award.

2008 - 3B Jose Bautista was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for a PTBN (C Robinzon Diaz). Bautista bloomed as a slugger in Toronto and while no one saw it coming at the time, it ended up among the more lopsided deals in Bucco history - Joey Bats spent 10 years with the Jays and pounded 288 dingers while Diaz played 43 games in two Bucco seasons. A side note: the Pirates were trying to pry C Brian Jeroloman loose for Jose. Jeroloman, a prospect that never played MLB (he spent 11 years with various farm clubs), did eventually end up a Bucco, albeit at Indy, when he was sold to the club in 2013. He was traded away in May to the Nationals. The FO had kept its eye on Jeroloman before that, claiming him off waivers in 2011, but then DFA’ed him three days later.

Jose Tabata - 2011 Topps Allen & Ginter

2011 - The Pirates announced a six-year extension of Jose Tabata’s contract. It guaranteed him $15M and included three club option years. JT’s advisers quit, believing the terms were too team friendly; they were wrong. From 2012-15, JT hit .267/96 OPS+ for the Bucs and logged lots of minor league innings before being traded to the LA Dodgers at the 2015 deadline; they released him in 2016, and after bouncing around some, he hasn’t played since 2021-22.

2020 -  OF Bryan Reynolds drove in four runs and scored three more to lead the Pirates to a 7-2 win against the Brewers, collecting three hits including a homer and triple. It was a red-letter day for RHP Chad Kuhl, too, who went five frames and picked up his first win since June, 2018, after missing the entire 2019 campaign while recovering from TJ surgery. 1B Colin Moran and SS Cole Tucker added three more hits apiece as the Bucs banged out 14 knocks at PNC Park.

2023 - The Cards called up lefty Drew Roms to make his debut at PNC Park, and he probably wished that his bus had a flat as the Pirates scored eight times (six runs earned) in 3-2/3 IP off him en route to an 11-1 victory. Reliever Thomas Hatch started and went three before Bailey Falter worked the final six frames for the win, his first of the year. Josh Palacios played his first MLB game against sibling Richie of the Redbirds, and with their proud parents in the stands, he put on a big bro show of muscle with a homer and double good for five RBI. Connor Joe banged out three doubles & scored four times while Endy Rodriguez added three more hits. The Bucs posted 16 hits, eight for extra bases.

2025 - The Pirates Hall of Fame added 1960 World Series winner/Cy Young awardee RHP Vern Law, 1971 WS champ CF/1B Al Oliver and 1925 WS victor/Hall of Famer OF Kiki Cuyler, bringing the franchise HoF up to 29 members since its inception in 2022. The ceremony was followed the next day by the annual Hall of Fame Game, this year against the Colorado Rockies.

8/20 Through the 1960s: Big Bob Gem, Extra Extras, Batfest, Dirty Dozen, Game Days, Ump ER, No To Union, Bobby-Cozy, HBD Al, Bull & Robert

1869 - RHP Robert Gibson was born in Duncansville, Pennsylvania, near Altoona. He tossed in the show in 1890, working a game for the Chicago Colts (a shutout) and then finishing up with three more starts with the Alleghenys, doing not so well with an 0-3/17.25 line, while also playing a little outfield. He did better at forging a career after he hung up the spikes, though - the Washington & Jefferson grad worked for Allegheny County/US Magistrate as an attorney, then was appointed as a Federal judge for the Western District in 1922, and became the chief judge, a position he filled (the last year was as an appointed senior judge) until his 1949 death. He’s buried in Homewood Cemetery.

1880 - OF Lewis “Bull” Smith was born in Plum, West Virginia. He was raised in an orphanage but overcame that humble beginning to become a West Liberty and later WVU multi-sports star & grad, leaving school with a law degree. Bull played sparingly in the MLB, with his 13-game 1904 season as a member of the Pirates his longest stay, hitting .143 (he got one-game cups of coffee with the Cubs in ‘06 and the Senators in ‘11). Baseball wasn’t his only strong suit, though - he was also a halfback for the Canton Bulldogs in 1905-06, playing in the NFL’s forerunner, the Ohio League. He managed and played locally at Clarksville & Charleston after his big league days. He later became a lumberman and school teacher. Bull passed away in 1928 in Charleston.

1883 - According to Charlton’s Baseball Chronology, after the Eclipse-Pittsburgh game at Exposition Park (won by Louisville, 8-2), Allegheny OFs Billy Taylor and Mike Mansell‚ along with 2B George Creamer, were each fined $100 and suspended indefinitely for drunkenness.

1903 - The Pirates set a record for futility in the first inning of a twin bill at the Polo Grounds, committing six errors (they would boot eight balls during the game) and allowing seven runs to the NY Giants in a 13-7 loss. But they came back in the nitecap behind Deacon Phillippe, who tossed a five-hit, 4-1 winner against NY, backed by Fred Clarke’s home run and a mere two errors. The split kept the Pirates five games ahead of the G-Men in the NL pennant race.

1908 - Hall of Fame catcher Al Lopez was born in Tampa. He caught seven years (1940-46) for the Pirates, hitting .254 with a rep as one of the finest defensive catchers in baseball and earning a 1941 All-Star berth. After his playing days, Lopez found success as a manager of the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox (2,414 wins), and was elected into the Hall in 1977.

Al Lopez - 1977 TCMA

1912 - Umpires William Brennan (twisted knee) and Clarence “Brick” Owens (foul to the chest) were both out of action by the second inning and transported to St. John’s Hospital, leaving no one to call the game, but the twin bill at Forbes Field nevertheless went on. Pirates manager Fred Clarke selected 1B Ham Hyatt to decide the bases while Brooklyn skipper Bill Dahlen chose C Eddie Phelps to make the calls at the plate. The Pirates took the opener 3-2, but the Dodgers came back to run away with the nightcap 9-1 as Hyatt and Phelps passed their test of fire and also arbitrated the second match. Both of the original men in blue were pretty banged up - Brennan ended up with torn ligaments in his knee and Owens tore ligaments in his rib cage.

1913 - The Pirates traded P Howie Camnitz and 3B Bobby Byrne to the Philadelphia Phillies for third baseman Albert “Cozy” Dolan and cash. Camnitz and Byrne were at the end of their effective careers (Bryne had a strong 1914 before fading), and Dolan was traded at the end of the year, so even though a couple of big names were involved, it ended up a minor deal. Cozy was banned from baseball in 1924 as a coach after being involved with a bribe offer during a heated pennant race. He didn’t get his nickname by being cozy with the bookies, though, but rather from a namesake baseball predecessor, Patrick “Cozy” Dolan. Fortunately for league scorekeepers, there was a five-year break between Patrick’s last game and Albert’s MLB debut.

1939 - Pittsburgh dropped its 12th straight game by a 9-5 score to the Cubs in the first game of a doubleheader at Forbes Field. Bob Klinger took the loss. The streak was the longest in Bucco history (although the Alleghenys had a couple of longer runs and it’s been topped several times since) and the longest in the majors for the year. But they finally got back on the right side of the ledger by taking the second game 5-0, which was called after six innings following a 40-minute rain delay. Max Butcher claimed the win, backed by Elbie Fletcher’s two-run homer and two-hit afternoons by Johnny Rizzo and Fern Bell.

1945 - The Pirates hit two homers (Babe Dahlgren, Pete Coscarart), two triples (Lee Handley, Jim Russell) and two doubles (Tommy O’Brien, Johnny Barrett) to romp over the Brooklyn Dodgers 11-1 at Ebbets Field. The Bucs scored three times in the first inning and five more times in the ninth while Preacher Roe scattered eight hits. O’Brien and Frankie Gustine led the lumber parade with three hits each. Da Bums had two noteworthy sidebars: they committed seven errors during the game (although just two runs were unearned), and 17-year-old Dodger SS Tommy Brown became the youngest player to hit a MLB home run.

Tommy O'Brien - 1943 photo via Out Of The Ball Park 

1946 - The Pirates voted against recognizing the American Baseball Guild as their bargaining agent by a 15-3 count with 10 abstentions in a pregame Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board election. They then whipped the Brooklyn Dodgers, 10-0, at Forbes Field behind Nick Strincevich’s four-hitter. Elbie Fletcher banged a three-run homer and Jim Russell had three hits that chased four Buccos home to give Strincevich plenty of breathing room.

1947 - It wasn’t a very good day for pitchers as Pittsburgh bludgeoned its way to a 16-10 win over Boston at Braves Stadium. 19 players banged out 34 hits - and oddly enough, not one of them cleared a fence. The leader of the pack was the Pirates’ Jim Russell, who went 5-for-6 with a double and triple, five RBI and three runs scored. Jimmy Bloodworth wasn’t far behind, going 4-for-5 with three RBI and two runs. The offensive onslaught wasn’t all on the hurlers; the two teams combined to commit six errors, allowing 10 unearned runs to score.

1953 - The Pirates used four Philadelphia Phillies errors to beat Robin Roberts 5-2 at Connie Mack Stadium, ending his 15-game winning streak against them. It took a little help: four of the Bucco runs were unearned gifts. The winner was 19-year-old Jim Waugh, who tossed a six-hitter. 

1961 - The Cubs and Pirates tied an NL record by playing their third straight extra-inning game at Wrigley Field. Chicago took this one 1-0 when Billy Williams singled home the winning run with two outs in the 11th, making Bob Friend a loser to Don Cardwell; both pitchers went the distance. The clubs had split the first pair; all three games went 11 innings.

1969 - Bob Veale tossed a four-hitter with one walk and 10 Ks to defeat the Houston Astros and Denny Lemaster 1-0 at Forbes Field. The big lefty allowed just one runner beyond first during the contest. The match’s only run scored in the eighth, when back-to-back Astro errors and a successful bunt set the table for Roberto Clemente’s game-winning sac fly. It also capped a four contests long complete games streak (he went the distance nine times in 34 starts) and was part of an eight-game winning streak for Veale.

8/20 From 1970: Bell Sounds, Reggie's Inning, KY Day, Gems, 70+ Swipes, Danny's #1000, Game Days, John-Willie, HBD Noah & Matt

1975 - Manager Danny Murtaugh’s 1,000th win (he finished with 1,115 dubs, all with the Buccos) went in the books after a 3-1 victory over the Giants at TRS. He became the second Pittsburgh skipper to reach that milestone, after Fred Clarke and his 1,422 dubs. The Pirates scored their runs in the bottom of the eighth inning on Craig Reynold’s double and a two-run knock by Rennie Stennett. Winner Jim Rooker pitched eight innings of three-hit ball with Dave Giusti closing.

1978 - The Pirates defeated the Astros in a TRS twin bill by 7-6 and 3-1 scores. The two wins gave the Bucs a six game sweep of the ‘Stros, followed by a three-game brooming of the Braves that would take them from 9-1/2 games back in the division race to 3-1/2. The opener was sloppy; the Pirates committed three errors, opening the gates for three unearned runs, but homers by Willie Stargell and Dale Berra (his first MLB long ball) along with 14 hits (Frank Taveras had four raps and Stargell three) carried the day. Jim Rooker got the win with a Kent Tekulve save. Jerry Reuss went the distance in the second game, backed by a pair of Ed Ott homers. It was Reuss’ first win of the year in his ninth start; he had been largely ineffective and given a bullpen role for much of the summer. It was also the first time a team had swept a six game series (or even played one, per the Pittsburgh Press) in the modern era. The Bucs sizzled during the dog days, going 39-21 over the last two months of the season, but got it together too late. They fell 1-1/2 games short of the Phils in ‘78 and would have to wait for next year.

1980 - Omar Moreno stole his 70th base of the year in a 5-1 loss at the Astrodome, becoming the first player in the 20th century with three consecutive 70-steal seasons. The Antelope swiped 71 in 1978, 77 in 1979 and finished 1980 with a career-high 96 successful larcenies. He swiped 412 sacks in an eight-year Bucco stay, behind only Max Carey (688) and Hans Wagner (639) in the franchise record book, with 487 bases stolen during his career.

1981 - Pittsburgh traded John Milner to the Expos for Willie Montanez in a flip of reserve first basemen. Neither did much for their new teams, and Montanez was released after the 1982 season, ironically so that the Pirates could bring free agent Milner back for his final MLB campaign.

Jose DeLeon - 1984 Topps

1983 - Jose DeLeon took a no-hitter into the seventh inning for the third time during the season, but Cincinnati's Dan Driessen doubled with two outs to spoil the no-no. DeLeon finished with 13 strikeouts and a 4-0 two-hit victory at TRS. Jason Thompson and Tony Pena had two hits, a run and an RBI each. DeLeon went 7-3/2.83 in his rookie season, and although he never became an ace, he lasted 13 years in the show while pitching for five different clubs.

1985 - 1B Matt “The Hit Collector” Hague was born in Bellevue, Washington. The Pirates selected Hague in the ninth round of the 2008 draft out of Oklahoma State as a third baseman; he was switched to first because of Pedro Alvarez. He got his nickname because in the minors it was said all he did was hit, but in two Pittsburgh stays (2012 & 2014), he stroked just .222 and was waived to Toronto, where he played in 2015. He spent a year in Japan, then signed with the Twins organization. Matt’s now the Pirates hitting coach.

1988 - John Smiley and Jim Gott held the Astros to seven hits as the Bucs defeated Houston and Nolan Ryan by a 2-1 count at Three Rivers Stadium with the contest aired as the NBC Game of the Week. The Pirates used a two-out rally in the sixth to put up their runs. Smiley walked on five pitches and Barry Bonds singled after falling behind 1-2. In a key play, the ‘Stros Gerald Young took a shot at Smiley going to third and missed by a hair, allowing Bonds to reach second. Jose Lind’s liner to center plated them both. The win pulled the Buccos to within 3-1/2 games of the lead, but they dropped 9-of-13 matches after the victory, eventually finishing second but 15 games off the pace.

1990 - Neal Heaton went six shutout innings, giving up just three hits, as the Pirates rolled over the Astros,7-1 at Three Rivers Stadium. Neal’s reward: his 11th victory and a flip from the rotation to the bullpen, though not due to performance. Jim Leyland was trying to cut back on his innings as Heaton was pitching through a sore arm, and the move also added a third lefty to the relief corps. The hitting hero was Gary Redus with a homer and three RBI, the first tallies he had sent home in two weeks, plus a pair of runs scored. Bobby Bonilla and John Cangelosi added a pair of knocks, with Bo plating a pair of Pirates and Cangy crossing the dish twice. It was Pittsburgh’s sixth straight win as they were on a mid-August tear of taking 10-of-12 games.

Kevin Young - 1995 Donruss

1995 - It was Kevin Young 3, Florida 2, at TRS as KY banged out three hits, including a homer, and drove in all three runs. His big night came about to some Bucco groupthink involving Young, Jim Leyland, batting coach Milt May and Bob Walk, who tossed BP for Young, after Young went through a four-strikeout game earlier in the week. They had him get closer to the plate and to set the bat on his shoulder rather than in the air. Viola - he went 7-for-13 with three homers after the chat. Spoiler alert - it was a temporary patch; he hit .232 over the year and didn’t break out until 1997. But it worked well enough to carry Steve Parris, with bullpen help, to victory.

1998 - RHP Noah Murdock was born in Richmond, Virginia. Murdock was a 2019 seventh round draft pick out of Virginia by Kansas City. He broke out in 2024 and became a Rule 5 Pick of the A’s. Noah debuted in 2025 but got beat up (1-1/13.24) and ultimately returned to the Royals, then released at the end of the year. The Bucs signed him to a minor league deal and he posted a 2-2-1/2.89 line over three levels. Murdock was called up from Indy twice as the extra pitcher for doubleheaders without appearing and in late July was brought up for a longer look. He tossed a couple of scoreless outings before being returned to Indy.

2002 - Pirate pitching held the Cardinals hitless after a one-out single in the first at Busch Stadium in an 8-0 win. Kris Benson started and went seven frames, with an inning each from Brian Boehringer and Al Reyes. Jason Kendall had three RBI, and five Bucs chipped in with a handful of solo shots - Brian Giles, Aramis Ramirez, Rob Mackowiak, Craig Wilson and Adam Hyzdu.

2003 - Reggie Sanders joined Jeff King (who did it twice) and Jake Stenzel (1894) as the only Bucs to homer twice in one inning when he belted big flies off Jason Pearson and Esteban Yan of the Cards during a 10-run fifth inning at Busch Stadium, with his second dinger being a grand slam. His first tater was the team’s third in a row, behind Jason Kendall and Brian Gile blasts, and the four bombs in one inning was a Pirates record. It was a home run derby for the Pirates, who hit seven big boppers to tie the franchise’s single-game high water mark. Also going long were Rob Mackowiak with a pair of four-baggers and pitcher Jeff D’Amico, who dropped one in the seats while tossing a complete game three-hitter as the Bucs fired on all cylinders in a 14-0 romp.

Reggie Sanders - 2003 Spectrum SPx

2014 - Down 2-0 in the bottom of the eighth and in the throes of a seven-game losing streak, the Bucs rallied to overtake the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park by a 3-2 score. A leadoff walk to Gaby Sanchez in the eighth was followed by a ground rule double off Travis Snider’s bat. A grounder and wild pitch brought them home to tie the game. Jordy Mercer opened the ninth with a single and went to third an out later when Starling Marte’s fly dropped in. Sanchez again was the man of the hour, lofting one just deep enough to plate Mercer. Tony Watson got the win and Mark Melancon the save. The Pirates went on to finish the year on a 24-12 run to earn a wild card, falling two games short of catching the Cards for the Central title. The SF Giants, who went on to win the WS, made it a short postseason when they beat the Bucs 8-0 behind Madison Bumgarner in the win-or-go-home game.

2017 - The Pirates, at the behest of MLB, flipped their game from PNC Park to Bowman Field, a minor-league park in Williamsport, to play the St. Louis Cardinals in the “Little League Classic” during the Little League World Series tournament. 2,596 tweener ball players and their parents watched as the Buccos won a 6-3 decision from the Redbirds. Ivan Nova had a rocky outing but kept the run count down for the win, supported by some nice work from the bullpen. The first four Pirates hitters (Starling Marte, Josh Harrison, Andrew McCutchen & Josh Bell) went 8-for-15, scored all six runs and drove in five. It marked the sixth straight multi-hit game for Marte while J-Bell's four RBIs (two-run homer, two-run single) tied his career single-game high. It was the Pirates' first neutral site home game since 1890, when they played the NY Giants in Wheeling, West Virginia.

2024 - The Bucs were badly in need of a stopper; they had just broken out of a 10-game losing streak and were still carrying a nine-game road stretch without a win. Mitch Keller stepped up; he went seven shutout innings against the Rangers at Globe Life Field, giving up three hits, nary a walk and whiffing nine to earn his 11th win, 4-0. Kells hadn’t pocketed a victory since July 8, but was on top of his game, not allowing a Texas runner to reach second. The offense was keyed by a fourth-inning, two-out rally when Bryan De La Cruz singled in a pair of runs and Oneil Cruz brought him home with a triple. Jared Triolo drove in an insurance marker in the eighth frame.