4/22 Through the 1940s: Osborne Joins, Mace Goes, Ralph Slam, 12-Run 1st, Openers, Game Days, Craw Raid, Fred Slapped, Expo Opens; HBD Mickey, Terrible Ted, Jake & Sandy

• 1887 - RHP Sandy Burk was born in Columbus, Ohio. He had spent parts of four seasons in the majors and made his last hurrah as a Pittsburgh Rebel in 1915, jumping leagues after beginning the year in Indianapolis. He started two games, going the distance and winning both, giving up just two runs/eight hits in 18 IP. Sandy pitched for Minneapolis of the American Association for two years after the Players League folded, winning 21 games in 1916. He then served as an infantry sergeant during WW1 and tossed one last pro season upon his return in 1919. 
• 1891 - The Pirates played their first game at Exposition Park III, located on the North Shore of the Allegheny River, not far removed from where PNC Park sits now. Pittsburgh lost to the Chicago Colts 7-6 in front of 5,263 fans as rain before the game held down the attendance. The Pirates fell behind, 4-0, rallied in the seventh to go ahead and then saw the Colts tie it in the ninth and win it in the 10th, defeating Pud Galvin. The Pittsburgh Press printed a special “Sporting Edition” that included a game story and illustrations. The 16,000 seat yard featured 400-foot foul lines and a 450-foot center field fence; the gigantic Expo was the Bucs home field until 1909 when Forbes Field (another gargantuan playpen) opened. 
• 1892 - The Pirates set a franchise record when they scored 12 times in the first inning against St. Louis at Expo Park to beat the Browns 14-3. Doggie Miller led the hit parade with four knocks; four other Bucs (Lou Bierbauer, Ed Swartwood, Jake Beckley & Frank Shugart) had a pair of raps. The Pittsburgh Press wrote that “Fully 3,000 people turned out in the rain to see the game. It was too one-sided for interest after the first inning but the advantage was on the right side, so everyone was pleased. (Pud) Galvin (the winning pitcher) was fairly effective and did not have to work hard.” The game provided this footnote: Pittsburgh OF Elmer Smith worked a pair of free passes in that opening frame, the first time a major league player walked twice in the same inning. 
• 1894 - 2B Jake Pitler was born in New York City. Jake’s major league career was spent in Pittsburgh between 1917-18. He played regularly the first season but got into just two games in the second, hitting .232 in his time as a Pirate. Pitler was raised in Pittsburgh and was a newspaper boy working in the Forbes Field area. That piqued his interest in baseball and he played semi-pro, advancing to the minor-leagues. The Pirates were looking for stability at second base so he got his shot when the Bucs picked him up from Chattanooga. He lost out in 1918 when Pittsburgh acquired vet George Grantham to play second and sent Pitler to minor-league Jersey City. He didn’t report and instead returned to his indie league roots. He eventually caught on with the Brooklyn Dodgers after his playing days and served as a long-time minor-league manager and big league coach. 

Lefty Killen - 1886 team photo snip

• 1897 - The Pirates won the Season Opener at Robison Park, easily defeating the St. Louis Browns by a 4-1 score. Frank “Lefty” Killen, coming off a 30-win campaign, allowed six singles, struck out four and went the distance. Steve Brodie made a sweet Pittsburgh debut in center field, banging out a pair of two-baggers and driving in two runs while player/manager Patsy Donovan, in RF, also added two hits. The only run against Lefty came on a bit of skulduggery when the Browns, with runners on the corners, executed a double steal. Despite the strong start to the season, Killen wasn’t able to duplicate his 1896 success in ‘97, winning just 17 games while his ERA jumped a full run higher. 
• 1898 - Cincinnati's Ted Breitenstein tossed a no-hitter against the Pirates, blowing the Bucs away by an 11-0 count at League Field. He struck out two, walked one, and another runner reached via error. All in all, the Pittsburgh Press declared it “...a wonderful feat.” And the result dripped of sweet revenge; Breitenstein was the pitcher the Pirates chased six years earlier to the day during a record-setting 12-run first inning when he was twirling for St. Louis. 
• 1897 - Per John Thorn’s book “Our Game,” the first major-league Opening Day at which the National Anthem was played took place in Philadelphia on this date when the Phils played the Giants at the Baker Bowl. From 1918 on, it was played at the opening of every World Series, but wasn’t universally adopted in MLB as a pre-game leadoff until 1942 and the American entry into WW2. 
• 1902 - The Pirates and their opponents, the Cincinnati Reds, marched in a festive parade led by the Grand Army of the Republic band from the downtown Monongahela House hotel to Exposition Park for the Home Opener, cheered on by thousands per the Pittsburgh Press’ front page. The Bucs raised their 1901 pennant flag over the ballyard in front of a record 15,000 fans (the overflow was given SRO space behind ropes in the outfield, but “...gave the police no trouble and never once interfered with the players...” as noted by the paper) and then overcome an early three-run deficit to edge the Reds 4-3. Tommy Leach scored the winning run in the eighth, singling and then advancing from first-to-third on a bunt. He scored on starting (and winning) pitcher Sam Leever’s sac fly. 

Terrible Ted - 1942 photo Teenie Harris/CMOA

• 1903 - Theodore Roosevelt “Terrible Ted” Page was born in Glasgow, Kentucky. The speedy and gritty OF’er played for the Homestead Grays (1931-32) and Pittsburgh Crawfords (1932-34). He grew up in Youngstown and turned down a football scholarship offered by Ohio State to focus on baseball. The lefty Page batted .335 for his career, but injured his knee in 1934, leading eventually to his retirement in 1937. He stayed in Pittsburgh and his sports focus switched. After baseball, Page ran bowling alleys, including Meadow Lanes (he was hired to work there by former teammate Jack Marshall), and wrote a bowling column for the Pittsburgh Courier. He met a tragic end, beaten to death at home during a robbery, and is buried at Allegheny Cemetery. According to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, he earned his nickname because of his fiery on-field (and sometimes off-field) personality. He was a rough and tumble character who “played to win,” per his bio, “and would intimidate a player with his spikes or with rough language.” 
• 1913 - Manager Fred Clarke was suspended for five days after a run in with umpire Brick Owens, who called strike three on a Red at Forbes Field for the final out of a Bucco win on 4/19, only to change his mind and decide it was a ball, after all. The Pirates had started to trot off the field, allowing a runner to scoot to third while the club was scattered about. It became a moot point when the Bucs held on for a 6-5 win over Cincinnati. Afterward, Clarke admitted that he had used “forceful language” in arguing his case, but given the circumstances of the beef, he was still upset by the time off. First-place Pittsburgh was already missing injured stars SS Hans Wagner and C George Gibson; they would shortly start a slide that dropped them out of contention, falling 10 games back by mid-June. 
• 1918 - Mickey Vernon was born in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania. Vernon spent 1960 as the Bucs' first-base coach and was actually added at age 42 to the active roster in September, going 1-for-8 in nine games. He went on to manage the Washington Senators, returning to Pittsburgh as a coach again in 1964. The first baseman’s MLB career spanned four decades (1939-60), and after Pittsburgh he coached for the St. Louis Cardinals, LA Dodgers, Montreal Expos and NY Yankees. He managed at the AAA and AA levels of the minor leagues and served as a batting instructor in the Kansas City Royals and Yankees' farm system. Mickey retired from baseball after the 1988 season at the age of 70, with 52 seasons spent as a player, coach and manager in pro baseball. 

Jughandle Johnny - 1925 photo/Morrison Estate

• 1925 - The Pirates beat the Cubs 6-1 in front of 31,000 fans in the Home Opener at Forbes Field. Jughandle Johnny Morrison did it all, tossing a complete game five-hitter plus going 2-for-4 with two three-baggers; Pie Traynor and Clyde Barnhart also tripled twice. The Bucs banged out 14 hits, including seven triples (one shy of the MLB record) in the spacious Oakland ballyard. 
• 1931 - RHP Bob Osborn was sold to the Pirates by the Cubs. The move was triggered because pitchers Ervin Brame, Remy Kremer and Steve Swetonic were all out of action at the time with various ailments. The Pirates used Osborn mostly as a short reliever (he started twice) and he ended the season with a slash of 6-1/5.01 with his six wins in relief tops in the NL. He was sent to the Cards the following year as part of the Bill Swift trade. The swap marked the end of his MLB career; he spent the rest of the thirties playing minor league and semi-pro ball. 
• 1937 - Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Trujillo signed several players from the Crawfords, including Cool Papa Bell, Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige, to his Dragones of Ciudad Trujillo squad. It was one of the blows that eventually brought down the Pittsburgh team as a powerhouse Negro League club. The Crawfords were sold in 1939 and moved to Toledo. 
• 1941 - Pitcher Mace Brown was sold to the Brooklyn Dodgers. Mace had spent seven years as a Pirate, doing everything from starting to closing, but Brooklyn converted him to one of the MLB’s first full-time relievers. He was fairly effective over the next three years, then lost 1944-45 to the war while serving in the Navy, and 1946 was his last major league campaign. 
• 1949 - The Pirates won their Forbes Field Home Opener in front of 32,173 fans, beating the Reds 5-4 behind Ralph Kiner's third-inning grand slam and Clyde McCullough’s run-scoring three-bagger. The Bucs had fallen behind 4-0 right out of the gate as Bob Chesnes gave up four runs in the opening frame and left in the second with runners on the corners and no outs. Bill Werle then tossed 7-2/3 frames of scoreless relief to claim the win with help from Hugh Casey, who came on to strike out Cincinnati’s Dixie Walker for the game’s final out with Redlegs on first and third.

4/22 From 1950: Turner Signs, Wood Joins, B-2-B Bombs, Doug Fans 11, Streaks, Bell's Fiver, Game Days, RIP Steve

• 1951 - Led by Gus Bell, who went 5-for-5 with a homer, three doubles, and a single while scoring three times, the Pirates defeated the Reds 7-5 at Crosley Field. Ralph Kiner was 1-for-2 with a triple and was walked three times behind Bell. Bill Werle tossed 2-1/3 scoreless relief frames to claim the win. Bell must have really impressed Cincy; they traded for him in the 1952 off season, and he played with the Redlegs for nine seasons, claiming four All-Star nods in that span. 
• 1953 - As noted by Buc historian John Dreker, the Pirates lost for the 12th straight time to the New York Giants’ righty Jim Hearn. The final at Forbes Field was 4-2 with Hearn tossing a four-hitter, albeit with five walks. But the worm would turn as Hearn would lose his next five decisions against Pittsburgh, though he ended his 13-year career with a 21-10/3.45 slash v the Pirates. 
• 1957 - Hank Foiles hit a 425’ triple and a 258’ homer off the RF foul pole in a 3-1 loss to the Giants at the weirdly configured Polo Grounds. Willie Mays’ two-out, three-run homer in the third off Luis Arroyo carried NY to victory as Ruben Gomez went the distance, tossing a six-hitter. 
• 1962 - The Pirates won their 10th straight game over New York 4-3, equaling the best major league record to start a season, set by the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers. Bob Veale beat the Mets at Forbes Field as the NY nine tied a NL record going in the opposite direction by opening the year at 0-9, tying a record held by the 1918 Dodgers and 1920 Boston Braves. The Pirates won it in the bottom of the eighth when Bill Mazeroski’s double scored Roberto Clemente. Both streaks ended the next day when the Mets won, 9-1, behind Jay Hook’s five-hitter. It was more than a loss; it started the Pirates on a spiral of losing 13-of-17 games. Pittsburgh still had a nice season, winning 93 games, but that was only good enough for a fourth-place finish in the NL, eight games behind LA. 

Billy Maz - 1962 Topps

• 1974 - RHP Steve Swetonic passed away at age 70 in Canonsburg. Steve was from Mt. Pleasant and Pitt, spending his entire, too-short career with the Pirates. He tossed for five years (1929-33) after coming up from the minors and was considered a hot prospect, but a variety of injuries ground his career to a halt. He had appendicitis in 1930 and missed two months. Then he had elbow surgery the following campaign that put him on ice until late June and kept him from going longer than four innings in any outing. In 32, he again had arm pain that knocked him out for three weeks and only allowed him one start from mid-August on; some feel his injury cost the Bucs a shot at the flag. They were 1/2 game behind before he was hurt and finished four games off the pace with Steve out. In 1933, he set personal highs in wins (12), starts (21) and IP (164-2/3), but had off season hand surgery and never tossed in the show again after a short-lived 1935 comeback attempt. He retired and became a salesman for the Blaw Knox company. 
• 1978 - The Bucs did it the hard way, but they overcame a pair of late Cardinal leads to rally for an 8-7, down-to-the-wire victory at TRS. The hero was Duffy Dyer, who had been activated from the DL (he had broken his thumb) just before the game. He batted in the ninth, pinch-hitting as the last man left on the Bucco bench. After two were gone Ed Ott doubled and Phil Garner worked a walk to keep the Bucs pulse beating and give Duffy his chance. The nine-year vet came through by lining a ball barely inside the chalk in left off John Urrea to chase both runners home. Rennie Stennett had three hits, two RBI and a run; Bill Robinson added two knocks, a run driven in and plated twice, while Willie Stargell homered. Teke tossed the ninth for the win; the game was started by Bert Blyleven. 
• 1988 - Doug Drabek, usually a pitch-to-contact guy, struck out 11 Cubs, his career high (he averaged 5K per nine IP in ‘88, and it was the only time during the season that he posted more than seven whiffs in a game), as he went the distance in an 8-4 win at TRS in front of 16,250 Bucco fans. It was Drabek’s second consecutive complete game and his third straight victory of the young campaign. Spanky LaValliere provided the stickwork with four knocks, stroking a pair of doubles and chasing home two runs while Bobby Bonilla chipped in with a two-run longball. 
• 1992 - The Pirates won their ninth consecutive game, defeating Montreal 2-0 at Olympic Stadium behind Doug Drabek’s five-hitter. Expo hurler Dennis Martinez was almost as dominating, giving up just two knocks. Kirk Gibson homered off the third pitch of the game (he also had the other rap against Martinez) and Steve Buechele’s two-out single in the ninth off reliever Mel Rojas plated Andy Van Slyke with a little soft shoe - Buechele got trapped between bases, but stayed alive long enough for AVS to score. Pittsburgh’s record improved to 12-2, tying the franchise’s best 14-game start since the 1914 & 1902 teams. Montreal salvaged the last match of the four-game set the next afternoon, 6-3, whipping former teammate Zane Smith to snap the streak. 

Tim Wakefield - 1993 Toys R Us

• 1993 - Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield won his second consecutive start while walking nine batters when he ended a five-game Bucco skid with a 5-4 decision over the Cincinnati Reds at Three Rivers Stadium. He only allowed four hits while going the distance. Wakefield made it a nail biter by walking the bases loaded on 14 pitches after two outs in the ninth, but Barry Larkin inexplicably offered at the first pitch following that third free pass and tapped into a game-ending comebacker. Lonnie Smith led the Pirates attack with two RBI and a run scored, while Carrick’s John Wehner made his first MLB start in center field (he played 91 games in the Buc OF during his career), replacing Andy Van Slyke. 
• 1997 - The Pirates signed OF Turner Ward to a $300K deal after he was released by the Brewers. He had two solid years for the Bucs, including an all-time TV moment when he crashed through the TRS wall. But he hit under the Mendoza line in 1999 and was released in August. 
• 2001 - Jason Kendall gave the Bucs their first walkoff win at PNC Park with a two-run blast off Chicago’s Jeff Fassero in the 10th inning after the Cubs took a 3-2 lead in the top of the frame on a leadoff homer by Gary Matthews. In the home half, Kevin Young answered by delivering a pinch-hit single and Kendall followed with his blast to give the Bucs and Mike Williams a 4-3 win. 
• 2010 - The Pirates were humiliated by the Brewers at PNC Park 20-0, suffering the worst loss in their history. Six Bucco pitchers surrendered 25 hits and walked six more batters. The victory completed a three-game sweep of the Bucs in which the Brew Crew outscored Pittsburgh 36-1. "It was fun..." said Brewer Ryan Braun, who homered, doubled, singled and drove in five runs. It was eclipsed in 2022 when the Pirates were pummeled 21-0 by the Cubs at Wrigley Field. 

Brandon Wood - 2011 photo/Sports Collectibles

• 2011 - IF Brandon Wood was claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The utilityman ended up getting into 99 games during the season, starting 55, mainly at third base, although he did play all four infield spots. He got a good look, but only hit .220 and was DFA’ed at the end of the year. Wood then bounced around in various minor league systems until retiring in 2014. 
• 2016 - The Bucs held off the Diamondbacks 8-7 in a game that featured some epic early season long taters. It was in the nineties in Arizona, and the Chase Field roof was open, setting up perfect conditions for a slugfest. Each team had three homers (Welington Castillo had two) but the Buc blasts were seismic. Sean Rodriguez and Gregory Polanco hit the longest pair of back-to-back homers since official measurements began in 2009 at 458 and 461 feet. They were topped by Jordy Mercer’s launch of 466’, the longest home run of the year to date. Those bombs were three of the six longest homers hit so far during the season. Jon Niese got the win (it was the first time the nine-year vet started a campaign with a 3-0 record) and Mark Melancon earned the save. 
• 2017 - The Perry Hilltop Citizens Council held the "Corner of Hope Celebration" to unveil nine revamped Negro League All-Star murals and open the small park the artwork is located in at the corner of Wilson Avenue and West Burgess Street in North Side. Originally dedicated in the late nineties, the faded Negro League murals were restored by students at The Pittsburgh Project who also cleared the run-down lot, with Oakglade Realty providing funding for the project. The murals are of Josh Gibson, who lived in the neighborhood, and fellow stars Ray Dandridge, Rube Foster, Gus Greenlee, Pop Lloyd, Satchel Paige, Cum Posey, Jackie Robinson, and Mule Suttles. 
• 2024 - The Pirates started off the year like gangbusters, jumping off to a 9-2 start before reality checked in. They had just lost six games in a row to drop to .500 when rookie phenom Jared Jones spun six innings, giving up a run and fanning seven - he became the fourth MLB player since 1893 to whiff seven or more batters in his first five starts, joining another Bucco, Jose DeLeon, who did the deed back in 1983 - to help the Pirates keep their heads above water with a 4-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park. Two key bats that had been quiet made some noise to help him, with both ends of the Pittsburgh generational arc, Andrew McCutchen and Oneil Cruz, each collecting three hits. Cutch homered in the first, his 11th leadoff homer for the Buccos, and Oneil singled home a pair of runs with a two-out single in the sixth to give the pen some breathing room.

4/21 Through the 1970s: Mick To Allies, B-2-B-2-B, Roberto & Pops Bops, All The Rey, Chiefs' 1st Dub, Game Days; HBD Jack, Kip & Happy Rabbit

• 1887 - The Alleghenies picked up RHP Jim McCormick in a trade with the Chicago White Stockings, sending them $2,000 and rookie George Van Haltren (he would return to the Pittsburgh fold in 1892), who was later quite successfully converted from pitcher to outfielder. He became the third starter in a three-man rotation, joining James “Jeems” Galvin and Ed “Cannonball” Morris. It was a big deal for the Allegheny club; McCormick was one of baseball’s early dominators (he ended his career with 265 wins), but age and wear on his arm finally caught up to him. The 30-year old was in his 10th and final big league campaign and slashed 13-23/4.30. He started 36 games and went the distance for every one, amassing 322-1/3 IP during the year. And he did fit in with the team ethos; he was known as a man who would tip a few and after a contract squabble for his return after the season hit a wall, he retired to run a local bar. 
• 1901 - The Pirates first Home Opener at Forbes Field was a successful debut. After falling behind early, the Buc bats banged out a 9-4 win over the Cards in front of nearly 8,000 fans who came to see the 1909 pennant flag raised before the game. Babe Adams started and made it through six innings, leaving for a pinch-hitter with an eventual 6-4 lead; Deacon Phillippe shut the door during the final three frames. Pittsburgh put up seven runs in the fifth and sixth innings behind an attack led by Dots Miller, who had four hits, and Bobby Byrnes with three; each man plated twice. 
• 1913 - The Pirates banged out eight straight hits plus a sac fly to score seven times in the sixth inning and rally past the St. Louis Cards 8-5. Babe Adams went the distance for the win at Robison Field. Hans Wagner & Solly Hofman led the attack with three knocks apiece. The victory moved Pittsburgh briefly to the top of the pack; they finished fourth in a year the NY Giants ran away from the NL field. 
• 1919 - SS Stan Rojek was born in North Tonawanda, New York. He played for the Pirates from 1948-51, starting the first two seasons and hitting .266 during his Pittsburgh years. The Bucs got him from Brooklyn, where he was a backup infielder behind Pee Wee Reese. He hit .290 his first Bucco season as the starter but after a beaning that sent him to the hospital, his bat was never quite the same and he was traded to the Cardinals in May of 1951. The Pirates gave him a couple of nicknames, per Edward Veit of SABR. “Initially Rojek’s Pirates teammates called him ‘Reject’ because he had been dumped by the Dodgers. He also was called ‘The Happy Rabbit’ because of...his attitude, and his quickness in scurrying around shortstop.” Fortunately for Stan, the “Rabbit” name stuck. 

Stan Rojek - 1951 Bowman

• 1921 - Moses “Chief” Yellowhorse won his first MLB game, the first big league dub ever posted by a full-blooded Native American (he was Pawnee), by working 3-1/3 innings in Pittsburgh’s 8-7 win over the Reds at Forbes Field in the season’s home lidlifter. Rabbit Maranville led the attack with three hits, including a triple, two runs scored and three RBI. Chief Yellowhorse relieved Elmer Ponder, who had come on after Babe Adams stumbled against Cincinnati in the third inning. 
• 1927 - In their Home Opener at Forbes Field, Pirates ace Ray Kremer did it all. He tossed a complete game four-hitter while blasting a two-run home run off Reds starter Eppa Rixey to lead the Bucs to a 3-2 victory in front of 33,439 fans, a fitting start for the ‘27 NL pennant winners. 
• 1933 - The Bucs won their Home Opener at Forbes Field 5-1, rallying in their last at-bat to break up a pitcher’s duel. The Pirates Bill Swift was locked up with Si Johnson of the Reds going into the bottom of the eighth with Cincy up 1-0; Swift had surrendered just two hits, but one was a homer. Manager George Gibson started the eighth frame off with pinch hitter Woody Jensen (per beatman Volney Walsh of the Pittsburgh Press: “Mr. Jensen was enjoying his usual afternoon siesta on the bench when Gibby summoned him...”) and Woody lit the fuse - he singled to start a parade of knocks; the Bucs scored five times behind a two-run double by Pie Traynor, Gus Suhr’s triple to chase home two more tallies and Tony Piet’s knock to send the final runner across the plate. Bill Harris worked the ninth to tuck the game away for Swift. The Pirates were in the midst of a 10-3 April record and finished second in the Nation League with 87 wins, five games behind NY.
• 1943 - Rip Sewell ruined the Cubs Home/Season Opener at Wrigley Field as he tossed a three-hit 6-0 shutout, backed by the three hits of Frank Colman & Al Lopez, with a pair of runs chased home by Vince DiMaggio in the eighth keying the win. Sewell had the Cubbies’ number and won five more contests from them during the campaign. He wasn’t the only ace on this date - there were four games played around the league and they all ended in shutouts, a MLB record. 
• 1957 - In the first game of a doubleheader at Ebbets Field, Frank Thomas, Paul Smith, and Dick Groat hit consecutive home runs in the third inning off Brooklyn’s Don Newcombe to lead Pittsburgh to a 6-3 victory. Bob Skinner also went yard while Roberto Clemente collected three hits. Bob Purkey got the win for the Pirates with an ElRoy Face save. Don Drysdale evened things up by winning the nightcap in favor of the Dodgers 7-4 as Don Zimmer homered and drove in three runs. 

Gene Freese - 1964 Topps

• 1964 - Home run or no count: The Bucs beat the Chicago Cubs 8-5 at Wrigley Field. Nine different players went long, as the wind was blowing out. Roberto Clemente, Ducky Schofield, Jim Pagliaroni, and Gene Freese (who hit a three-run bomb in the ninth to win it as a pinch-hitter for Willie Stargell, swatting the only blast that wasn’t a solo shot) went yard for Pittsburgh while the Cubs added five singletaries, tying a record. ElRoy Face got the win after Vern Law started. The game had a little of everything going on; another record was tied when Robert Clemente was walked intentionally three times, and Face helped himself by turning an unassisted double play. 
• 1968 - Roberto Clemente hit one inside-the-park homer after being thrown out at home the inning prior against San Francisco. The four-bagger was a Forbes Field special when a hard-hit single took a giant bounce off the hard turf and over G-Man outfielder Ty Cline’s head; by the time he caught up to the ball and got it in, The Great One had a stand-up dinger. In his previous at-bat, he had drilled a ball off the batting cage in center field 457’ away. Clemente admitted he cost himself that homer by cruising around the bases, assuming he had a stand-up triple, until he saw third base coach Alex Grammas wave him around at third, and a perfect relay cut him down at the plate. The run was fortunately meaningless in a 10-0 Al McBean win. Willie Stargell went long the traditional over-the-wall way while the Pirates banged out 16 knocks, with all nine starters posting a hit. 
• 1971 - Pops Stargell hit three long balls for the second time in 11 days to lead Pittsburgh to a 10-2 win over the Atlanta Braves. It was the fourth time he had three homers in a game, tying him with Ralph Kiner for the team record. Captain Willie collected five RBI and scored three times at TRS as four other Buccos banged out a pair of knocks. Dock Ellis tossed a five-hitter to calm the Bravo bats. 
• 1977 - RHP Kip Wells was born in Houston. The righty came to Pittsburgh in the 2001 off season as part of the Todd Ritchie deal with the White Sox and tossed for five Bucco campaigns (2002-06), winning 36 times. The Texan started off well with ERAs of 3.58 and 3.28 in 2002-03 but faded and was sent to the Rangers for Jesse Chavez. Kip played through 2009, went through a couple of years when he couldn’t land an MLB job, and closed out his career in 2012 as a Padre. 
• 1978 · LHP Jack Taschner was born in Milwaukee. After working for the Giants and Phils, the reliever joined the Bucs as an NRI in 2010. He went north with the squad and made 17 outings, going 1-0/6.41 before being released in June. The Dodgers claimed him, and he finished the year (and his MLB career) with them. Jack became a cop in Appleton, Wisconsin after his playing days.

4/21 From 1980: Quinones Deal, Come From Behind, Kip Parties, '02 Roll, Game Days, Cobra Suit, Arriba On Line; HBD Brent & Ronny

• 1981 - Ronny Paulino was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He was thought to be the Bucco catcher of the future and started behind the dish in 2006-07. That was enough time to prove he wasn’t the answer and after the 2008 season he was dealt to the Phils for Jason Jaramillo. Paulino spent four years as a Pirate and hit .278, bumping around the league for four more seasons. He finished his career in the Mexican and Dominican leagues after the 2019-20 season. 
• 1986 - The Pirates filed a lawsuit in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court against Dave Parker to cut his deferred contract money. It sought to relieve the club of the $5,312,475 still owed to the OF’er, with the Bucco claim based on his drug testimony which they alleged triggered a clause that forfeited the back pay. He was the only player they sued after the fact, probably due to a combination of Parker playing for another team, not being very popular among the fans, and the Pirates sinking financial condition. A confidential settlement was reached between the club and the Cobra in 1988 before the trial. 
• 1987 - It was a good news, bad news kinda game. The good news was that the Pirates, thanks to some questionable Mets baserunning, turned their first triple play since 1982. With runners on second and third, a one-hopper to second held the runners during a routine 4-3 putout. But for some unknown reason, Darryl Strawberry drifted toward third with Gary Carter standing on it; 1B Sid Bream flipped the ball to shortstop Denny Gonzalez who ran Straw down between bases. While that dance was happening, Carter took off for home, where he was easy pickings for C Junior Ortiz’ tag to complete a 4-3-6-2 triple dip. As for the game at TRS, Barry Bonds and Johnny Ray banged eighth-inning homers to cut the New York lead to 7-6, but Don Robinson was touched up for two runs in the ninth to seal the Pirates 16th loss in 17 games to the Metropolitans by a final count of 9-6. 
• 1987 - 3B Brent Morel was born in Bakersfield, California. Brent got six years in the show (2010-15), spending his first four campaigns with the White Sox primarily as a depth piece. He finished his MLB career in Pittsburgh after being claimed off waivers, getting into 26 games during 2014-15 and hitting .196. Morel spent his last two pro years in Japan, retiring after the 2017 season. 

Rey Quinones - 1989 Upper Deck

• 1989 - In a deal of hopefuls, the Pirates traded former first round pick OF/1B Mark Merchant along with pitchers Mike Dunne & Mike Walker to the Seattle Mariners for SS Rey Quinones and UT Bill Wilkinson. The change of scenery didn’t help: Dunne worked two more seasons (4-9/5.71 - 29 appearances), Quinones played 71 games for the Pirates, hit .209, and was released to end his career, Wilkinson didn’t play another MLB game, and Merchant never made it to the show, so Walker’s five years/88 outings (3-11-2/5.09) topped the performance list. 
• 1991 - The Pirates became the first MLB team to ever come back from a five-run deficit in an extra inning to rally for victory. After the Cubs scored five times, thanks mostly to a grand slam by Andre Dawson, the Pirates plated six runners in the 11th inning at TRS to claim a 13-12 victory, with Don Slaught's double the game winner. Nine Bucs batted in that frame, collecting two doubles, three singles, three walks and a sac fly as they small-balled their way to a big inning. Bob Patterson was charged with giving up three runs in an inning of work, but was credited with the win. The loss was pinned on former Pirate Mike Bielecki. The extra-inning comeback was just the second of two late rallies; the Bucs were losing 7-2 going into the eighth. An Orlando Merced triple and Bobby Bo homer cut the lead to one and then the Bucs tied it in the ninth on a two-out Gary Varsho double. It was a true team win: nine Pirates chipped in with RBI and eight players scored. Orlando Merced made his first career start (he appeared in 776 games, starting in 643, during his seven years as a Pirate) while going 2-for-4 with a triple, a pair of walks, two RBI and a run scored.
• 1992 - The Bucs scored five times in the first inning and held on to beat the Expos 8-7 at Olympic Stadium. Andy Van Slyke put the Bucs ahead in the first with a two-run triple and finished with three RBI. Barry Bonds went deep in the third inning to make it 6-2 Pittsburgh. Vicente Palacios picked up the win in relief with two scoreless frames while Roger Mason earned the save. 
• 2002 - The Pirates won their sixth straight game and 7-of-8 by a 9-3 count over the Phils at PNC Park to run their record to 12-5. The Bucs had a 2-1/2 game lead in the division after the triumph, but by mid-May they were below .500 and finished with 72 victories, 24-1/2 games out of the top spot. The Buccos ran up a five-spot in the second inning to ice the game, keyed by a two-out, bases-loaded triple by Jason Kendall. Abraham Nunez led the hit parade with three raps, including a double, two steals and three runs scored to gift wrap Kip Wells' b-day dub. 

Kip Wells - 2004 Fleer Showcase

• 2005 - Kip Wells liked working on his birthday as he and the Bucs defeated the Reds 4-2 on his 28th trip around the sun. He worked five innings, giving up three hits but with five walks to amass 104 pitches. Kip left with the lead and four relievers put up zeroes behind him, with Jose Mesa earning the save. Jason Bay swung the Buccos’ big bat with three hits, including one that left GABP. 
• 2014 - The Bucs blew an early lead, but an Andrew McCutchen homer in the eighth tied it and Neil Walker’s two-out RBI bloop to right later in the frame was the game winner as the Pirates outlasted Cincinnati 6-5 at PNC Park. Jared Hughes stranded a pair of Reds in the ninth to earn the win. Ike Davis hit his second grand slam of the year and both were against the Reds, one as a Buc and one as a Met. He became the first player in MLB history to hit two grand slams with two different teams before the end of April and the third player to hit two grand slams against the same opponent for two different teams. 
• 2020 - The Roberto Clemente Museum shared its exhibits and some tales on a live stream for the first time on its Instagram account. Opened in 2007 and located at the old #25 Engine House on Penn Avenue in Lawrenceville, the museum had offered only scheduled tours, but director/curator Duane Rieder decided to provide Bucco fans with a web boost during the coronavirus shutdown of baseball and still operates his Twitter (sorry, “X”) account to this day. 
• 2022 - For the 12th time in 13 games, the Pirates' opponents scored first when the Cubs took a 3-0 lead at Wrigley after two innings. But the Bucs had an answer. Daniel Vogelbach cut the lead to a run with a two-run shot in the third inning, then Yoshi Tsutsugo dumped an opposite field, two-out, bases-loaded double to plate another pair of Buccos in the fifth frame. And 4-3 is how it ended as the Pittsburgh relievers (Bryse Wilson started) tossed six shutout innings of one-hit, 10 K ball, a feat that hasn’t been done since 2001. Derek Shelton shot just about all his bullpen bullets - Wil Crowe, Dillon Peters, Heath Hembree, David Bednar and Chris Stratton were called on, with Crowe credited with the win, Stratton made the save, and the other three earned a hold. The Pirates squandered a few chances (they were 1-for-9 w/RISP), including a 175’ triple hit by Bryan Reynolds against the shift, tapping a third base line roller that slowly rolled to the railing. B-Rey hustled into second, realized no one was covering third base, and so he just kept truckin’ through the turn and took that sack, too. More stuff: per announcer Joe Block, Peters set the longest hitless batter streak in franchise history (since 1974) of 25 hitters. Also, of those dozen games the Bucs started in the hole, they came back to win six. Ironically, they lost the only contest when they scored first.

Weekly Report: 4-3 Home Stand, Bullpen Shuffle, Skenes & Kells K-Men, Lowe & Cruz Rampagin', Paul's Cy Award & Bobblehead

Home standing... 

Pirates Stuff:

• The Pirates recalled LHP Evan Sisk from Indy and optioned LHP Hunter Barco (0-1/6.43) to the Tribe. Hunter was used as a bulk inning long man here and will stretch out as part of the rotation at Indianapolis; the Bucs believe that his future is as a starter and that he was just treading water in the Pittsburgh pen. 
• Pittsburgh called up RHP Cam Sanders from Indy; they've had a long stretch of games and it's taking its toll on the pen. Cam had a not very strong six-game call up last year, walking more men than he K'ed. Not too surprisingly, RH longman Jose Urquidy was the guy optioned back to AAA.
• Cam didn't last long. On Sunday, RHP Wilber Dotel joined the Pirates (he worked the ninth in his debut outing the same day) and Sanders was optioned back to Indy. Not adding a serviceable mid-inning long guy or two has bitten the Bucs.

Brandon Lowe - 2026 image/Sportsnet Pgh.

• On Monday night against the Nats, Paul Skenes became the first Pirates pitcher in the Modern Era (1901 on) with 400 or more strikeouts in his first 59 career starts. He now has 404 punchouts on his resume. That same night, Brandon Lowe became the first Pirate since RBI became a stat in 1920 to record five+ RBIs in back-to-back games. Only Honus Wagner (1901) and Jimmy Williams (1899) are in that club.
• And just to hang another red letter on the night, the Pirates scored 10 times in the sixth inning in the 16-5 romp, their first 10-run frame since 2017 during a 14-3 beatdown of the Cubs at Wrigley Field. The Bucs last scored 16 runs in 2023, and it was also v Washington at Nationals Stadium.
• Mitch Keller has moved into 10th place on the Pirates all-time strikeout list, passing Rick Rhoden (852) on Sunday. Keller has posted 856 career strikeouts after a five-punchout start against Tampa Bay.
• The yearly breakdown of Konnor Griffin's nine-year/$140 M deal: Signing Bonus - $12M; $1M - 2026; $2M - 2027; $4M - 2028; $6M - 2029; $12.5M - 2030; $21M - 2031; $26.5M - 2032 and $27.5M - 2033-34 with escalators that pump up his salary (max potential total $7.5M) for a Top Ten MVP finish per Jon Heyman.
• Oneil Cruz's hitting steak ended at 12 games on Tuesday; it marked a personal best for the CF'er.

Oneil Cruz - 2026 photo/Pirates

• And talking abotu hitting streaks, Spencer Horwitz is 10-for-10 lifetime against Tampa's Nick Martinez after Friday night.
• Injury report: Jared Jones is back in Florida and began tossing sim games, the final step to getting into live action with a minor league rehab stint. No real news on Jared Triola's rehab schedule yet, and Mike Clevinger will be out for an extended period with an MCL knee sprain.
• The NL Central is about as tight as it can be; the five teams were within 1-1/2 games from top to bottom going into Monday.

Game Stuff:

• The Bucs were 11-5 against the Nats at PNC since 2022 and Paul Skenes was on the hill...so yah, the good guys romped Monday, 16-5. Paul went six one-hit, one-run frames with six K, Brandon Lowe & Spencer Horwitz homered, Bryan Reynolds had three hits (he & Lowe combined for nine runs chased home) and Oneil Cruz kept his hitting streak alive with two more knocks to go with two walks + a steal.
• Rain delayed the start of Tuesday's match a bit. Too bad it didn't pour; Mitch Keller was clocked in the first inning, being both wild and hittable. He lasted four frames and left with the Pirates in a 5-1 hole (yes, Lowe homered again). The Bucs cut the lead to one when Joey Bart went deep. They loaded the bases with an out in the seventh and Lowe up, but Don Kelly decided to match up and bat Nick Yorke for him, and he bounced into a DP. Jake Magnum kept it at a run with a strike to Bart to cut down an insurance tally at the dish in the eighth, but the Bucs stranded a pair in the ninth to go down 5-4.
• Wednesday was a bullpen game for the Bucs, kinda. Carmen Mlodzinski was the middle man and went six two-hit, no-run innings with five K, only two walks and 81 pitches as Pittsburgh took a 2-0 win home. The Pirates had five hits; Ryan O'Hearn had three of them, matching the Nat's hit total.

Carmen Mlodzinski v the Nats - photo/MLB

• he series ended up split; the Pirates lost 8-7 on Thursday, not so much beaten by Washington   (the boys did rally from a four-run deficit to take the lead) as beaten by themselves, with too many misplays, mental & physical (four errors) plus a bases-loaded wild pitch/bopped batter sequence to lose the lead. It was a series they should have won. 
• PNC Park hosted a big night for 24,198 fans - Doug Drabek presented Paul Skenes with his Cy Young Award, AJ Burnett threw out the first pitch, it was Fireworks Night and the Bucs debuted their new City Connect unis as Tampa Bay came to town. The Bucs needed some good mojo as the Rays were on a six-game road win streak, and they got it. Bubba Chandler shoved, going six innings and giving up a run on three hits with a walk & three K’s, Oneil Cruz banged a two-run homer, Brandon Lowe doubled home a pair with his third hit, Spencer Horwitz went three-for-three with an RBI and Marcell Ozuna also posted three knocks and a run scored to his stat sheet in a 5-1 Bucco dub.
• Saturday was a sold out Paul Skenes bobblehead night, and guess who was hurling? It was a marquee matchup between Skenes and Drew Rasmussen. With rain on the way, the first pitch was jumped up to 3:30 (it was a scheduled 6:45 start). Ryan O'Hearn & Marcell Ozuna must be mudders; both banged two-run homers before a 2-1/2 hour rain delay that came with two out in the bottom of the fourth. Cam Sanders and Evan Sisk took over for Skenes, and in a flash it was 5-4 Tampa. Isaac Mattson stopped the bleeding from the bump and Nick Yorke tied it with an RBI knock in the eighth. In extras, the Bucs loaded the bases with an out, but couldn't put another ball in play. In the 11th, Yohan Ramirez gave Tampa the lead via a goofed-up pickoff try, but Konnor Griffin singled Yorke home in the Buc half to keep it alive. Ramirez was apparently the last arm left; he went three innings and gave up a two-run dinger in the 13th. The Bucs got one back but fell short after leaving runners on second and third with two away (they were 2/17 w/RISP) and fell to the Rays 8-7.

Isaac Mattson - 2026 photo/Pirates

• This series has been played in spring weather, a rainstorm and now a sunny but windy & chilly day as Mitch Keller tried to win the set for the Bucs. Kells was back to his workmanlike self for seven pen-friendly frames, Bryan Reynolds cashed in three Buccos and Spencer Horwitz & Nick Yorke went deep as the Pirates took the series with a 6-3 dub. Now a day off and on to Texas and Andrew McCutchen...

MLB Stuff: 

• RHP Gerrit Cole, recovering from TJ surgery, is a step closer to returning as he began a rehab assignment at AA Somerset on Friday.
• RHP Miguel Yajure , who spent parts of two not very solid years (2021-22) with the Bucs as part of the Jamison Taillon trade return before joining the Giants org and then going to Japan for two years, signed a minor league deal with the Astros.

4/20 Through 1984: Willie the Roofer, Rip Roarin', Gus-to, Sweet Steve, Game Days All-MLB; HBD Chris, Steamer & Sam

• 1869 - OF Sam Nicholl was born in County Antrim, Ireland (recently, John Dreker of Pirates Prospects has found the date to be 4/18/1865). After a strong year at Wheeling, Nicholl finished out the 1888 campaign with the Alleghenys. He went 1-for-22, but his BA was considered bad ball luck as he hit the ball well, and he was also a plus defender. He was a late cut in camp the next season and sent back to Wheeling. Sam got one more shot in 1890 with Columbus, then closed out with five years in the Western Association before a leg injury effectively ended his career. 
• 1881 - OF Jim “Steamer” Flanagan was born in Kingston, Pennsylvania, across the Susquehanna River from Wilkes-Barre. He was rumored to have turned down a scholarship to Notre Dame to turn pro in 1901. He played for the Pirates briefly in 1905 as September insurance, and showed well, hitting .280 with seven runs scored and three stolen bases in seven games. Steamer was considered a five-tool guy, but for reasons unknown, he never got another shot at the majors, playing in the minors through the 1915 season. After his ball-playing days, he lived in Wilkes-Barre as a cop, sandlot player, manager and umpire, while also serving as a bird dog for the Red Sox and Athletics. Per Jack Smiles of SABR, “he ran, it was said, like a steam locomotive” and hence his nickname. 
• 1916 - The Pirates lost the Home Opener at Forbes Field to St. Louis 5-0, held to five hits by Harry “Slim” Sallee in front of 20,000 or so. But there was some early excitement. With two on and a 3-1 count on the batter, manager Jimmy Callahan, coaching third, stepped out of the box to talk with base runner Doc Johnston between pitches. He apparently placed his hand on Johnston during the chat and plate umpire Ernie Quigley called Doc out on coaches interference due to Callahan’s contact. The Bucs protested to no avail, and owner Barney Dreyfuss protested the game to NL President John Tener. Ralph Davis of the Pittsburgh Press wrote that at a smoker that evening, Dreyfuss went on about a conspiracy with the boys in blue having secret league instructions (he didn’t disclose their nature) and went so far as to call them “...pin-headed umpires.” Tener rejected the protest, though he did clarify that the rule was to be in effect only when the player was physically assisted leaving or returning to a base by a coach. 

Hans - 1983 Sports Design West Collection

• 1930 - Long-time baseball writer Irwin Howe of the Chicago Tribune picked his all-time MLB team (baseball was young enough that the Hall of Fame was still a twinkle in the eye), and it included SS Honus Wagner and 3B Pie Traynor. Howe had the background for the job - he was a baseball historian, the secretary for the Chicago chapter of BBWAA and the AL’s official statistician. 
• 1932 - Mt. Pleasant native and Pitt grad Steve Swetonic came as close as any Pirate pitcher (Bob Moose matched his feat in 1968) to tossing a no-hitter at Forbes Field. He surrendered a two-out knock in the eighth to the Card’s George Watkins that spoiled his bid. Though he gave up a couple of anti-climatic ninth inning singles, he cruised to a 7-0 victory in the Home Opener before 16,000 fans. His career was short circuited after five years when he retired at 28 because of a chronic sore arm. 
• 1936 - The Bucs’ Gus Suhr slugged a two-out, three-run homer in the ninth off Roy Henshaw to erase an early six-run deficit and give Pittsburgh a 9-8 win over the Cubs at Forbes Field. Pep Young and Cookie Lavagetto also went long, and Bill Swift worked the final four frames for the win. 

Rip Sewell - 1947 Sports Exchange

• 1946 - Rip Sewell spun a four-hitter to win a duel against the Cards Bucky Walters, 2-1. Walters was a one-man show, scoring his clubs’ only run by stealing home, but RBI doubles banged out by Bob Elliott and Elbie Fletcher sent the Forbes Field crowd of 27,891 (and Rip) home happy. 
• 1948 - Rip Sewell did it all; he tossed a complete game six-hitter and homered as the Bucs won their Home Opener 3-2 over the Chicago Cubs at Forbes Field. Rookie second baseman Monty Basgall had the game-winning rap, his first big league homer, in the sixth inning. 
• 1970 - Willie Stargell belted a sixth-inning homer off Jim Bouton that cleared the RF roof at Forbes Field as the Pirates took a 3-1 decision from Houston; Pops drove in all three Bucco tallies. Dock Ellis went six innings for the win, with Dave Giusti covering the last three frames while fanning four. The deed wasn’t witnessed by very many; there were only 4,015 fans in the house. 
• 1980 - CF Chris Duffy was born in Brattleboro, Vermont. Duffy hit .269 in his three Buc years (2005-07) but butted heads with manager Jim Tracy who wanted him to change his batting style. Duffy stormed home after a closed-door session with the skipper and his career pretty much sank after that affair. He played one more season for Pittsburgh, and in 2008 was injured and released. He would play just 13 more MLB games as a Milwaukee Brewer in 2009.

4/20 From 1985: Teke Traded, B-Rey & Tuck Debut, Wakefield Gone, 9-In-9th, Basebrawl, Odd Datelines, Game Days, '23 Pgh HoF, Hans Marker

• 1985 - Kent Tekulve’s Pirate career ended after 11+ seasons when he was traded to the Phils for Al Holland. He wasn’t happy with the swap, but the next day, he pitched two shutout innings for Philadelphia after traveling overnight to join his new club. The 38-year-old became a set-up man there and remained rubber-armed, appearing in 291 games in four years with a 24-26-25/3.01 line in Philly before finishing out his final campaign with the Cincinnati Reds. 
• 1986 - The Pirates and Cubs played 13 innings, only to have their game at Wrigley Field suspended due to darkness after four hours and 48 minutes and the score tied 8-8 after the Cubs scored three times in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the game into extra innings. The contest was completed on August 11th with the Bucs winning 10-8 in 17 innings. The total game time from start-to-finish was six hours and nine minutes. Johnny Ray & Joe Orsulak combined for seven hits and five runs while Sid Bream and Steve Kemp homered. Barry Jones picked up the win, going four scoreless innings while whiffing eight. Oddly, though Jones wasn’t called up until July, he set the MLB record for whiffs in a debut as a reliever (tied in 2016 by then-Astro Joe Musgrove). It was in actuality his 10th appearance, but the game date reverted back to when the contest’s first pitch was tossed, making it his first outing in the record books. In another similar oddity, rookie Barry Bonds got his first actual hit on May 31st, but was credited by MLB with his first knock on this date (it was actually his 51st hit of the year) when he pinch hit and banged the game-winning single during the makeup date. That at bat, like Jones's appearance, reverted to the match’s original scheduled date. 
• 1987 - It was the kind of game to drive a fan to drink, both to boo-hoo and party. The Pirates had a 5-2 lead over the ‘86 World Series champs, the Mets, at TRS going into the seventh when John Smiley came on to replace Rick Reuschel. A home run and back-to-back two-out walks sent John to the showers and Barry Jones was called in for that third out; instead he served Gary Carter a fat one that he sent over the wall to give New York a 6-5 lead. Hey bartender... But the Buccos proved to be adept copy-cats. Sid Bream smacked his second dinger of the day (he went 4-for-5 with three RBI) off Randy Myer to knot the score and then the Pirates drew consecutive two-out walks. Sound familiar? And the script played out - Doug Sisk was waved in to close the frame and watched Mike Diaz loft a ball into the stands for another two-out, three-run blast. That gave Pittsburgh its pad back at 9-6 and Logan Easley took care of business for the final two innings to get credit for the win, his first MLB victory, while breaking a 15-game losing streak to the Big Apple club to turn it into happy hour. Johnny Ray also homered while RJ Reynolds had a three-hit night. 

Randy Tomlin - 1992 Topps Stadium Club

• 1992 - The Pirates turned a pitching duel between Randy Tomlin and Montreal’s Ken Hill on its ear with a nine-run outburst in the ninth to defeat the Expos at Olympic Stadium, 11-1. The inning was highlighted by a Kirk Gibson grand slam and a three-run shot by Barry Bonds, only the second time in MLB history that a team has swatted a grannie and a three-run dinger in the ninth frame. Tomlin earned the win with help from Dennis Lamp and Stan Belinda. 
• 1995 - Pittsburgh released knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. He was picked up a week later by Boston, where he spent the next 17 seasons, tossing over 3,000 innings and winning 186 games. He was a wild child for the Buccos, but mastered the flutterer in the Red Sox system under the tutelage of Phil and Joe Niekro. They also sent 1B Kevin Young & C Angel Encarnacion to the AAA Calgary Cannons and placed pitchers Steve Cooke and Rick White on the DL. Later in the week, 3B John Wehner and RHP John Ericks were also bumped down to Calgary. 
• 1998 - Pennsylvania placed a state memorial plaque, sponsored by the local historical society, at 605 Beechwood Avenue in Carnegie, near the site of Honus Wagner's birthplace, to honor the Pirates Hall of Fame shortstop. Hans had been born in Chartiers, now part of Carnegie, in 1874 to an immigrant coal mining family, playing for local sandlot and company teams until he joined the local semi-pro Mansfield Indians and began his road to Cooperstown. 
• 2009 - Ross Ohlendorf tossed the Bucs’ fourth shutout of the season (in 13 games), giving up two hits in seven innings, in an 8-0 win over Florida to end the Marlins’ seven-game winning streak. The Bucs had recorded just two shutouts in all of 2008. Nate McLouth gave Ohlie all the support he needed by driving in four runs, three touching home after a sixth-inning homer. 

Ohlie - 2009 Upper Deck

• 2014 - Milwaukee topped the Pirates 3-2 in 14 frames on Easter at PNC Park, but the game took a back seat to the on-field action in the third inning. Brewer Carlos Gomez admired a ball that didn’t quite get out of the yard. He made it to third and Gerrit Cole let him have it verbally for hot-dogging it. Gomez went after Cole, the benches emptied and a basebrawl broke out. Travis Snider went after Gomez, Rickie Weeks grabbed him by the arms and Martin Maldonado took advantage to poke a defenseless Lunch Box, leaving him with a shiner. Maldonado was suspended five games, Gomez received a three-game suspension (he also threw his helmet at the Bucco mob), and Snider was suspended two games. Fran Cervelli later challenged pugilist Maldonado to an off season boxing match for charity, but was never taken up on the offer. As for the game, Neil Walker had three hits, including a homer, but Khris Davis’ extra-inning blast off Jeanmar Gomez carried the day (all three Milwaukee runs were solo dingers, including the ninth-inning game-knotter by Ryan Braun off Jason Grilli) to overcome eight strong innings of six-hit, one-run ball spun by Cole. 
• 2019 - A couple of Bucs made their MLB debuts, starting in a 3-1 win v the Giants at PNC, and both collected their first big league hits. Leadoff hitter/SS Cole Tucker’s swat was the game-winner in the fifth when he banged a two-out, two-strike, two-run homer just before a lightning storm accompanied by a downpour shortened the match. A former Giant farmhand, Bryan Reynolds, also took his bow in left field, batting fifth, and went 1-for-2. Though Cole’s day was more auspicious, in the long run B-Rey proved to be the keeper. Jameson Taillon was the victor. 
• 2023 - The Pirates rode some early two-out lightning, Ke'Bryan Hayes’ mitt and Roansy Contreras' arm to a 4-3 victory against the Reds at PNC Park. With two on and two away in the first, Connor Joe hammered a full-count heater into the bullpen and Jack Suwinski followed with another blast to make it 4-0. Contreras kept the string of strong starting pitching going, going 6-2/3 innings and giving up one run on five hits with eight K while tossing the staff’s 10th straight quality start. Key’s glove saved a potential big inning when he dove into the hole and threw a strike to second from his knees to begin a DP, with Carlos Santana making a nice scoop to complete the twin killing. The Reds picked up a pair in the eighth to add some drama, but David Bednar tucked them away in the ninth to earn his sixth save. The 13-7 Buccos were on a roll, winning their fourth straight game and fifth-in-six. Just before the first pitch, the Bucs announced their second class of team Hall-of-Famers: pitchers ElRoy Face, Bob Friend and Kent Tekulve, along with shortstop Dick Groat.

4/19 Through the 1960s: Arky Clutch, Cy One-Hitter, Openers, Game Days, Boot-Ball, Brawling In Cincy, Showtime, In the Cards, HBD RJ

• 1890 - Pittsburgh, which had lost a boatload of players to the upstart Players League, still had enough to win their Opener at Recreation Park by a 3-2 tally over the Cleveland Spiders in front of 1,000 fans. The North Side nine jumped ahead in the first frame when Billy Sunday advanced three bases on a misthrow by the Cleve catcher to score and the Allies added in the next inning when Sam LaRocque tripled and came home on Henry Youngman’s single. The Spiders tied the game in the fifth against Pete Daniels, but Pittsburgh took home the win in the ninth when Daniel’s bases-loaded rap proved the game-winner. Daniels tossed an eight-hitter with two K and a walk; it would be his only victory of the year. He was released after four games, and the team itself finished with a 23-113 mark. The Player League nine also had its Opener at Exposition Park and the Burghers were thumped 10-2 despite a crowd of 9,000 who came to see James "Pud" Galvin pitch. Both local clubs opened with a parade to their respective ballparks, but they avoided one another and any rooter ‘tudes. 
• 1900 - Pittsburgh lost their opener to St. Louis Cardinals 3-0 at Robison Field as Cy Young pitched a five-hitter and K’ed nine. The game was auspicious because it marked the Pirates debut of 26-year-old Honus Wagner (in right field), who had played with Louisville for the past three seasons. He didn’t disappoint, getting two of the Bucs hits, though he did manage to get picked off once. Hans went on to hit a league-leading .381 with 22 triples and 176 OPS+, the second of fifteen consecutive seasons that The Flying Dutchman would bat .300 or better. 
• 1902 - The Cardinals booted 11 balls in a 10-4 loss to the Bucs at Sportsman Park, setting an NL record. The Pirates mishandled four more plays to help set a single game NL record for errors. The Pittsburgh Gazette aptly described the affair as a “game that would make amateurs blush.” 
• 1903 - The Pirates, NL pennant winners in 1901-02, let the rest of the league know they weren’t resting on their laurels by sweeping the Reds at Cincinnati’s Palace of the Fans (and there was a huge crowd of 12,000 fans) in a season-opening four-game set, taking the series finale by a 6-4 score. The top three in the Buc lineup - Ginger Beaumont, Fred Clarke and Tommy Leach - scored all six runs to back up Sam Leever’s pitching. The club finished the season as Senior Circuit champions with 91 wins, and then met Boston in what’s considered the first World Series. 

Sam Leever - Helmar T205

• 1912 - The Pirates and Cardinals spent the evening at the Lyceum Theater on Penn Avenue taking in “George Evans’ Honey Boy Minstrels” show per the Pittsburgh Press. Evans was born in Wales, became a popular entertainer in America, and like many young immigrants, developed a jones for baseball. He awarded a loving cup to the "World's Championship Batsman" from 1908-12, with Hans Wagner earning the first and Ty Cobb then running the table. 
• 1935 - Cy Blanton threw a complete game, one-hit, one-walk, shutout against the St Louis Cardinals at Forbes Field, only giving up a second-inning single to Spud Davis (who would end his career as a Bucco). The Bucs won 3-0, scoring all their runs in the third inning against Wild Bill Hallahan; Blanton chipped in with an RBI. Arky Vaughan and Tom Padden backed up Cy’s gem with three hits apiece. Beat man Edward Ballinger of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote “Blanton’s fireball worked so beautifully and his curves worked so artistically that the Redbirds expressed disgust by throwing down their bats after missing strikes.” Posing, it seems, is not a modern phenomenon. 
• 1938 - Trailing 3-2 entering the ninth inning, SS Arky Vaughan hit a two-run homer to give the Pirates a 4-3 season-opening victory at St. Louis’ Sportsman Park. Paul Waner went 3-for-4 with a double, triple and two runs scored. The win marked the beginning of a seven-game winning streak to open the season. Alas, they needed that winning touch at the end of the year. Instead, they dropped 6-of-7 in the closing days of the campaign to finish two games behind the Cubs. 
• 1948 - The Reds opened the season with a 4-1 win over the Pirates at Crosley Field in a game delayed by a shower of bottles in the eighth frame. The Bucs went down fighting when Cincy’s Babe Young doubled after Hank Sauer’s homer and got tangled with Buc SS Stan Rojek. Young went after Rojek, failing to note that the ball was back in play, and was tagged out. The players jostled and a fan jumped the railing to go after ump Jocko Conlin, who had rung Young up. First base ump Beans Reardon came over to help get things in order, but instead got into a fight with the riled rooter. Police restored peace while the Queen City faithful pitched a few bottles the Buccos’ way. The fighting fan, btw, was thrown out but escorted back to his seat. The game was noteworthy in a couple of other ways - it marked the Pirates switch to black & gold trim from the traditional red and blue piping along with cleaner lettering instead of cursive, and it marked Billy Meyer’s debut as manager. Despite the bumpy baptism, he would become 1948’s The Sporting News Manager of the Year. 

Rip Sewell - 1949 Eureka Sports Stamp

• 1949 - Rip Sewell whipped Dutch Leonard 1-0 in front of Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson and Chicago Mayor Martin Kennelly at Wrigley Field, marking the third time Sewell blanked the Cubbies on Opening Day. The Pirates scored in the ninth when pinch-hitter Les Fleming’s grounder scored pinch runner Jack Cassini for an unearned run; the bases were loaded with one away and the Cubby infield tried to turn an inning-ending DP instead of taking a sure out at home. SABR’s John Fredland added some game trivia - Sewell, 41, and Leonard, 40, were the first pair of 40-somethings to go head-to-head on Opening Day. The only other Opening Day matchup of starters in their 40s didn’t happen until 4/3/2005 when New York’s 41-year-old Randy Johnson met 41-year-old David Wells of the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium (NY won, 9-2). Also, future Bucco catcher Smoky Burgess made his first MLB appearance, pinch-hitting with a deep fly out. 
• 1959 - Robert James “RJ” Reynolds was born in Sacramento. The switch-hitter spent six seasons with the Pirates, hitting .269 as a platoon outfielder and pinch hitter from 1985-90. He often played with Barry Bonds and Andy Van Slyke, but age and Bobby Bo’s emergence marked the beginning of the end for RJ, who finished his pro career playing in Japan and Mexico. 
• 1960 - The newspapers sniffed out a proposed deal with the Phils; the Pirates were looking for pitching (specifically Don Cardwell) and Philly needed help behind the plate and in the outfield, where the Pirates were deep. The rumors didn’t pan out (the Phils liked Bill Virdon, which was a deal-breaker), and swapped Cardwell to the Cubs three weeks later. But the Pirates FO’s interest didn’t fade; they got the righty in the 1962 offseason as part of the Dick Groat deal with the Cards.

4/19 From 1970: Foli-Taveras, Wandy-ful, Reynolds Rap, Game Days, Bonds POTW, Big Hurt; HBD Zach, Denny & Joe

• 1977 - Joe Beimel was born in St. Mary’s in Elk County. The lefty from Duquesne University started his career in Pittsburgh (2001-03) and made another stop in 2012. He was 11-20 in his four campaigns with the Bucs, pitching to a 5.03 ERA. The Bucs released him after he had TJ surgery in 2012. Joe last pitched in the majors in 2015 and retired in 2017 after 13 MLB campaigns; he made an unsuccessful 2021 comeback with San Diego. And he pitched without a safety net - Beimel never had a contract that was for longer than one year. 
• 1977 - LHP Denny “Big Sweat” Reyes was born in Higuera de Zaragoza, Mexico. Denny spent 15 years in the majors with 12 very forgettable outings as a Pirate in 2003, when he gave up a dozen runs in 10+ innings. The Bucs waived him in May and he bounced around until catching a second wind in 2006 with the Twins; he put up five solid seasons with them and the Cards before tossing his last outing in 2011 for the Red Sox. As for his nickname - at 6’3” and 250 pounds, Denny worked up plenty of big sweats while tending to his job on the hill. 
• 1979 - The Mets traded Tim Foli and minor league prospect Greg Field to the Pirates in exchange for SS Frank Taveras. Foli solidified the infield for the eventual World Champs, batting .291 and appearing in 133 games. He stayed with the Bucs through 1981, went to the AL for three seasons and spent his last year as a Pirate in 1985. Frank was solid offensively through 1980, and in three years with the Mets hit .253 with 90 swipes before closing it out in 1982 with the Expos. 
• 1983 - LHP Zach Duke was born in Clifton, Texas. He spent the first six years of his career in Pittsburgh and put up a line of 49-75/4.99. Called up in July of 2005 after being named the Bucco Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2004, he went 8-2/1.81, but never posted an ERA south of four afterwards as a Pirate, leaving the club after the 2010 season. Zachster had TJ surgery in 2017, coming back in late July to work for the Cards. He last pitched in 2019 and became a co-founder of Framework Athletics, a baseball/softball training academy located in Nashville.

RJ Reynolds - 1986 Fleer

• 1986 - Happy birthday to me! Leadoff hitter RJ Reynolds celebrated his 27th birthday with a grand slam off Chicago’s Scott Sanderson in the fourth inning at Wrigley Field during a 14-8 Pirates win. The game featured six home runs (three by each team) and 28 hits (14 by each team). 
• 1988 - The Pirates announced that OF Barry Bonds won the NL Player of the Week award. BB batted 7-of-23, and four of those hits left the yard. He was tied for the league lead in homers, triples and home runs while holding down the fifth spot in batting average race with a .354 BA. 
• 1991 - The Pirates took a 3-0 lead into the ninth against Chicago at TRS behind one-hit pitching by Vincente Palacios, Bob Patterson & Stan Belinda and a two-run Andy Van Slyke bomb and a sac fly, but it went by the wayside in a hurry. Belinda went an inning too long, giving up a hit, walk and beaning before allowing a pinch-hit grand salami to Andre Dawson. But Pittsburgh had a rally left in them; old Cubbie Curtis Wilkerson and Gary Redus opened with back-to-back singles. A wild pitch tied it and a couple of batters later, Jeff King dumped a single off the end of his bat into center to walk it off, 5-4. King and Don Slaught had a pair of hits and Belinda, despite having his cage rattled in the ninth, got the victory to snap a six-game win streak by the Cubs. 
• 1999 - Leadoff batter Jason Kendall had two singles, stole three bases and scored twice as the Bucs blanked San Diego 3-0 at Qualcomm Stadium. Five Pirates pitchers spun a five-hit shutout as starter Pete Schourek picked up his first win of the season while Jason Christiansen recorded his first save of the year. People sometimes forget how good a runner Kendall was, even as a catcher. He was injured on July 4th and lost for the rest of the campaign, but up to that point he had swiped 22 sacks in 25 tries in 78 games and batted leadoff in 15 of the outings. 

Wandy Rodriguez - 2013 Topps

• 2013 - Wandy Rodriguez tossed seven innings of one-hit ball as the Bucs beat the NL-leading Atlanta Braves 6-0 at PNC Park in front of 18,705 Friday night fans. The Bravos ended up with two hits, with both runners erased on DP balls. There were no walks or errors, allowing the three Pirate hurlers (Wandy, Mark Melancon and Vin Mazzaro) to face the minimum 27 batters. 
• 2017 - The Pirates were swept by the St Louis Cardinals in a three-game set at Busch Stadium by identical 2-1 scores. It was the first time since 1888 that the Pirates (then the Alleghenys) had given up six or fewer runs in a three-game series and lost all three times (1-0, 1-0, 2-0, v the Philadelphia Quakers). The hard-luck losers were Ivan Nova, Chad Kuhl and Gerrit Cole. It also continued an odd pattern of sweeps in April - the Pirates were swept by Boston, took three from Atlanta, then blanked by Cincinnati, won a three-gamer against the Cubs and were broomed by the Redbirds. Bucco historian John Dreker of Pirates Prospects noted that the 1890 Pirates/Alleghenys were involved in six straight sweeps from Aug 13th-Sept 2nd. Technically, that streak reached eight sweeps if you count a series that was just one game due to bad weather. 
• 2019 - Ouch: SS Erik Gonzalez and CF Starling Marte crashed into one another chasing down a Texas Leaguer during the Pirates 4-1 win over the Giants at PNC Park. Gonzo broke his collarbone, went on the 60-day IL and was out until August; Starling bruised his abdominal wall and went on the 10-day list. That meant the Pirates top two SS’s (Gonzalez and Kevin Newman) were on the IL and their top four outfielders (Marte joined Gregory Polanco, Corey Dickerson & Lonnie Chisenhall) were out of action. To boot, starting second baseman Adam Frazier was out with back spasms. Despite being battered and bloody, the Pirates were on a four-game winning streak and at 11-6 were off to the best start of anyone in the NL as the “next man up” process was working just fine. But the club quickly lost energy and finished the campaign with a 69-93 mark.