9/19 Through the 1970s: Bad Backs Back, Big Bob 1-Hitter, Maz Muscle, Danny's 26-Gamer, 50 For Ralph, Rip's 21st, Strandfest, Game Days, HBD Stuffy, Glinn & Yank

1859 - IF William “Yank” Robinson was born in Philadelphia. Yank had his heyday from 1885-89 with the American Association’s St Louis Browns. He could play just about anywhere and was patient at the plate: from 1887-90, Robinson drew 472 free rides (427 walks w/45 HBPs) and 400 hits for an OBP of .412. Yank got into a beef with the Browns’ owner in 1889 triggered by a pair of tight pants and jumped to the Pittsburgh Burghers the following season, keeping up his old tricks. During the season, Robinson had just 70 hits for a .229 BA, but his 101 bases on balls jacked up his OBP to .434, fourth highest in the Players' League in his only Pittsburgh term. He also played the field bare handed and could throw ambidextrously; that combo made him an erratic fielder who could either turn a difficult play or boot a routine two-hopper. It’s thought that his nickname dates back from childhood as he was born just prior to the Civil War.

1860 - OF Ed Glenn (Glinn) was born in Richmond, Virginia. Ed played every other year in the majors, making stops in 1884-86-88, with the Alleghenys being his team in the middle. He hit .191 (his rep was as a gloveman), spent a year in the minors and split time in the NL in 1888. He lost his chance to repeat his two-year cycle when he injured himself badly crashing into another player while chasing down a fly while on the farm at Sioux City. He finished out the season, then sat out 1891 before passing away from consumption (tuberculosis) at 31.

1882 - Rookie Guy Hecker of the American Association Louisville Eclipse (aka Colonels) tossed a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Alleghenys, winning 3-1 at Eclipse Park, falling just a week short from tossing the first AA no-no. He would join the Pirates in 1890, albeit for his final MLB season.

1890 - 1B Jack “Stuffy” McInnis was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Stuffy, a solid contact hitter and glove man, spent the tail end of his 17-year career as a Pirate in 1925-26. McInnis still had his stick working, hitting .337 over that span and .286 in four games of the 1925 World Series against the Washington Senators before retiring after the 1927 campaign. He picked up his nickname as a youngster playing sandlot ball in Boston, where his feats on the field brought shouts from the stands of "that's the stuff, kid."

Stuffy McInnis - 1925 TSN/Conlan Collection/Getty

1901 - The Pirates game with the Phils at Exposition Park was postponed by order of NL President NE Young (it was a league-wide day of mourning) to honor the burial day of assassinated President William McKinley. Pittsburgh was a hotbed of McKinley enthusiasts; a South Hills Park and street were renamed for him. The clubs played two the next day to make up the date, with a Pirates sweep putting them 9-1/2 games up in the standings. The team finished the year 90-49, winning the pennant by 7-1/2 games to earn the franchise's first title.

1908 - Ralph Davis of the Pittsburgh Press wrote “In the presence of a grand out-pouring of more than 25,000 fans and in one of the most stubbornly fought battles ever waged at the Polo Grounds, the Pirates defeated the New York Giants by the score of 6-2 after ten innings of strenuous work.” The better part of that battle was fought by Lefty Liefield, who went the distance to outlast Red Ames and Doc Crandall. Ed "Batty" Abbaticchio knocked home a pair of runs in the 10th, and an error followed by Chief Wilson’s hit brought in the final two tallies.

1925 - The Pirates edged the Braves 2-1 at Forbes Field as Kiki Cuyler had four hits and Pie Traynor added three more. The two teams combined for 23 hits and drew seven walks but managed to strand 23 runners, hit into two DPs and have three runners thrown out trying to steal, keeping all the bases but home busy during the match. The Bucs took nine innings to finally get it together - Pittsburgh left the bases loaded with one away in the eighth and needed a two-out, bases-packed single by Glenn Wright in the ninth to walkoff the win for Vic Aldridge.

1943 - Rip Sewell whipped the Reds 10–3 for his 21st win, which topped the MLB chart that season. Rip also stole a base to finish the year with seven swipes (he only stole three more sacks in the following six campaigns). Elbie Fletcher had three hits and two RBI; Bob Elliott added two hits and three RBI. For 37-year-old Rip, it would earn him and his trusty eephus pitch his first All Star appearance. The Pirates swept the twin bill 2-1 as three Pirate pitchers (Xavier Rescigno, Hank Gornicki & Max Butcher, who got the W) outlasted Johnny Vander Meer. Pittsburgh was its own worst enemy in the nightcap, hitting into a DP, going 0-for-2 in stolen bases and getting a runner tossed out at home before scoring twice in the ninth on singles by Vince DiMaggio and Elliott.

Rip Sewell - 1943 Play Ball

1949 - In a 6-4 loss to the NY Giants at Forbes Field, Ralph Kiner hit his 50th home run (he finished the year with 54). With that blast, the 26-year-old outfielder became the first NL’er to hit 50+ bombs in two different seasons. It would take until 1965 for Willie Mays to match Kiner’s mark.

1953 - Danny O'Connell hit safely in his 26th consecutive game, a 4-1 loss to the NY Giants at the Polo Grounds. The streak ended later in the day as the Bucs won the back end of the twin bill by a 6-5 tally while Danny went 0-for-5. The streak was the second longest in Pirate history, trailing only Jimmy Williams’ 27-game streak of 1899 (Williams had a 26-game streak earlier in 1899 and Kenny Lofton also put together a 26-game hit parade in 2003).

1959 - Bill Mazeroski, who homered earlier, drilled a two-run triple in the 12th as the Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-3 at Forbes Field. Elroy Face gave up a run in the top of the 12th but got the win. Face’s record was 18-1, including eight straight games won in extra innings. He ended the year with the top winning percentage (.947) of any pitcher with 15 decisions or more, and his dazzling performance launched a string of three straight All Star appearances.

1965 - Bob Veale allowed one hit, a two-out, sixth-inning single by Tony Taylor, and struck out 12 to earn a 10-inning 1-0 win over the Phillies at Forbes Field. Roberto Clemente's two-out single off Philadelphia reliever Jack Baldschun that scored Bob Bailey was the game winner; Veale had been thrown out at home the batter before, trying to score on Manny Mota’s hit.

Roberto Clemente - 1985 TCMA (1966 MVP)

1966 - The Bucs took an 11-inning victory from the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park by a 6-1 score. Roberto Clemente, leading off and in an 0-for-13 funk, triggered the win when he ignored manager Harry “The Hat” Walker’s small-ball sign to bunt for a hit and instead  swung away, drilling a two-run homer. Bob Bailey added the sugar on top when he smacked a grand slam to close out the frame, giving Pete Mikkelsen the win in relief of Bob Veale. 

 
1970 - Roberto Clemente, out of action for 14 games with a bad back, returned to score one run and chase home another with a key double in Pittsburgh's 2-1 victory over New York, keeping a 1-1/2 game lead over Chicago. The Bucco D turned four DPs to help Luke Walker to the win, with the final four frames closed down by the bullpen. With Roberto back, the club would go 12-5 to win the division by five games, but were stopped by the Big Red Machine in the NLCS.

1974 - Pittsburgh put up a five-spot in the seventh inning to take an 8-6 win from the first-place St. Louis Cards at TRS. The big blows in the frame were Richie Hebner’s two-out, three-run homer and Willie Stargell’s two-run two-bagger, giving Ramon Hernandez the win with Dave Giusti, making his first appearance in two weeks due to a balky back, credited with the save of the contest started by Bruce Kison. The win moved the Bucs within 1/2 game of first place, and they won the pennant over the Cards by sweeping the Cubs in the last series of the season.

1978 - In one of Pittsburgh’s lighter moments, 38-year-old Willie Stargell attempted to swipe 2B against Chicago (he did have three steals that year) quite unsuccessfully. As Cubs' SS Ivan DeJesus waited at the bag with the ball, Stargell slid in five feet short of the base, stood up and called for time-out. The Bucs won despite Pops’ baserunning antics and blowing a 10-2 lead, finally taking the victory by a 12-11 tally. Dave Parker’s homer in the 11th inning off Bruce Sutter, his second long ball of the day, gave the Bucs their seventh straight win and 30th in their last 38 games. Parker and Bill Robinson, who also homered twice, combined for eight hits, seven RBI and five runs scored. John Candelaria started, giving up two runs in six frames but evened that out with a hit, walk, and two runs scored himself. Odell Jones, the sixth Pirates hurler, got the win.

9/19 From 1980: Bay Bash, 9 Spot, Jose Hammer, Curt Slam, Doug's 20th, Game Days, #4 Retired, Boss Hunt, HBD Robinzon, John & Ray

1980 - OF Ray Sadler was born in Clifton, Texas. Sadler played three MLB games in his career, all with the Bucs in early May of 2005, banging out a pair of hits, including a homer (which was his first MLB hit), in eight at bats. He did have a long shelf life as a player, though, playing 16 years (2000-15) and nearly 1,700 games in the minors, Latin leagues and indie ball.

1983 - 1B/OF John Jaso was born in Chula Vista, CA. The Bucs signed the 32-year-old to a two-year, $8M deal after Jaso hit .286 and produced a .380 OBP/.839 OPS in 70 games with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2015. JJ was primarily a catcher and DH in the show until the 2015 campaign, when concussion issues necessitated a switch of positions. He was converted by Pittsburgh to a full-time first baseman to replace Pedro Alvarez after Petey was non-tendered. JJ adjusted, pinch-hitting and playing 1B/OF off the bench. Jaso hit .245 in 258 Pirates games with 18 HR and retired after the 2017 campaign to travel the world.

1983 - C Robinzon Diaz was born in Monte Plata, Dominican Republic. He was the return for the Jose Bautista swap with Toronto in a deal that Neil Huntington would like to reclaim as a mulligan. Diaz played briefly in 2008-09 for Pittsburgh, hitting .289 in 43 games but he couldn’t beat out Jason Jamarillo for the back-up spot due to his glovework. After bouncing around in AAA, he took a gig in the Mexican League and later was the bullpen catcher for the Brewers from 2017-20; he’s now a DSL coach for Milwaukee.

1987 - Ralph Kiner’s #4 was retired. The Mets won the game at TRS, 5-4, in front of 20,933 fans in a match that Kiner himself announced on WOR-TV. The slugger was a Hall-of-Famer, and in his eight years as a Buc, he hit .280 with 301 HR and 801 RBI. “Mr. Slug” set the team record for homers in 1949 with 54 and hit 40+ long balls for five straight seasons.

1989 - The Pirates did a little experimenting, flipping rookie Jeff King from his usual spot at first across the diamond to third, flipping positions with Bobby Bonilla, the usual hot corner guardian. Though King didn’t get any chances to handle this game, the Bucs liked him there. He got several more starts there in the season's closing days and was the regular third sacker in 1990. Bo didn’t stay at first, though, as the team brought Sid Bream aboard and moved Bobby to right field. Bonilla didn’t really fret about his position; he told Paul Meyer of the Post Gazette that the team should “Just find me someplace where I can bat about 500 times.” Good point, and well taken as he had three raps and three RBIs against the Phils in a 6-2 Pirates victory at TRS.

Bobby Bonilla - 1989 Donruss Pop Up

1990 - Doug Drabek won his 20th game while Bobby Bonds hit his 30th and 31st HRs as Pittsburgh beat Chicago 8-7 at Wrigley Field. The win snapped a six-game Pirates losing streak and put them a game ahead of the Mets. It was also the start of a 10-of-11 games winning streak that vaulted them into a five-game lead and the title. Bonds and his dad became the first father-son members of the 30/30 club. Two days later, Bonds swiped his 50th base of the season to become the second MLB player to join the 30/50 club, joining the Reds’ Eric Davis. For Drabek, it was a red letter day; it was the only time in his career that he won more than 15 games (he finished with 22 wins) and it propelled him to the Cy Young Award, though oddly, not the All-Star game.

1991 - In a finish that defied the odds, the Pirates walked off a 5-1 win over the Cards at TRS thanks to a two-out grand slam by...Curtis Wilkerson, the only grand salami of his career. Wilky was batting .185, hadn’t banged a homer since April of 1989, and was facing Lee Smith, one of the league’s premier closers who had already collected 41 saves on the season. To make the odds a little steeper, St. Louis had been 37-0 when leading after eight innings, and went into the ninth with a 1-0 lead. Curt didn’t sweat the odds and cooly lined Smith’s first pitch heater into the right field seats. A much more likely hero, Barry Bonds, tied the game on a first-and-third force followed by a walk to set up Wilkerson. With a deep September bench, Jim Leyland opted to bypass several stronger bats to give Curtis his chance (having an 11-1/2 game divisional lead probably played into his decision, too) and as the skipper told scribe Gene Collier after the game “I was never accused of being too smart.” Yep - dumb like Einstein.

1993 - A Buc rally fell short as the Cards prevailed 7-6 at Busch Stadium. Dave Clark swatted a two-run, pinch-hit homer in the ninth to give the Bucs a 6-5 lead, but Mark Dewey surrendered the game after two outs with a walk (the second of the inning; the other was charged to Denny Neagle) and a double just inside the line by Mark Whiten that snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Carlos Garcia and Jeff King each had three hits in the heartbreaker. Clark’s homer, even if it was swatted to no avail, would be the last for another decade to give the Bucs the lead in the ninth after trailing until Rob Mackowiak’s blast defeated the Reds in 2003.

1996 - With Jim Leyland all but gone to the Florida Marlins, the Pirates media began speculating on his successor. The early frontrunners were favorite Terry Francona, Art Howe, Gene Lamont, Bruce Benedict and Grady Little. The ultimate winner was the in-house candidate, Gene Lamont, who lasted from 1997-2000, posting a 295-352, .456 record as Buc skipper. He had wet his feet in the by spending four years as the Chicago White Sox skipper (1992-95).

Gene Lamont - 1997 On Deck Mag

1997 - The Pirates held a Roberto Clemente commemoration night, unveiling a video of his career highlights followed by his widow Vera tossing out the first pitch at TRS before playing the Cards. The team handed out magnets, but despite the vid and Vera, they still lost 6-5.

1998 - Jose Guillen homered and doubled to drive in five runs while Francisco Cordova scattered eight hits over eight innings (Rick Loiselle mopped up) for a 7-1 win over Houston at TRS. Turner Ward also went deep and Jason Kendall & Adrian Brown added two knocks each. The victory ended a seven-game losing streak to the Astros during a dismal 69-win campaign.

2000 - The Pirates rode a nine-run sixth inning to a 12-8 win over the Philadelphia Phillies at Veterans Stadium. The Bucs sent 13 batters to the plate, with the big hits being a two-run knock by Emil Brown and a bases-loaded double by John Wehner. The Phils made a game of it in the ninth, scoring three runs off Scott Sauerbeck before Mike Williams came on to end it.

2003 - Jason Bay drove in eight runs (the franchise single game record is nine, set by Johnny Rizzo in 1939; Ralph Kiner was the last to chase home eight Buccos in 1950) during a 10-9 loss to the Cubs. Jay Bay hit a pair of homers, including a grand slam, and a double in the first game of a doubleheader split at PNC Park. It was a tale of two games; Chicago scored the match’s final run in the top of the sixth and there was just one more hit between both clubs over the final 3-1/2 innings. The Buc bats stayed hot in a 10-6 nightcap win. Matt Stairs went long and five different Pirates added a pair of hits to give Salomon Torres the win.

2005 - Ian Snell pitched eight innings to earn his first MLB win as he beat Roger Clemens and the Houston Astros 7–0 at PNC Park. Snell allowed just three hits, retiring the final nine batters he faced before José Mesa closed out the four-hit shutout in the ninth. Four different Pirates - Tike Redman, Jason Bay, Jack Wilson & Freddy Sanchez - had three hits, and every Buc starter except JJ Furmaniak had a hit and scored/drove in a run (or both). The game checked off another notch on Clemens’ bucket list of having pitched in every current major league ballpark.

Russ Martin - 2014 Topps Gypsy Queen

2014 - The Pirates were dueling with the Milwaukee Brewers for the last wild card spot and losing late 2-0 at PNC Park, unable to dent long time nemesis Yovani Gallardo. Jonathan Broxton came on in the eighth, and after giving up singles to Starling Marte and Neil Walker, watched Russ Martin launch a ball into the seats to give the Bucs a 3-2 lead, with the electrified sellout crowd of 37,974 fans demanding a curtain call. Ike Davis singled in an insurance run as John Holdzkom earned his first MLB win after a strong start by Jeff Locke, with Mark Melancon posting his 31st save. It was the 21st time that the Pirates won a contest during their last at-bat of that campaign.

2015 - Francisco Liriano and the Pirates beat LA ace Clayton Kershaw at Dodger Stadium 3-2 to snap a four-game losing streak. Frankie K’ed nine and retired 16 straight batters during one stretch. Tony Watson and Mark Melancon finished up the game, with Mark the Shark recording a club record-setting 47th save. Andrew McCutchen and Aramis Ramirez provided the offense with on-time doubles; Cutch’s two-bagger drove in a pair while A-Ram’s chased home the game-winner. The Pirates couldn’t quite catch up to the Cards in the NL Central race, falling two games short, but did win 98 games and finished as the top wild card team.

2018 - In a squeak-by series, the Bucs completed a sweep of the sad-sack Kansas City Royals (the game was KC’s 100th loss) by taking the nightcap of a twin bill by a 2-1 score at PNC Park. They won the opener 7-6 on a two-out, ninth-inning walkoff hit by Jacob Stallings, the Bucs third-string catcher and a September call up from AAA Indianapolis. Then they captured the middle game 2-1 in 11 innings on a walkoff single by Ryan Lavarnway, the fourth-string catcher and also a September call up from Indy, after a blown save by Felipe Vazquez, his first after converting 24 straight save opportunities. It was Lavarnway’s first walkoff rap and Stallings’ second. The third and final game wasn’t quite as dramatic - though a squeaker, there were no late heroics, with the game winner a solo shot by 2B Adam Frazier in the fifth inning, followed by rows of goose eggs. For the Pirates, it was part of a nice albeit late run (“wait til next year,” as Bucco fans are wont to say...) as they took their fifth straight win and were on an 11-of-14 roll to go three games over .500.

9/18 Through the 1940s: Russ Rules, Pie's 100, Ray's 20th, Kiki Streak, Vic 1-Hitter, Sweep, Ohio Match, Game Days, HBD Ken & Heinie

1865 - The Philadelphia Athletic Base Ball Club began a two-day series of four games against Allegheny City teams. The Enterprise, Lincoln, and Allegheny Clubs, as well as an all-star team of the best players from the three clubs, challenged the touring Athletics. The “Great Base Ball Tournament,” played in the Allegheny Commons (then in Allegheny City and now known as North Side’s West Park), marked the first time an out-of-town club visited the area, the first time a bleacher structure was built for fan seating locally, and likely the first time fans were charged admission to see a game (25 cents per game; 50 cents for all four). The Philadelphia AC won the four matches by a combined score of 247-42, per the Heinz History Center archives.

1889 - 3B Heinie Groh was born in Rochester, New York. He spent 15 years manning the hot corner for mainly the New York Giants and Cincinnati Reds. The speedy Groh was a leadoff hitter extraordinaire, playing his invention, the bottle bat, to a .292 lifetime tune with a .373 OBP and 180 SBs. In 1927 Groh ended his career with Pittsburgh, playing only 14 games during the regular season (he had badly injured his knee in 1925, rendering him a bench player) and took his final big-league at bat as a pinch-hitter in the 1927 Series; it was his fifth Fall Classic. 

1890 - The Pittsburgh Alleghenies switched their match against the Cleveland Spiders from Recreation Park to Canton’s Pastime Park, a minor league field (some cite Mahaffey Park, though Pastime seems the more likely). It was the first of two games that season played at a neutral site (although 30 or so home games were played at opponent’s parks) in hopes of attracting a crowd larger than the team roster. The Spiders, who finished seventh in the NL with 44 wins, took the match 11-10 behind Ohio boy Cy Young, pitching in his rookie year. Pittsburgh would become baseball’s worst team ever at the end of the season with a 23-113 record; they would lose that inglorious top spot to the Spiders a decade later when Cleveland finished 20-134 in 1899.

1903 - The Bucs swept a twin bill from the Boston Beaneaters at Exposition Park in a pair of nail-biters, 7-6 & 6-5, to clinch the NL crown. The Pirates scored three times in the ninth in the opener and took the nightcap with a ninth-inning rally, too. In the first game, Fred Clarke was on first with two out when Hans Wagner doubled. Kitty Bransfield’s knock chased them both home and he scored the game-winner on Claude Ritchey’s knock. Clarke was the sparkplug in the second match, too, tripling in the ninth and scoring on Jimmy Sebring’s single. Sam Leever and Gus Thompson were both bloodied on the mound but each went the distance to earn the wins. The Boston Americans claimed the AL title the day before, and the teams would meet in the first World Series between the leagues after the NL/AL presidents had agreed to a best-of-nine match.

Fred Clarke - Helmar Boston Garter

1909 - Vic Willis stopped the Brooklyn Superbas on one hit, a Baltimore chop off the plate in the third inning by Zack Wheat, for his 21st win of the year. It was as close as anyone ever came to a tossing a no-hitter at Forbes Field. Pittsburgh won 6-0 with two hits each from Honus Wagner and Tommy Leach.

1925 - LHP Harvey Haddix was born in Medway, Ohio. The Kitten (he got that moniker as a rookie in St. Louis because he was the protege of veteran mentor Harry "The Cat" Brecheen) worked for the Pirates from 1959-63 with a line of 45-38/3.73. He won two games against the Yankees in the 1960 World Series, including the seventh, and tossed 12 perfect innings against the Milwaukee Braves on May 26th, 1959, losing in the 13th frame while tossing a game considered by many to be the best pitching performance in major league history. He was also the Pirates pitching coach from 1979-84.

1925 - Kiki Cuyler collected four hits to launch a torrid five-game hitting streak during which he banged out 15 knocks (he had three four-hit games in the span). C Earl Smith joined him with a four-rap day in a 9-7 win over the Boston Braves at Forbes Field to give the Pirates third hurler, Emil Yde, the win. To add a dash of excitement, Earl Smith threw some punches at the Braves’ Gus Felix, who slid home with spikes high, gashing the Buc backstop during a collision at the plate. The ump separated them quickly and sent the pair to the showers before a full-scale brawl developed. The Pirates rode all five of the games during Kiki’s streak to victory while on their way to the National League and World Series titles. Cuyler finished the campaign batting .357, the highest average of his career.

1930 - Ray Kremer picked up his 20th win of the year when he slipped by the Phils 6-5 at the Baker Bowl. He went the distance, surviving a pair of Chuck Klein homers behind a balanced Bucco attack that saw every Pirates position player reach base. It was Kremer’s second 20-win campaign.

Ray Kremer - Pirates promo photo

1931 - The Bucs split a twinbill with Boston at Forbes Field, losing the opener 6-1 and taking the nitecap 4-1. It was a memorable day for Pie Traynor. He doubled and drove in a run in the first game, then went 4-for-4 in the closer with a homer & double, scoring twice and bringing home a pair. His three RBI for the day were #99, 100, & 101, giving him his fifth straight 100 RBI season, which set the franchise record. He finished the year with 103 runners chased home. In his career, Pie had seven 100+ RBI campaigns and drove in 1,273 runs, fourth in club history behind Willie Stargell, Honus Wagner and Roberto Clemente.

1937 - Paul Waner established a 20th century NL record with his eighth year of 200+ hits (he finished the year with 219 raps; it took him just 11 seasons to put together eight 200+ hits campaigns) when he collected three knocks against the Brooklyn Robins in a 3-2 win at Forbes Field. Pittsburgh’s Cy Blanton outlasted Freddie Fitzsimmons for the victory behind Gus Suhr’s pair of RBI. Big Poison ran up a string of 14 consecutive years (1926-39) with 150+ hits that started his rookie seasons and didn’t end until he was 37 years old.

1938 - Pitching on one day’s rest (he worked 6-1/3 innings against the Boston Braves on 9/16), Russ Bauers threw a complete game four-hitter at the Philadelphia Phillies to take home a 1-0 victory after Paul Waner drove in pinch runner Johnny Dickshot in the ninth at Shibe Park. The second game was also a pitching duel between the Bucs’ Ed Brandt and Syl Johnson, but was called after five innings because of darkness with the score 1-1.

1948 - LHP Ken Brett was born in Brooklyn. The 14-year vet spent 1974-75 in Pittsburgh, earning an All-Star berth in ‘74 as the Pirates sole rep and then winning the game. He went 22-14/3.32 for the Bucs and hit .281 with three homers before being sent to the Yankees as part of the package for Doc Medich. After his career, Ken was an announcer, college coach and minor-league team owner. Sadly, after a six-year battle with brain cancer, he died in 2003 at age 55.

9/18 From 1950: Barry #30, Shootout, Flyin' Right, Game Days, TRS Marker, Team of the Century, HBD Donnie, Jody & Roger

1957 - RHP Roger Mason was born in Bellaire, Ohio. The nine-year vet rejuvenated his career in Pittsburgh from 1991-92, slashing 8-9-11/3.82. He worked for two World Series clubs and seven teams in his career while setting the dubious record of having the first three batters he faced in a game homer off him - San Diego Padres Marvell Wynn, Tony Gwynn and John Kruk - though Mason’s Giants won the game. He retired after the 1994 season.

1960 - Vern Law picked up his 20th win with a complete game 5-3 victory in the lidlifter of a Sunday doubleheader at Cincinnati's Crosley Field. The Deacon won the 1960 Cy Young award with a 20-9 record and 3.08 ERA; the Bucs didn’t have another 20 game winner until John Candelaria went 20-5 in 1977. Both Dick Stuart and Don Hoak homered, doubled and drove in two runs. The Pirates took the nitecap 1-0 as Vinegar Bend Mizell tossed a three-hitter against the Reds and Bob Purkey. Ducky Schofield drove in the game’s only run.

1971 - The Bucs clinched at least a tie for the Eastern Division title (they sewed it up two games later) with a 4-0 win against the New York Mets and Ray Sadecki at TRS. Richie Zisk smoked his first career homer to drive in a pair of runs and Dave Cash’s two-bagger plated the other two Buccos. Steve Blass tossed a two-hitter for the win, his 15th of the year, and his fifth shutout of the campaign. The 20,470 fans barely had time to gulp down a hot dog; the game was the fastest played contest of the year, taking 1:42 from the first pitch to the last out.

1974 - After losing six in a row and dropping 2-1/2 games back in the race after losing the opener to the front-running Cards at TRS 2-1 the night before, the Bucs needed to right the ship. Jim Rooker and Al Oliver took charge, with Rook spinning a six-hitter and Scoops doubling twice to drive in two runs while scoring once. Dave Parker also banged a pair of hits as the Bucs stayed alive with 14 games to go, eventually taking the flag by 1-1/2 games over the Redbirds.

1977 - OF Jody Gerut was born in Springfield, Illinois. A touted outfield prospect, the Bucs got him at the 2005 deadline from the Cubs for Matt Lawton. He barely played for the Bucs (four games & 18 at-bats) as he haggled with the FO over a knee injury and sat out most of 2005; he wanted surgery that the Pirates felt unnecessary, and a grievance was filed. Though the two sides settled, Gerut didn’t play in 2006, was released and after a season in the Dominican League, he returned with the Padres in 2008. By 2010, he was done; his numbers were good but he never got to 300 PAs for a season. A Stanford grad, he stayed in the game in the business end  after retiring as he went into financial advising for MLB players and later became a player agent.

Willie Stargell - 2025 Panini Prizm

1979 - The Pirates scored three times in the first inning against the Expos at Olympic Stadium, then laid goose eggs for nine frames before finally denting Montreal pitching in the 11th to pull out a 5-3 victory. Willie Stargell delivered the telling blow, a two-run homer to win the game for Grant Jackson.

1984 - LHP Donnie Veal was born in Jackson, Mississippi. Veal was a second-round pick of the Cubs in 2005 and the Pirates took him in the Rule 5 draft of 2008. He stuck on the roster in 2009, and was used as a reliever, putting up a line of 1-0/7.16 with 16 K in 16-1/3 IP while issuing 20 BB. He missed 2010 with TJ surgery, spent a year on the farm and then he was signed by the Chicago White Sox where he had two decent seasons in 2012-13 before arm troubles again laid him low. He ended his career with Atlanta in 2015 and now scouts for the Giants.

1987 - In a wild west shootout at TRS that took over 3-1/2 hours to play, the Pirates outhit the Mets to take a 10-9 victory. Mike Diaz went 4-for-5 with a 2B, 3B and four RBI, Junior Ortiz knocked in a pair, Felix Fermin had three hits and John Cangelosi homered, providing enough firepower for John Smiley to get the win in relief of Brian Fisher, with Jim Gott closing it out thanks to a game-ending strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out double play. The Bucs took 2-of-3 to win the series, with every game decided by a run.

1991 - Five was not the Pirates lucky number. They were down to the St. Louis Cards at TRS by a 5-0 score going into the bottom of the fifth before the double-five fate switched sides. The Buccos put together two runs in their half when Spanky Lavalliere and Chico Lind drove in Barry Bonds and Steve Buechele, and the Bucs knotted the score in their next at-bats thanks to Buechele’s three-run homer, 5-5. Pittsburgh kept coming, stranding three runners in scoring position with less than two outs three times before Cecil Espy’s sac fly plated Orlando Merced to walk it off in the ninth, earning a victory for b-day boy, Roger Mason.

Steve Buechele - 1992 Fleer

1992 - Barry Bonds hit his 30th homer of the season off Philadelphia's Terry Mulholland in the Pirates' 5-2 win at TRS. Bonds became the fifth MLB player with a pair of 30 HR/30 SB seasons, his first being in 1990. The others were his dad Bobby, his godfather Willie Mays, Howard Johnson, and Ron Gant. The contest was a rain-shortened 5-1/2 inning affair, with Tim Wakefield and his fluttering knuckler surviving five walks to take home the win.

1998 - A state historical marker was dedicated outside TRS to commemorate the first World Series, with games 4-7 played at Exposition Park between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Americans in 1903. The plaque moved when PNC Park opened and is now located on the North Shore Riverwalk.

1999 - The Pirate “Team of the Century,” voted on by fans, was announced. The winners were: C Jason Kendall, 1B Willie Stargell, 2B Bill Mazeroski, SS Honus Wagner, 3B Pie Traynor, LF Ralph Kiner, CF Lloyd Waner (barely edging out Andy Van Slyke), RF Roberto Clemente (Arriba’s selection left Paul “Big Poison” Waner off the club), LHP Harvey Haddix (the Kitten’s perfect game mystique eliminated the Pirates’ winningest pitcher, Wilbur Cooper), RHP Vern Law, reliever Kent Tekulve (in a close race with ElRoy Face) and manager Danny Murtaugh.

2000 - The Pirates ended a nine-game losing streak by topping the Phils 6-5 at Veterans Stadium. Philly jumped ahead 3-0 after an inning and stayed on top until the Pirates finally took a 6-4 lead in the eighth by scoring four times on three doubles, an intentional walk, suicide squeeze and a strikeout/wild pitch. The Phils scored once in their half to cut the lead to one, and Mike Williams was faced with a runner on third with one gone in the ninth, but got a grounder and soft liner to escape with the save of Rick Loiselle’s win. The Pittsburgh attack was balanced; seven of the eight starters either scored, chased home a run or both. It was a record-setting day for Jason Kendall, too - he stole his 20th base, becoming the first NL catcher with 20+ swipes in three different (and consecutive) seasons.

9/17 Through 1974: 11 Straight, Hans Finale, Specs 1st Start, Clark Clicks, Game Days, TSN Pops, HBD Brian, Jim, Ralph, Bob, Sam, Sheriff, Whitey, Wildfire, Otto & Brains

1870 - 2B Dick “Brains” Padden was born in Wheeling, West Virginia. He started his nine-year MLB career with Pittsburgh from 1896-98, recruited from the Virginia State League by player/manager Connie Mack to fill a 2B hole. He was a regular for his last two seasons, hitting .265 in the Steel City before being part of a trade package sent to Washington for his replacement, 2B Heinie Reitz. When Dick ended his playing days, he scouted for a while and then worked in the glass industry. Whoever dubbed him with his nickname is uncertain, but it was attributed to Padden being “foxy” on the field.

1876 - Utilityman Otto Krueger was born in Chicago. Otto played 15 years of pro ball, seven in the majors. He suited up for the Pirates from 1903-04, hitting .219. Krueger missed the ‘03 World Series (he was recovering from a beaning) and was traded the next season as part of the deal for Del Howard. He was nicknamed "Oom (Uncle) Paul” Otto after the president of the Transvaal, “Oom” Paul Kruger, as American audiences of his era were fascinated by the Boer War.

1882 - OF Frank “Wildfire” Schulte was born in Cochecton, New York. Frank played organized pro ball for 21 years, beginning his journey in 1902 after turning down $1,000 from his father to give up baseball and work in the family business. He was a star for the Chicago Cubs and played in four World Series, but he was on the downhill slope of his career in 1916 when he was traded to the Bucs. Frank hit .239 in Pittsburgh and was sold to the Phils. His last MLB campaign was 1918 and 1922 was his last pro season. His nickname was somewhat self-anointed; he was a fan of actress Lillian Russell and a play she starred in by that title. That led him to name one of his racehorses Wildfire; eventually the sportswriters connected the dots and applied the moniker to Schulte.

1893 - RHP Charles “Whitey” Glazner was born in Sycamore, Alabama. He pitched from 1920-23 for the Bucs, with a line of 27-18/3.48, with an exceptional 1921 campaign when Whitey went 14-5-1 with a 2.77 ERA. He was the first Pirates starter to open his career with five straight wins (he relieved twice in 1920), a record that held up until Zach Duke matched it in 2005. But he couldn’t repeat his success in 1922 and was traded to the Phils in May of the next year.

1898 - 1B Willie Clark banged a pair of bases-loaded triples to help the Pirates avoid being swept by the Brooklyn Bridegrooms at Washington Park, escaping with an 8-8 tie (called after nine innings because of rain) after dropping the opener 6-1. Clark, a local lad who hit .306 during the year, is still the only player in franchise history to hit two bases-loaded triples in a game.

Willie Clark - photo via Vintage Baseball

1899 - RHP John “Sheriff” Blake was born in Ansted, West Virginia. Blake worked over 300 games during his decade in MLB, getting his start in 1920 as a 20-year-old Pirates rookie, used six times from the bullpen as he had injured his ankle and was never fully healthy during the year while posting an 8.10 ERA. He spent the next three years seasoning in the International and Pacific Coast Leagues and arrived to stay in 1924 with the Cubs, and remained with them for the next eight years. Per Gregory Wolf, who wrote Blake’s SABR bio, John credited minor league manager George Stallings for giving him the nickname Sheriff during Prohibition. “Stallings knew I was from West Virginia, (and) that there was a lot of moonshining going on... He went to call me one day and could not think of my name, so he said ‘Hey you moonshining sheriff, come here.’”

1900 - LHP Sam Streeter was born in New Market, Alabama. After starting out with Birmingham and the Cuban League, Sam worked both sides of the local black league street, tossing for the Homestead Grays from 1928-30 and then finishing his career with a 1931-36 stint with the Pittsburgh Crawfords, where he won an All-Star berth in 1933. Streeter had several pitches, but was known particularly for his curve and smarts in setting up a hitter. After his pitching days, Sam went to work at Jones and Laughlin steel mill for 29 years before retiring for good.

1915 - Rookie Carmen “Specs” Hill won his first start over the NY Giants 5-0 in the second game of a twin bill at Forbes Field. Hill pitched eight years for the Pirates, winning 22 games in 1927 for the NL pennant winners. He also became the second MLB pitcher to wear glasses; Lee Meadows, who became a Bucco teammate of Hill in the twenties, was the first big leaguer to sport peepers earlier in the season. The Bucs won the opener 9-6 behind Wilbur Cooper.

1917 - Hans Wagner, at the age of 43, played his final game in a 15-inning 4-1 loss to the Boston Braves at Forbes Field. Ralph Davis of the Pittsburgh Press wrote “Wagner did not practice but he played second base for the last five innings (actually, he played just three innings; he entered in the 11th and was pinch-hit for in the 13th, never batting. Hans did get an assist in the field.) Honus has a very sore right hand which prevents him from properly grasping either ball or bat and he was not anxious to play…” and also was suffering from a badly spiked foot injured in July. The Flying Dutchman sat out the final 12 dates (16 games in all, w/four doubleheaders), finishing his last campaign hitting .265 and retiring as the NL's all-time hit leader with 3,418 knocks, a mark later surpassed by Ty Cobb and afterward by Pete Rose with 4,256 knocks. 

Bob Dillinger - 1951 Bowman

1918 - 3B Bob Dillinger was born in Glendale, California. Dillinger was a speedy contact hitter who led the league in stolen bases from 1947-49. The Bucs had him for the last half of 1950 and first half of 1951. The 31-year-old hit a respectable .279 in 70 games as a platoon player, but his wheels weren’t what they used to be and he stole just six bases in that span.

1920 - IF Ralph Wyatt was born in Chicago. Ralph was a good glove infielder whose Pittsburgh connection was during the 1943 Negro World Series. He played for the Chicago American Giants of the Negro American League, which lost in the playoffs to the Black Barons, setting up a Birmingham-Homestead Grays championship. The Giants loaned Wyatt to the Grays for the series (being an equal opportunity club, the also loaned catcher Double Duty Radcliffe to the Barons). The Grays won the series in seven games, with Wyatt going 3-for-7.

1927 - The Pirates won their 10th and 11th games in a row, sweeping the Brooklyn Robins 2-1 and 6-0. Vic Aldridge won the opener and drove in a run to help himself. Ray Kremer tossed his third shutout in four outings while Lloyd Waner banged out his 200th hit of the season, becoming the first MLB rookie to reach that mark in the 20th century. The Bucs then went on to lose 5-of-7 and see their lead cut to 1-1/2 games, but finished strong to win the NL.

1928 - NL ump Ed Vargo was born in Butler. A minor league catcher, he first called games while in the Army, then spent 1953-59 honing his craft in the minors before going on to have a long career in blue. He worked in the NL from 1960-83, retiring only because he hit the mandatory retirement age of 55, and then became the league supervisor, holding the post until 1997. He umped four World Series, four NLCS and four All-Star Games. Ed called eight no-hitters, including Sandy Koufax’s perfecto, arbitrated the game when Henry Aaron tied the Babe’s HR mark, and was part of the first WS night game. He was inducted into the Western PA Sports Hall of Fame in 1994. Vargo died in Butler at age 79 in 2008.

Jim Umbricht - 1960 Topps Rookie Star

1930 - RHP Jim Umbricht was born in Chicago. Umbricht joined the Pirates in 1959 in a minor league trade with the Braves. From 1959-61, he put up a line of 1-2-1/5.12 in 19 games, mostly working in the minors. Umbricht was drafted by the expansion Houston Colt .45s in 1962 and became one of the NLs top tier set-up guys with a 2.33 ERA in 69 games from 1962-63. Diagnosed with melanoma in March 1963, his return to baseball following surgery made headlines and spurred research & funding to fight the cancer. Umbricht's health deteriorated after the season and he passed away in April of 1964 at age 33 with his ashes spread over the construction site of the Astrodome. The team retired Umbricht's #32 and wore black armbands in his honor for the 1964 season.

1939 - In a 7-3 loss to Philly, the Bucs set a club record with eight errors - 3B Frankie Gustine alone had three misplays - and every Philadelphia run was unearned. The game was the opener of a doubleheader at Forbes Field. The Pirates played flawlessly in the field during the nitecap to earn a split with a 10-1 victory. Bob Klinger not only tossed a four-hitter, but went 3-for-4 at the plate and scored twice. Paul Waner and Arky Vaughan homered during the win.

1966 - Willie Stargell was featured on the cover of The Sporting News for the story “Plundering Pirate.” Pops had a banner year, hitting .315 with 33 HR and 102 RBI while earning his third straight All-Star nod.

1972 - LHP Brian Smith was born in Salisbury, North Carolina. He got into three games for the Pirates in 2000, giving up five runs in 4-1/3 innings, and that was the extent of his MLB stay. He spent a decade toiling in the minors, finally ending his career playing indie ball in 2003.

1973 - Willie Stargell went 4-for-4 with a homer, triple, and two doubles good for four RBI as the Bucs beat the Mets 10-3 at TRS. Richie Zisk and Milt May both went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI each. Bruce Kison got the win and Chris Zachary earned a three-inning save. It put the Bucs up by 1-1/2 games after an 18-for-22 roll, but they would lose the flag in the race no one wanted, winning just 80 games and finishing 2-1/2 games behind the Metropolitans.

9/17 From 1975: S-Rod Swats, Bonds #100, Top Dog Doug, Felony Frank, 18-of-22, Game Days, Jim Going, JHK Out, RIP Donn, HBD James & Sean

1976 - Behind Doc Medich and Dave Giusti’s combined six-hitter, the Bucs defeated the Mets 4-1 at Shea Stadium for their 18th win in 22 games. Frank Taveras’ two-run single in the fifth was the telling blow. The win made the NL East race interesting as the Pirates cut Philly’s lead down to three games, but it was their high water mark as they finished with 92 wins, nine games behind the Phils.

1977 - Frank Taveras tied and then broke Max Carey’s single season team record of 63 stolen bases, which was set in 1916, during a 6-3 Bucco victory over the Expos in Montreal (Omar Moreno stole 96 sacks in 1980). Scheduled starter Jerry Reuss was scratched after warming up, and his short-notice replacement Ed Whitson pitched five innings for the victory (it was Ed’s first MLB start and win)

with Goose Gossage tossing the final four frames to earn his 23rd save. 

1979 - The Pirates moved back into first with a 2-1 victory against their chief competitors, the Montreal Expos, in a game played in front of 54,609 fans at Olympic Stadium. Pittsburgh took the lead in the fifth when Dave Parker collected his second RBI of the day by scoring pitcher Don Robinson, who just beat the tag of Gary Carter at home. Robinson was strong on the hill, too, tossing a six-hitter and getting stronger as the game went on. In the final four frames, he surrendered just an infield single, and that runner was caught stealing. Still, it remained a see-saw race in the NL East; Pittsburgh didn’t lead the standings for good until September 25th, and didn’t clinch the pennant until the final day. 

1982 - LHP Sean Burnett was born in Dunedin, Florida. The southpaw made his Pittsburgh debut in 2004 as a starter. After surgery made him sit out a year, he returned in 2008-09 as a reliever, slashing 7-8-1/4.54 as a Pirate. Since the Pirates traded him to Washington at the 2009 deadline, he’s tossed for the Nats (three times), Angels, Dodgers, Braves and Twins, again proving that lefties have a long MLB shelf life, last playing MLB in 2016. He inked minor league contracts with the Phillies, Marlins and Mets between 2017-19 before officially retiring.

Burney - 2009 Upper Deck

1987 - Mike Dunne continued his strong rookie campaign, tossing a three-hit shutout over six innings (he sat down after an hour-long rain delay) to win his 12th over the Cards at TRS 1-0. Don Robinson and Jim Gott, who claimed the save, dodged raindrops over the last three frames (the pair gave up five hits; St. Louis left the bases loaded in the ninth, stranded 11 during the night and went 0-for-9 w/RISP), allowing the Bucs first-inning gift run (Bobby Bonilla’s two-out double plated Chico Lind, who reached on a boot) to stand. Dunne's '87 line was 13-6/3.03; he was second in the Rookie of the Year vote behind Benito Santiago.

1988 - Doug Drabek won his 10th of the past 11 decisions 7-2 over the Phils at the Vet. During that stretch, he allowed three earned runs once and four once, with his only loss a 2-0 defeat. Doug went into the eight with Bob Kipper and Jeff Robinson finishing up. He got all the support he needed from Bobby Bonilla, who homered and chased home four runs. It was Drabek’s breakout campaign (15-7/3.08) and he was plowing the road toward the 1990 Cy Young.

1991 - The Pirates pounded the Cubs 9-2 at TRS. Barry Bonds hit his 25th homer off of former Buc Mike Bielecki and drove in a pair to become the eighth Bucco to have consecutive 100+ RBI campaigns. Steve Buechele drove in three runs with a double, triple and sac fly, while four different Pirates scored twice. Doug Drabek cruised to his 14th win with a mop-up from Bob Patterson.

1992 - It took 13 innings, but the Pirates finally defeated the Montreal Expos 3-2 at TRS. Danny Cox, the Bucs’ sixth pitcher, got the win after Cecil Espy led off the 13th with a triple and scored on Jay Bell’s single through a drawn-in infield. The game took four hours and 35 minutes to play, but was worth the time for Bell, who had two hits and ran his hitting streak, which had begun on 8/24, to 22 games before the Phils’ Terry Mulholland stopped him the next night. It was a big win for the Buccos, moving them four games ahead of the Expos in the NL East.

1993 - RHP James Marvel was born in San Francisco. Drafted out of high school, he instead went to Duke. He had TJ surgery there, and the Pirates took a chance on him, picking him up in the 36th round of the 2015 draft. From 2017-19, he was a fast mover, going through two minor league levels each year and finding himself in Pittsburgh as a 2019 September call up after showing well in the upper levels. But he couldn’t crack the roster, rotated through various farm clubs and last played pro ball in Japan in 2023.

James Marvel - 9/18/2019 Pirates photo

1996 - Manager Jim Leyland announced that he’d leave the Pirates at the end of the season. The two-time Manager of the Year didn’t spend much time standing in the unemployment line - he quickly found a new job as skipper of the Florida Marlins, signing a five-year deal with the Fish on October 4th and then winning the World Series in ‘97. He left Miami after the ‘98 campaign and spent a year as the Rox field boss. He then scouted for St Louis until 2006, when he was given the reins of the Tigers, managing them to a pair of pennants through 2013. Jim’s now a special assistant for Detroit, mainly involved in scouting and evaluation, and in 2024 became a member of both the Baseball and Pirates Hall of Fame in recognition of his MLB managing career.

2001 - After a week of mourning following the Twin Towers attack, MLB baseball resumed. At PNC Park, the Pirates handed out "I Love NY" buttons to fans (the scheduled flag giveaway was delayed when the manufacturer couldn’t meet the deadline), a banner in left field read, "NYC, USA, We Are Family" and the Bucs wore flags on their sleeves and decals on their helmets. Fans signed a giant poster of support for NYC and over the course of two days, nearly $300,000 was donated for various related causes such as the NYC Police & Firemen's pension and for groups active in NYC’s recovery. The baseball faithful weren’t quite ready to return to normalcy - over 25,000 tickets had been sold for the game, but only about 8,000 folk showed up at the yard, passing through a new, heightened security protocol. One fan told the Post Gazette “It’s going to be hard to cheer. How can you cheer when people are still buried? But life needs to go on.” The game started with an ovation for the teams - the Mets, appropriately, were in town - and chants of “USA, USA.” NY won the game 4-1, scoring three times in the ninth off Mike Fetters to break open a tight game started by Todd Ritchie and Al Leiter. The Mets wore caps honoring New York firefighters, police and rescue workers, plus American flags on their jerseys and hats. The series was originally scheduled to be played in New York but the teams flipped home dates.

2005 - 1B Donn Clendenon passed away in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He played the first eight years (1961-68) of his 12-year career with the Bucs. Donn was a letterman in football, basketball & baseball at Morehouse College (Martin Luther King Jr. was his freshman “big brother”), and signed with the Pirates in 1957 largely because of his stepfather, Nish Williams, a former Negro League player. The Pirates eventually moved Dick Stuart to clear a spot for Clendenon, where he played until 1968, when he was lost in the expansion draft after slashing .280 BA/106 HR/488 RBI as a Bucco but deemed expendable due to Al Oliver. It didn’t hurt his career - he ended up the World Series MVP for the ‘69 Mets. Donn moonlighted as a youth advisor for the Allegheny County DA’s office while a Pirate and earned a law degree from Duquesne University following his playing days, then opening a practice in Dayton, Ohio. He was later hooked on drugs but cleaned up with rehab in Utah, prompting him to move to South Dakota. Clendenon continued to work in law and as an addiction counselor before succumbing to leukemia at the age of 70. 

Pedro Alvarez - 2008 National Team Upper Deck

2009 - The USA's Pedro Alvarez became the fifth player to hit three home runs in a single Baseball World Cup game. El Toro drove in six runs during a 14-3 defeat of Taiwan on the road to the USA’s 2009 BWC crown. Alvarez, a Vanderbilt All-American and the Pirates first-round pick of 2008, made his MLB debut the following year after zipping through Lynchburg, Altoona and Indianapolis.

2015 - Rookie IF Jung-Ho Kang broke his leg and tore a ligament in his knee when he was upended by the Cubs' Chris Coghlan on a take-out slide in a game with playoff implications at PNC Park. Kang and Coghlan both accepted it as part of the game. They were adults about it; Cub manager Joe Maddon, not so much as he said “I don't think it's his knee. He has plantar fasciitis is what I heard,” which did not sit very well in the Pirates' locker room. JHK missed the rest of the season and didn’t play again until May, 2016. The Bucs lost the game 9-5 but held off Chicago in the race to host the Wild Card Game (which the Cubs won).

2016 - Sean Rodríguez homered in both ends of a doubleheader sweep of the Reds at Great American Ball Park. Pittsburgh won the opener 10-4 as Josh Bell went 3-for-5 with two doubles and Andrew McCutchen drove in three runs and scored two more. Jameson Taillon claimed the win while Wade LeBlanc earned a three-inning save. The Bucs took the next one by a 7-3 count. Adam Frazier had three hits, Bell added two more and Cutch plated another pair of runners. Juan Nicasio scored his 10th win with two shutout frames as the second of five hurlers.

2019 - In a dark day for the Pirates organization, Felipe Vazquez was arrested for sexual contact with a minor, computer pornography and a bevy of other charges filed by Florida, where he lives in the offseason. He was later charged with additional counts by Westmoreland County lawmen. He was found guilty and sentenced to 2-to-4 years behind bars in 2021.

2020 - Steven Brault tossed the only complete game of his career, while Gregory Polanco, who was hitting .135 coming into the game, led the offense with two hits, a three-run homer and double, as the Pirates beat the Cards 5-1 at PNC Park. Brault limited the Redbirds to just two hits & two walks while fanning eight and finished strong as he retired the last 16 St. Louis batters. It would also be Steven’s last MLB victory, and he was out of baseball after the 2022 season.