8/31: Baron of the Bullpen's Last Outing, Mad Dog, A-Ram, Shawon Dunston, Streakin' and Rallies...

Baron of the Bullpen's Last Outing, Mad Dog, A-Ram, Shawon Dunston, Streakin' and Rallies...

• 1968 - Steve Blass got the first out against the Atlanta Braves‚ and then moved to LF. ElRoy Face had been sold to the Tigers, and the team sent him in for one last appearance. He retired Felix Millan on one pitch to tie Walter Johnson's MLB record of 802 pitching appearances with a single club. Then manager Larry Shepherd came out for him, Blass returned to pitch and the Pirates won 8-0 at Forbes Field. 
• 1985 - The Pirates traded former batting champion Bill Madlock to the Dodgers for prospects RJ Reynolds‚ Cecil Espy‚ and Sid Bream. 
• 1987 - The Pirates won their seventh straight game, defeating the Atlanta Braves 7-3 at TRS. Andy Van Slyke went 3-for-3 with a homer and walk, scored three times and drove home a pair as Mike Dunne went the distance, tossing a six hitter. 
• 1991 - The Pirates rode six innings of perfect relief by Roger Mason, Bill Landrum and game winner Bob Kipper to a 3-2, 12 inning victory over San Diego at Jack Murphy Stadium. The Buc tallies came in the second on Barry Bonds’ two-run shot and a leadoff homer to left by Don Slaught off Jose Melendez in the 12th. 
• 1994: In one of their better international deals, the Pirates signed 16 year old Aramis Ramirez as an amateur free agent. 
• 1997 - The Bucs became buyers instead of sellers when they obtained SS Shawon Dunston from the Cubs to bolster the chances of the “Freak Show” team sneaking into the playoffs after Kevin Polcovich injured his ankle. Dunston hit .394 with five homers, but after an 18 game Bucco career was lost to the Indians in free agency after the season. 
• 1999 - The Bucs rallied in dramatic style to top the Rox at Coors Field in ten innings by a 9-8 score. Kevin Young kept the Bucs alive with a two out, first pitch grand slam down the LF line in the ninth to tie the game. In the bottom half, Angel Echevarria was thrown out at home by Brian Giles to keep the game knotted. The Bucs came up with four hits and a walk in the tenth, but could only tally a run to take a shaky lead. With two away for Colorado, Dante Bichette singled off Jose Silva and was waved around on Vin Castilla’s double to left center, but was cut down by Al Martin to Mike Benjamin to Keith Osik (7-6-3) to preserve the win.