4/21: HBD Stan, Kip & Ronny; Cobra Sued By Bucs; Homers, Rallies, Openers and More...

• 1913 - The Pirates banged out eight straight hits plus a sacrifice fly to score seven times in the sixth inning and rallied past the St. Louis Cards‚ 8-5. Babe Adams went the distance for the win at Robison Field. Honus Wagner & Solly Hofman led the attack with three knocks apiece, and the victory moved Pittsburgh into a short-lived spot on top of the standings. 

Babe Adams 1913 (Photo Bains News Service/Library of Congress)

• 1919 - SS Stan Rojek was born in North Tonawanda, NY. He played for the Pirates from 1948-51, starting the first two years and hitting .266 during his Pittsburgh years. The Bucs got him from Brooklyn, where he was a back-up infielder behind Pee Wee Reese.
• 1921 - Moses “Chief” Yellowhorse won his first MLB game, and the first ever 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.
• 1927 - In their home opener at Forbes Field, Pirates ace Ray Kremer did it all, pitching 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.

Ray Kremer 1925 (photo The Sporting News Collection)

• 1943 - Rip Sewell ruined the Cubs home opener at Wrigley Field as he tossed a three hit, 6-0 shutout. Sewell had their number; he took five more W from them during the campaign. There were four games played on this date around the league and 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 in Pittsburgh’s 6-3 victory. Bob Skinner also went yard while Roberto Clemente collected three hits. Bob Purkey got the win for the Pirates. Don Drysdale evened things up by winning the nightcap 7-4 for the Dodgers, as Don Zimmer homered and drove in three runs.
• 1964 - The Bucs beat the Cubs 8-5 at Wrigley. Every run scored was the result of a homer, setting a MLB standard, and nine different players went long, tying a record. Roberto Clemente, Ducky Schofield, Jim Pagliaroni and Gene Freese (who hit a three run bomb in the ninth to win it) went yard for Pittsburgh; the Cubs hit five solo shots.
• 1971 - Pops hit three long balls for the second time in eleven days to lead Pittsburgh to a 10-2 win over the 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. Dock Ellis tossed a five hitter to keep the Bravo bats at bay.
• 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 ERA of 3.58 and 3.28 in 2002-03, but faded and was sent to the Rangers for Jesse Chavez.

Kip Wells 2003 Topps

• 1981 - Ronny Paulino was born in Santo Domingo. He was thought be 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.
• 1986 - The Pirates filed a lawsuit in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court against Dave Parker. It sought to relieve the club of the deferred $5,312,475 still owed to the OF’er, based on his drug testimony, to trigger a contractual clause that could disqualify him. 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 private settlement was reached between the club and The Cobra in 1988 before the case went before a judge.
• 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 and all five players quickly faded from the MLB landscape.

Mark Merchant 1988 Pro Cards

• 1991 - The Pirates became the first MLB team to ever come back from a five run deficit in the bottom half of an extra inning to win a game. After the Cubs scored five runs‚ thanks mostly to a grand slam by Andre Dawson‚ the Pirates plated six times 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.
• 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 the game with three RBI. Barry Bonds went deep in the third inning for his seventh homer of the year to make it 6-2 Pittsburgh. Vicente Palacios picked up the win in relief with two scoreless frames while Roger Mason earned the save.
• 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 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; both were against the Reds, one as a Buc and one as a Met.