7/16 TRS-PNC Park Era: TRS Opens, Big Date for Giles, ASGs, Doug & Zach Gems, Robby's Bomb

• 1970 - The first game at Three Rivers Stadium, located on about the same spot as old Exposition Park, the home of the Pirates from 1891-1909, was played. Cincinnati’s Tony Perez hit the park's first home run as the Bucs lost to the Reds 3-2. Richie Hebner scored the first run in the stadium’s history when Al Oliver doubled him home in the first inning to knock in the yard’s first RBI; Pops hit the first Bucco homer. Dock Ellis started and took the loss. The Pirates rocked their new uniforms of stretch cotton and nylon in front of 48,846 fans. 

Big Red hit one where the sun don't shine (photo: Pirates Promo)

• 1971 - Bob Robertson became the first player to blast a shot into the upper left field deck of TRS when he connected off of San Diego’s Steve Arlin in a 2-1 Pirate win. Al Oliver added three hits and Bob Johnson went the distance while tossing a six hitter for the win. 
• 1985 - The senior circuit took a 6-1 decision from the AL at the Metrodome in the All Star game. For the second season, C Tony Pena was the only Buc on the team, and he struck out against Dan Petry. Ex-Buc Dave Parker won the first Home Run Derby. In a nod to the past, the honorary captains were players from the 1965 All-Star game, the first held in Minnesota - hometown hero Harmon Killebrew, who homered in the ‘65 Classic, stood for the AL, and Sandy Koufax, 1965’s winning pitcher, repped the NL. 
• 1992 - Doug Drabek scattered four hits and turned a pair of two-out RBI hits - a homer by Andy Van Slyke and a single through the right side by Alex Cole - into a victory as the Bucs defeated the Chicago Cubs 2-1 at TRS. 
• 1999 - The middle hitters of the Pirate order - Brian Giles, Kevin Young and Ed Sprague - each collected a homer and drove in a combined eight runs while scoring seven times in an 11-3 win against the Cleveland Indians at TRS. 

Brian Giles 2001 Bowmans Best

• 2002 - Brian Giles and Jack Wilson drove in all seven runs in a 7-3 Bucco win against the Astros at Minute Maid Park. Giles had a homer and sac fly while Wilson banged out three hits, including a triple, as the Pirates Josh Fogg defeated Houston’s Roy Oswalt. 
• 2005 - The Bucs behind Zach Duke shut out the Chicago Cubs and Greg Maddux 3-0 at Wrigley Field. The Zachster gave up eight hits, but the Buc defense turned four DPs in his behalf. Duke even helped himself with a sac fly; the other runs came on a Jason Bay homer and a double by Matt Lawton; both came with two outs. 
• 2013 - OF Andrew McCutchen, 3B Pedro Alvarez, and pitchers Jason Grilli, Mark Melancon and Jeff Locke were named to the All-Star game. It was a homecoming of sorts for Alvarez, as the game was played in CitiField near his Manhattan home of Washington Heights, and he also participated in the home run derby. He didn’t make it past the first round, but his six homers are the most ever hit by a Bucco in that event. The AL took the AS match 3-0. El Toro went 0-for-1 and McCutchen 0-for-2, while Grilli tossed a scoreless inning of relief. Melancon didn’t get in the game, and Locke was injured. It was the first time since 1972 that the Pittsburgh Pirates had five players selected for the game.