5/26 TRS-PNC Park Era: Ward Cycle; Philly Fireworks; Inside-the-Park Doublet; Game Stories

• 1971 - Steve Blass carried the Pirates to 2-0 victory over Cincinnati at Three Rivers Stadium, recording a career-high 11 strikeouts while tossing a five-hitter for his second shutout of the season. Willie Stargell hit a two-run homer off Reds starter Tony Cloninger in the sixth inning that proved to be the difference in the game. 

Steve Blass 1971 Dell's

• 1978 - Montreal’s Steve Rogers spun a four-hitter at TRS, but he gave up two of them back-to-back in the seventh, a Rennie Stennett single followed by Manny Sanguillen’s homer off a hung curve, and that was enough to carry John Candelaria and the Buccos to a 2-1 victory. Candy Man dodged raindrops throughout the contest, stranding 11, with the only blemish a Larry Parrish solo shot. Sangy, who was playing off the bench, manned first base (he got into 40 games at the spot in ‘78), replacing Willie Stargell who had a sore back. 
• 1980 - Lots of baseball fireworks as the Phils rallied to beat the Bucs 7-6 at Veteran’s Stadium. Bert Blyleven brushed back a couple of Phillies early on; Philadelphia reliever Kevin Saucier later plunked Pops to even the score. Then he went one better, bopping Blyleven, who charged the mound, bat in hand. A donnybrook ensued, and as it was breaking up, Phil’s coach Mike Ryan reignited things. Philly had the last laugh, scoring twice in the ninth off Kent Tekulve, who gave up four straight hits, to claim the victory.  
• 1997 - For the first time in twenty years, two inside-the-park homers were hit in the same inning when Sammy Sosa of the Cubs and Tony Womack both circled the bases five minutes apart in the sixth frame of Chicago’s 2-1 victory at Three Rivers Stadium. Womack’s homer was a legit gapper with a copacetic bounce; Sosa got his when Jose Guillen ran into Adrian Brown, who had briefly gloved the ball; after the collision, it rolled away into right field and Sosa won a bang-bang call at the plate. Francisco Cordova took the loss. 
• 2000 - Behind Francisco Cordova and a double steal gone awry, the Pirates bested the Colorado Rockies at Coors Stadium 2-1 in the second lowest scoring game played to date at the mile-high field. In a 1-1 game, the Rox tried a double steal; the lead runner, Tom Goodwin, stopped between second and third, and the back runner, Mike Lansing, turned and retreated to first as catcher Jason Kendall ran the ball toward him. The nimble backstop tagged Lansing and then threw to third to catch the slow-reacting Goodwin. Cordova celebrated by singling home Mike Benjamin with the game winner in the seventh. He was supposed to bunt, but the third baseman crept in too close, and Francisco took advantage by swinging away for the hit. Luis Sojo made a nice pair of plays at third in the final two frames to seal the deal, and the Pirates ended a five-game losing streak behind Cordova’s four-hitter. 

Daryle Ward 2004 Topps Total

• 2004 - Daryle Ward hit for the cycle with a career single-game high of six RBI against St. Louis at Busch Stadium as the Bucs won 11-8. Ward and his dad Gary became the first father-son team to hit for the cycle. The Pirates used six pitchers to close out the game, with the win going to starter Kris Benson.
• 2012 - The Cubs lost their 11th straight game, 3-2, to the Pirates, their longest losing streak since opening the 1997 season with 14 consecutive losses. The teams were tied in the bottom of the ninth at PNC Park when Jose Tabata led off with a single off Rafael Dolis. Two walks and two outs later, the aptly named “Hit Man” Matt Hague took a pitch in the ribs for a walk-off plunk. Joel Hanrahan earned the win in a game started by Kevin Correia.