8/13 From 1970: Jones-LaPoint; Scoops 5-Spot; Game Stories; HBD Jonah

• 1973 - The Pirates hung on to take a 3-2 win from the rival Reds at TRS. Willie Stargell had three hits, including a homer, and started a two-out, two-run rally with a single in the fourth. He was busy; Pops was also thrown out at home repping an insurance run in the eighth when ump Bob Engel said he missed home with his slide, a charge Willie and manager Bill Virdon argued unsuccessfully. The three runs proved enough for Nellie Briles, Ramon Hernandez and Dave Giusti. There was some off-field action, too - Stargell was named the NL Player of the Week and extended his 13-game hitting streak (it ended the next day), while for the second straight trip to Pittsburgh, Johnny Bench received a death threat over the phone and was escorted around town by security guards.

Al Oliver - 1974 Pirates Picture Pak

• 1974 - Al Oliver had three hits, including a two-run homer, and drove home five runs as the Pirates pounded the Reds 14-3 at Riverfront Stadium. Larry Demery spun a complete-game win as Pittsburgh edged over .500 and moved to 1-1/2 games of first-place St. Louis. Richie Zisk had four knocks, three runs plated & scored twice, Richie Hebner added four more raps with an RBI & three runs, Rennie Stennett touched home three times on three hits and Ed Kirkpatrick banged a homer as the Bucs swatted out 21 hits. For Zisk, it was his 10th straight game with an RBI, a streak that would end the next day.
• 1980 - RHP Jonah Bayliss was born in North Adams, Massachusetts. Bayliss came over to Pittsburgh as the key figure the Mark Redman trade, but never panned out. He spent 2006-07, the last two seasons of his three-year career, in Pittsburgh and went 5-4 with a 7.22 ERA in 16 outings from the pen, showing good stuff but poor control. He’s now a pitching coach/trainer with his own hometown baseball academy.
• 1988 - The Pirates sent RHP Barry Jones to the White Sox for LHP Dave LaPoint. LaPoint tossed well as a rental for the Bucs, going 4-2/2.77 in eight starts before signing with the Yankees in the offseason. Jones lasted in the league until 1993, with a strong four-year stretch with Chicago and the Mets as a setup man.
• 1998 - The Reds jumped on the Pirates for five first-inning runs at Cinergy Field, but the Bucs had the last laugh by roaring back to take a 9-6 win and sweep the three-game series. The Pittsburgh comeback started in the fourth with a Tony Womack solo shot, with two more tallies in the fifth keyed by back-to-back doubles by Al Martin & Freddy Garcia, a four-spot in the sixth behind a two-run Al Martin homer & Lou Collier’s triple that chased another pair home, and finally Jason Kendall & Martin RBI knocks in the seventh for insurance. The Pirates used six pitchers during the contest, with Jeff McCurry getting the win and Ricardo Rincon earning a save.

He hit more than sausages - 1998 Upper Deck 40-Man

• 2003 - Pittsburgh scored twice in the eighth to take the lead, then the Cards came back to tie it 5-5 in the ninth at PNC Park. But with two away and the bases empty in their half, Pittsburgh, thanks to some off-the-book strategy by Tony LaRussa, walked away with the win. After two routine outs, Jason Kendall doubled, and St. Louis intentionally walked both Brian Giles and Reggie Sanders to load the bases for Randall Simon. Simon fell behind Pedro Borbon 0-2, then shot a single through the left side to plate Kendall with the game winner as the walks blew up in LaRussa’s face. Craig Wilson had a big day, too, with a pair of homers.
• 2005 - Kip Wells dueled Roger Clemens at Minute Maid Park as the Bucs nosed the Astros 1-0. The game eventually became a battle of the bullpens, and Jack Wilson’s ninth-inning, 0-2 count homer off Brad Lidge was the difference. Salomon Torres claimed the win, saved by Jose Mesa.
• 2007 - Paul Maholm tossed a three-hit complete game to lead the Bucs past the Giants 3-1 at PNC Park. The big blow was a two-out, two-run double by Jose Castillo off San Francisco’s Matt Cain in the first inning on an 0-2 pitch. The win was in the opener of a twilight doubleheader and pushed the Bucs winning streak to four, which ended with a 10-3 whipping in the second game.