1976 - LHP Jeff Wallace was born in Wheeling, West Virginia. He tossed for the Bucs in 1997 and 1999-2000 after sitting out a year due to injury. His record with the Bucs was 3-0 with a 4.67 ERA, and control was his issue - as a Pirate, he walked 80 batters in 86-⅔ IP. Wallace worked 90 games with the Pirates without picking up a loss, the most appearances made without a defeat in team history. He spent 2001 with Tampa before getting a day job, working near his old hometown, in a sports bar just outside Oglebay Park.
Jeff Wallace - 1998 Bowman
- 1977 - It took four tries, but new Bucco skipper Chuck Tanner finally claimed his first win at the Pittsburgh helm when the Pirates took a 2-1 win from the Expos at TRS. Duffy Dyer’s fifth-inning single scored Phil Garner to give Jerry Reuss a 1-0 lead, but two old Buccos, Dave Cash and Tim Foli, singled to chase home the tying run in the seventh. Kent Tekulve and Goose Gossage took over after that to keep Montreal off the board, and Rennie Stennett’s one-out double in the bottom of the ninth plated Dave Parker with the walk-off game winner. It was a sadly typical April crowd for the Buccos; the contest drew just 4,042 fans although it was a day game with temps in the 80’s.
- 1977 - RHP DJ Carrasco was born in Safford, Arizona. He worked part of the 2010 campaign for Pittsburgh after signing on as a free agent and was solid, going 2-2/3.88 in 45 outings before being flipped to Arizona. The stint was a brief homecoming of sorts as DJ had spent four seasons in the Pirates system before being lost to the KC Royals in the 2002 Rule 5 Draft. He tossed his last MLB game in 2012 for the Mets, closing out a nine-year career.
- 1983 - In the eighth inning of the home opener, Bill Madlock took a long lead off first with 1B Keith Hernandez playing well behind him. Bruce Sutter checked the runner and spun off the mound to chase him back - and beat him to the bag for an unassisted pickoff! The Bucs lost to the Cards 4-3 in 10 innings. The Bucs had the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the 10th, but Madlock hit a comebacker 1-2-3 DP and Gene Tenace flew out to turn out the lights. They blew another golden chance in the sixth with the bases juiced and one out when Tony Pena banged into a 4-6-3 DP. 1985 - In their first night home opener, the Bucs prevailed over the Cards, 6-4. A crowd of 47,335 watched Maz throw out the first pitch and Jason Thompson mash a two-run homer. Starter John Candelaria came on to earn the save of Don Robinson’s win of a game started by Larry McWilliams while Doug Frobel and Tony Pena led the attack with a pair of hits each.
- 1993 - Dave Otto won his first start as a Buc (he was taken as a minor league draft pick from the Indians during the winter) by a 4-2 count over San Diego at Jack Murphy Stadium. He gave up two runs and four hits over six innings after being staked to an early 3-0 lead, keyed by a Kevin Young triple. Dave also got his first MLB hit and RBI to help himself. He made a good first impression as a spot starter, place-holding the injured Zane Smith’s place in the rotation, but ended the year 3-4/5.03 in his only Pittsburgh campaign.
Dave Otto - 1993 photo George Gojkovich/Getty
- 2002 - Cubbie Sammy Sosa set the PNC Park long-distance record with a 484’ home run off Dave Williams during a 7-3 Chicago victory. It was a dismal showing all around; the Pirates were held to five hits while the Cubs cranked out three homers.
- 2009 - With runners on the move from first and second base, the Reds' Edwin Encarnacion's liner liner to Pirates' SS Jack Wilson was turned into a triple play (Wilson-Freddy Sanchez-Adam LaRoche), the Bucs' first since 1993. Pittsburgh still lost at Great American Ball Park by a 2-0 score on Aaron Harang’s three-hitter w/nine whiffs, the first MLB shutout of the year. The game’s only runs came on a first-inning, two-out, two-run homer by Brandon Phillips off Ian Snell.
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