4/17 From 1960: Barbato Pickup; Joe Debuts; Shea Opens; Wills Cover Boy; Long Balls & Game Stories

• 1960 - LHP Joe Gibbon made his MLB debut in the second game of a twinbill against the Reds at Forbes Field, coming in to mop up with the Pirates down 5-0 in the eighth. He tossed a pair of scoreless innings and the Bucs scored six times in the ninth to give him the 6-5 win. Bill Mazeroski had an RBI knock, Hal Smith banged a three-run pinch hit homer and Bob Skinner walked it off with a walk off, two-run, two-out blast off Ted Wieand after Dick Groat kept it alive with a single through the box. The Hound was mobbed at the plate after his blast by the fans while Reds skipper Fred Hutchinson broke several chairs after he stomped into the visitors locker room. The Bucs won the opener 5-0 behind Bob Friend's four-hitter; he K’ed six. Skinner, Groat, Roberto Clemente (homer & three-bagger) and Dick Hoak had two hits apiece while Dick Stuart tripled and chased three runs home.

A young Willie launched Shea's first dinger - 1964 Topps

• 1964 - Before 48‚736 fans, the Pirates defeated the Mets 4-3 in the first game played at Shea Stadium. Bob Friend was the winner over Cuban righty Ed Bauta. Willie Stargell smacked the first home run ever at Shea Stadium off Jack Fisher and had four hits. Roberto Clemente and Donn Clendenon added three raps apiece as the Bucs banged out 16 hits but managed to strand 13 runners. 
• 1967 - Maury Wills was the cover boy for Sports Illustrated’s “Baseball 1967” issue. In his first year as a Buc, he hit .302 with 92 runs and 29 swiped sacks after coming to town from LA in exchange for Bob Bailey and Gene Michael. 
• 1968 - The Pirates ran wild on the Houston Astros, taking a 13-4 win at Forbes Field in front of 30,799 fans. Not only did the Bucs bang out 17 hits (Maury Wills and Milt May had three, while Gene Alley, Donn Clendenon, Billy Maz and Pops had a pair; everyone in the lineup had at least one rap and either scored or drove home a run, with six doing both) but stole five bases, with Clendenon swiping home and Wills taking second and third in one trip. Manny Mota even got into the act, scoring from first on a single that dropped 30’ behind third base, running through coach Alex Grammas’ “whoa” and catching ‘Stro OF’er Jim Wynn napping. Al McBean was the recipient of the runfest, going the distance despite giving up 10 hits. 
• 1999 - The Pirates jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first at Cinergy Field, but it took them 10 frames to finally secure a 7-6 win over the Reds. The Pirates opening frame outburst was primed by a bases-loaded, bases-clearing double by Brant Brown. Cincy chipped away at four Bucco pitchers to tie it in the seventh only to see the Bucs reclaim the game when Warren Morris’ ground ball single to right scored Abraham Nunez. Brown led Pittsburgh with three hits; the Pirates had 11 knocks and were helped by 10 Redleg walks (Pirates pitchers issued seven free passes). Jason Christiansen tossed the last two innings for the win. 
• 2011 - Andrew McCutchen (3-for-3 w/two walks) and Jose Tabata led off the game with back-to-back home runs off Edinson Volquez, the third time that had been done in club history. The Pirates scored four times in the opening inning and outlasted the Cincinnati Reds, 7-6, at Great American Ball Park. Garrett Jones also homered and had two knocks. The Bucs went through six pitchers in a game that Jeff Karstens started, with Chris Resop getting the win and Joel Hanrahan closing out for the save. 

AJ spun a gem - 2013 Topps

• 2013 - AJ Burnett had a no-hitter going against the Cards at PNC Park, carrying the no-no into the seventh before Carlos Beltran banged a double. It was a big day for AJ; he also went over the 2,000 mark in career strikeouts with eight whiffs and no walks. The last two innings were closed out by Mark Melancon, Tony Watson and Jason Grilli as the Bucs won 5-0 behind a balanced attack - nine different Buccos had hits, with Cutch and Neil Walker collecting a pair of knocks each. 
• 2014 - The Pirates scored nine runs in the seventh and eighth innings to blow past the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park 11-7. The offense was primed by four long balls off the bats of Andrew McCutchen, Josh Harrison, Gaby Sanchez and Pedro Alvarez. Edinson Volquez went seven innings to claim his first victory as a Bucco. 
• 2017 - RHP Johnny Barbato, 24, was traded by the New York Yankees to the Pirates for a PTBNL (RHP Matt Frawley). He broke camp with the Bucs, was sent to Indy in June and came back in August, pitching to a 0-1/4.08 line in 24 MLB outings. He was waived in the off season and claimed by the Tigers; he later tossed in Japan and then joined the indy leagues.