5/3 From 1990: Cole-for-Martinez; Crash Landing; Squeakers, Head-Beaters & Game Stories; HBD Austin

• 1991 - The Pirates defeated the Astros 1-0 in a one hour‚ 45 minute contest at TRS, the NL's shortest nine inning game since 1981. Zane Smith threw a complete game four-hitter while Pete Harnisch went the distance and gave up only two knocks, one being Orlando Merced’s first homer of the year in the third inning. Zane put down 12-of-13 Astros he faced from the sixth inning on while tossing 92 pitches overall; Harnisch threw 89 pitches during the game and retired the final 17 Buccos. 

Zane Smith - 1991 Topps Stadium Club

• 1991 - Pittsburgh traded 1B Carmelo Martinez to Kansas City for RHP Victor Cole. Jim Leyland platooned Orlando Merced and Gary Redus at first, making Martinez the third wheel. Carmelo, 30, finished his MLB career as a Red, which picked him up in July from KC. He hit .234 for the three teams combined and then played in Japan, Mexico and the minors through 1995. Cole, 23, got into eight games for the Buccaneers in 1992 and spent the rest of his pro career with five organizations in the upper minors, except for a season tossing in Taiwan. 
• 1995 - OF Austin Meadows was born in Grayson, Georgia. He was selected in the first round (ninth overall) by the Pirates in 2013, foregoing Clemson for a $3,029,600 signing bonus. He bubbled among the Top 100 Prospects, but had several injuries that delayed his journey to the majors. He got his call in May of 2018 when Starling Marte was placed on the DL and was then shipped to Tampa Bay later in the year as part of the Chris Archer deal, where he blossomed into an All-Star in 2019 with 33 homers at age 24. 
• 1998 - Turner Ward literally crashed through the right field wall at Three Rivers Stadium while running down Mike Piazza’s long fly in a 10-5 loss to the Dodgers. And yes, he hung onto the ball in a play that is still considered one of the great all-time MLB catches and an ESPN go-to clip, though he had to leave the game with bruises and some fiberglass splinters. The kid was a gamer; he crashed through the wall while LA was ahead 9-0. 
• 1999 - The Bucs scored four times in the ninth on homers by Warren Morris and Brian Giles and a two-out walk off single by Brant Brown off reliever Robb Nenn to surge past the Giants 9-8 at TRS. Giles had three hits and five RBI while Jason Kendall went 5-for-5 with a pair of doubles. 
• 2012 - The Pirates set a club mark by striking out 17 in nine innings during their 6-3 win over the Cards at Busch Stadium. Erik Bedard did the heavy lifting, whiffing 11 in five frames and setting a franchise record with seven consecutive K’s. Four Pirate relievers added six more K in the final four innings, with Jason Grilli and Joel Hanrahan picking up a pair of punchouts apiece in the eighth and ninth. 

Erik Bedard - 2012 Topps Update

• 2014 - Despite making four errors and falling behind 5-0, the Pirates scored six times against the Toronto Blue Jays in the seventh and eighth innings to claim an 8-6 victory at PNC Park. Jordy Mercer’s two-out double on an 0-2 pitch tied the game with two outs in the seventh, and Neil Walker’s two-bagger off the top of the center field wall in the eighth chased home the game winners. Mark Melancon picked up the save of Bryan Morris’ third win. 
• 2015 - The Bucs ended one of the most frustrating series in their history by losing their third straight extra-inning, walk-off contest to the Cardinals by a 3-2 score after a pair of 2-1 losses. The Bucs had the lead in the 12th thanks to Pedro Alvarez’s homer, but Radhames Liz gave up a run in the St. Louis half and a homer to Kolten Wong in the 14th to absorb the defeat. The Pirates scored just four runs in 35 innings against the Redbirds, stranding 37 runners while going 2-for-25 with RISP. The Cardinals swept a three-game series with all the wins coming in extra innings for the first time in franchise history and became the first team to do so since June of 1925, when the Cincinnati Reds broomed the Boston Braves thrice in overtime.