6/12 From 1970 Through the 1990’s: Dock No-No; Hit Man Cycle; Strike; Game Stories; HBD George

• 1970 - During the first game of a twin bill at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, Dock Ellis walked eight batters but no-hit the Padres, 2-0, to become the fourth Pirate pitcher to accomplish the feat. He later famously claimed he was high on LSD while pitching that day. Pops Stargell provided the muscle with a pair of solo shots. SD took the nitecap 5-2. 

Mike lived up to his name - 1980 Topps

• 1980 - Mike Easler, The Hit Man, lived up to his name by hitting for the cycle as the Bucs won 10-6 over the Cincinnati Reds at Riverfront Stadium. John Milner and Dale Berra homered while Phil Garner drilled a pair of doubles to give Jim Bibby, with help from Enrique Romo, the win. 
• 1981 - The player’s went out on strike over free agent compensation. It was the first work stoppage in MLB since the 1972 strike that resulted in regular season games being cancelled. (actually, it was the fourth work stoppage since then, but the first to result in regular season games being chopped.) The strike forced the cancellation of 713 games before the two sides reached an agreement on July 31st. The season started on August 10th, with championships determined by the hybrid “split season” titleist format. Ironically enough, ushers and ticket-takers at TRS agreed on their contract this same day. 
• 1982 - Don’t overlook the bottom of the order. The Bucs 6-7-8-9 hitters (Tony Pena, Lee Lacy, Dale Berra, Manny Sarmiento) went 8-for-16, scored seven runs, chased home five more, walked three times, stole two bases, and hit a sac fly in a 9-2 romp over the Philadelphia Phillies at Veterans Stadium. Berra provided the muscle at the back end with a homer and double while Sarmiento backed up his six-hit, complete game outing with his stick, going 2-for-3. 
• 1985 - RHP George Kontos was born in Lincolnwood, Illinois. The Pirates picked up the veteran reliever off the waiver wire from San Francisco, where he had spent six campaigns, in August of 2017. He was nearly a Bucco a decade earlier, though - he and Phil Coke were supposed to go to Pittsburgh in 2008 in the original configuration of the Xavier Nady deal. Kontos won an eighth inning set-up spot by going 1-1-1/1.84 in 15 outings but wasn’t nearly as effective in 2018 as he slashed 2-3-1/5.03. The Bucs let him go in late May and he’s now a free agent after stints with New York and Cleveland. 

George Kontos - 2017 photo Pittsburgh Pirates

• 1991 - Doug Drabek had some help from his friends as he defeated Mike Morgan and the LA Dodgers 2-1 at TRS. The Bucs took the early lead in the third when two singles and a triple by Jay Bell gave him a 2-0 edge; Kal Daniels cut it in half with a solo shot in the fourth. In the sixth, Bobby Bonilla’s arm saved the day when he cut down Eddie Murray trying to score and in the next frame, DD eased out of first-and-third, one-out hot water on a Chico Lind-to-Bell-to-Orlando Merced twin killing. Bob Patterson and Bill Landrum covered the last six outs to nail down the win. 
• 1999 - Ed Sprague, Kevin Young and Jason Kendall homered, Al Martin had four hits and the Bucs banged out five doubles to edge the KC Royals 9-8 at TRS. Sprague singled home Adrian Brown in the ninth for a walk off win to earn Jason Christiansen the W.