7/18 From 1970: Giusti Joke; Leyland Vents; Ground Chuck Days; Game Stories

• 1971 - The Bucs won their 11th straight game when they swept a DH from the Dodgers, 3-2 and 7-1 at TRS. The Pirates took the opener when Gene Alley opened the ninth with a triple and plated on Gene Clines tapper. Dave Giusti got the blown save/win in relief of Bruce Kison. Richie Hebner and Milt May homered in the nitecap. Luke Walker had a no-hitter going into the ninth during the second game, losing the no-no on a homer to Joe Ferguson.
• 1973 - Willie Stargell went 4-for-4 with a double and a homer, Rennie Stennett went long and Bob Robertson doubled in a run as the Pirates defeated the LA Dodgers 3-2 at TRS. Dock Ellis won the battle against Tommy John, with Dave Giusti coming on for the save. The two men of the hour, Willie and Giusti, got their letters notifying them that they had made the All-Star team. The Bucs pranked Giusti; he had been bypassed for AS honors the past couple of seasons despite strong credentials, and his teammates hid his notification letter and then razzed him about missing the boat again until they finally came clean.

Big Daddy - 1986 Fleer's Best

• 1986 - Rick Reuschel made the 400th start of his big league career a winner, allowing three runs in seven innings to earn a 12-7 decision over the Padres at TRS. UL Washington led the way for the Pirates, going 3-for-4 with four RBI, Jim Morrison collected three hits with three RBI and Sid Bream had three knocks and scored twice. The game was a laugher at 10-0 in the fifth; the Friars scored four times in the ninth off Barry Jones on the back of Tony Gwynn’s three-run shot to save some face. Big Daddy would finish his 19-year career with 529 starts and 214 victories.
• 1989 - After a 17-4 loss to the San Diego Padres at Jack Murphy Stadium, Jim Leyland held a closed door team meeting and per the Pittsburgh Press’ Bob Hertzel, “...informed his team that it was, in no particular order, selfish, dumb, unprepared, a disgrace and probably unkind to animals.” Despite this being a team family trip, he also called for an afternoon practice before the next game, spoiling any last minute Cali outings. The Pirates didn’t seem to take much umbrage at the wake up call, nor did it seem to have much effect - they were 13 games under .500 before the chat, then finished the year that same 13 games under, and lost the next night 9-1. But Leyland was playing the long game, and it was a success at laying the groundwork as the Pirates went on to win the next three division titles, claiming at least 95 victories per season, between 1990-92.
• 1990 - Jeff King hit his first career grand slam and added five RBI to lead the Pirates to an 11-2 win over San Francisco at Three Rivers Stadium. Sid Bream and Chico Lind also chipped in with long balls. Doug Drabek allowed two runs in eight innings while improving to 11-4 on the season.
• 2000 - The Bucs snapped a six-game losing streak with an 8-6 win over LA at Dodger Stadium. The Pirates scored five times in the first two innings, but the Dodgers came back with a six spot in the third. The Bucs prevailed thanks to three RBI days from Jason Kendall and Wil Cordero, both of whom also homered. Five Pirate relievers combined to toss seven innings of scoreless three-hit ball to cement the win, which went to Jose Manzanillo.
• 2009 - Charlie Morton went seven innings of three-hit ball to stop the Giants 2-0 at PNC Park. Matt Capps made it exciting, putting runners on second and third with an out in the ninth, but came back to get a K and grounder to preserve the win. Ryan Doumit scored and had an RBI to provide some spark to the attack.

Charlie Morton - 2010 Upper Deck

• 2011 - The Pirates took a 2-0 decision at PNC Park against Cincinnati as Charlie Morton tossed a three-hitter against the Reds. The Bucs played small ball in the fourth for the win. Chase d’Arnaud and Neil Walker led off with singles against Dontrelle Willis, with Walker taking second behind the play when the relay went toward d’Arnaud going to third. Andrew McCutchen’s tapper drove in one run, Matt Diaz’s sac fly scored the other, and that was the day’s offensive output.
• 2012 - The Pirates spent their final day tied for the top of the NL Central after taking a 9-6 decision from the Rockies at Coors Field. Garrett Jones, Pedro Alvarez, Casey McGehee and Rod Barajas homered for the Bucs. The Buccos collapsed like a house of cards after that, going 28-43 the rest of the way to finish with 79 wins for their 20th consecutive losing campaign.