8/3 From 1975: Gunner Gets Frick; Lenny Leaves; Sluggo Signs; Bonds & Drabel POTM; HBD Matt

• 1975 - The Bucs eked out a pair in sweeping the Mets in a twin bill at TRS. Pittsburgh took the opener 5-4 in 15 innings when Duffy Dyer led off the extra frame with a homer off Bob Apodaca. Dave Giusti tossed five innings of two-hit relief, Al Oliver went 4-for-6, and Larry Demery, the fifth Bucco hurler, got the win. The Pirates jumped to an early lead in the nitecap and hung on for a 4-3 victory, spurred on by Richie Hebner’s 3-for-3 day with a double, homer and four RBI to back John Candelaria. 

Al Oliver - 1975 Hostess

• 1979 - The Yankees purchased Lenny Randle from Pittsburgh. The 31-year-old utilityman appeared in 20 games for the Bronx Bombers, which was 20 games more than he played for the Pirates; he was sold the same week the Bucs got him from the Giants as a piece of the Bill Madlock deal and never hit the field for the Buccos. 
• 1984 - OF Matt Joyce was born in Tampa, Florida. The 31-year-old, nine-year vet signed with Pittsburgh for $1M as a 1996 free agent. Joyce hit .242 with 13 homers and a .403 OBP (his 21 pinch-hit walks set a MLB record) for the Pirates as a fourth outfielder/bench bat and he turned that performance into a two-year, $11M deal with Oakland. He’s now with the Braves. 
• 1986 - Pirates announcer Bob Prince was awarded the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcast excellence to win a spot in the Hall of Fame media wing. Per the HoF, ”Prince's charming yet brash demeanor, clever command of the language, entertaining gift of gab and appreciation of baseball's human elements made him the consummate professional.”  
• 1987 - The Pirates were on the verge of ending a seven-game losing streak, going into the ninth with a 6-0 lead over the San Francisco Giants at TRS. Doug Drabek gave up a two-run homer after tossing 5-⅔ hitless innings, and Brett Gideon gave up another homer and walked a pair. In strolled Jim Gott, obtained from the Giants the day before, and though he gave up a check-swing knock, he closed the door with the winning run at bat to seal a 6-4 win. The big Bucco blow was a three-run blast by Bobby Bonilla. 
• 1989 - A pair of unlikely offensive heroes, Rafael Belliard and Benny DiStefano, teamed up to give the Bucs an extra inning 1-0 win at TRS. With two down in the twelfth, Belliard singled through the left side off Andy McGaffigan, stole second and scored on DiStefano’s knock to left center. Bob Walk tossed eight innings of four-hit ball, but the victory went to Doug Bair. 

Doug Drabek - 1990 Score

• 1990 - Doug Drabek, who captured the 1990 Cy Young Award, was one out away from a no-hitter in Philadelphia when he gave up a single through the second base hole to Sil Campusano, who was hitting .188 at the time. The game was a bit lopsided; the Bucs outhit the Phils 18-1 and outscored them 11-0 at Veterans Stadium. Andy Van Slyke and Sid Bream each had a homer and double, combining for seven RBI. On the same day,  Barry Bonds was named NL Player of the Month and Drabek NL Pitcher of the Month (sharing with Danny Darwin), the first time since August 1978 that both winners were Pirates (Dave Parker/Kent Tekulve). Bonds hit .326 with five homers, 22 RBI, 18 runs and 14 stolen bases while DD went 5-0/2.23.
• 1993 - C Don Slaught and the Pirates agreed on a two-year, $3.5M contract extension. In his four years as a Pirate, Sluggo had hit .314 in a platoon role. The extension carried him through his age 36 campaign. He played for two more years after the contract for three other clubs, retiring during the 1997 season. 
• 1997 - Post Gazette Pirates beat writer Charley Feeney was inducted into the writer’s wing of the Hall of Fame after winning the 1996 JG Taylor Spink Award. Charley covered the Bucs from 1956-86. He chronicled two World Series winners, the death of Roberto Clemente and baseball's 1980s drug scandal in Pittsburgh. Before he came to town, he covered the Giants, Yankees and Mets for the New York Journal American. He was known for calling everyone (even himself) “Pally” because he had such a bad memory for names. 
• 1999 - The Bucs bopped the Atlanta Braves 7-1 at TRS. Brian Giles bombed a pair of homers accounting for four RBI while Al Martin, Kevin Young and Warren Morris added solo shots (all five homers were solo shots). Kris Benson went eight innings of four-hit ball for the win. 
• 2010 - The Pirates jumped out to an early 6-0 lead and held on to beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-6 at PNC Park. Neil Walker went 3-for-4 with four RBI while Jose Tabata had a pair of hits, two runs scored and one driven home. After Paul Maholm and Evan Meek barely kept the Bucs above water, Joel Hanrahan shut the door in the ninth with a pair of punchouts. 

Hanny - 2010 Topps Update

• 2012 - Not only did the Pirates lose 3-0 to the Reds at GABP, but Aroldis Chapman added insult to injury by drilling Andrew McCutchen with a 100 MPH heater with two outs in the ninth. It caused a public furor when the Pirates didn’t go old school and retaliate the next day with James McDonald on the hill. It only intensified when three Bucs were hit in the last two games of the series without a Red getting buzzed, with the fans believing that the lack of response affected clubhouse chemistry. The Pirates were 60-44 going into the game, but the loss triggered a 19-39 finish.