9/10 From 1980: AVS - 1,000; JVB - #1; Cutch HR Marks; Game Stories; HBD Neil Phil, & Chad

• 1983 - The Bucs had their rally hats on as they overcame a pair of late deficits to drop the Phils 6-5 in 10 innings at TRS. Philadelphia was coasting with a 3-0 lead when the Bucs tied it up in the sixth by turning a walk, three singles and a sac fly into three runs. The Phillies came right back with two more scores to chase Larry McWilliams; the Pirates knotted it up in the eighth on a Brian Harper double, Tony Pena RBI knock and Dale Berra two-bagger. In the 10th, Gene Tenace walked and Doug Frobel came in to run; a one-out rap by Milt May sent Doug on his way to third. Gary Mathews’ throw to the hot corner skidded past Mike Schmidt & into the stands, and the umpires waved Frobel home for the victory. Kent Tekulve got the win after Cecilio Guante had pitched two scoreless frames before him in relief of McWilliams. The victory left Pittsburgh one game out of first place as four teams - the Expos, Phils, Bucs and Cards - were with 1-1/2 games of the top spot in a horse race for the flag. 

Neil Walker - 2016 Topps

• 1985 - 2B Neil Walker was born in Gibsonia. The switch-hitting Pine-Richland grad, called The Pittsburgh Kid, was a three sport star in HS, and was drafted in the first round of the 2004 draft. Playing mostly catcher and third in the minors, he got his shot in 2010 at second base after Akinori Iwamura fizzled and never looked back. He was sent to the Mets in 2016, the season before his walk year, and ended the season with September back surgery. Still, NY inked him to a one-year, $17.2M qualifying deal. Walker later suffered a hammy injury, missed some action and was dealt in August to Milwaukee, then moved on to the Yankees in 2018and is currently with the Marlins. 
• 1988 - Dave LaPoint spun a complete game six-hitter for his fourth win in five starts as a Buc in a 5-1 victory over the Phils at TRS in front of 29,831. Five of the first six Pirates batters reached in a three-run third inning; the game then remained tight until the eighth when two walks and a Philly miscue allowed two more Buccos to cross the plate. It would be LaPoint’s last win as a Pirate - he struggled some in his next three outings and the Pirates let him walk to the Yankees, who doubled his salary. In the pregame ceremonies, the Pirates commemorated the 40th anniversary of the Homestead Grays victory in the last Negro League World Series. The club honored 11 members of the Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords, who were led onto the field by Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonilla, then raised a pennant banner for the 1948 Homestead nine that flew for a week beside the Pirates championship flags. 
• 1992 - RHP Chad Kuhl was born in Newark, Delaware. The Pirates drafted him in the ninth round of the 2013 draft from the U of Delaware. Kuhl made his major league debut on June 26th, 2016, as he & the Pirates defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers & Clayton Kershaw on ESPN 4-3. Chad joined the rotation full-time in 2017, overcoming a slow start by adding a little velocity and learning to work past lefties to become one of their more dependable pitchers during the campaign. His 2018 campaign was bumpy, and ended in late June with a lengthy DL stint followed by TJ surgery. He rejoined the rotation in 2020.
• 1992 - IF Phil Evans was born in Whittier, California. The utility guy played a bit for the Mets from 2017-18 at 1B-2B-3B and LF before moving to the Cubs system. The Pirates signed him to a minor league deal in the 2019 offseason after a solid year in AAA, and he broke camp with the club in 2020. He was hitting the ball well (.359) and seeing considerable PT until mid-August when he collided with Gregory Polanco while chasing a pop in no-man’s land and breaking his jaw, costing him the remainder of the season. 

AVS - 1993 Leaf (reverse)

• 1993 - Andy Van Slyke collected his 1,000th hit as a Pirate (he finished with 1,108 hits as a Bucco) at TRS when Pittsburgh lost 9-8 in 11 innings vs Colorado. He homered, singled and drove in three runs. It was an exciting finish; the Rox scored three times in the top of the 11th, but the Bucs answered with a pair and AVS was on second as the equalizer when Dave Clark bounced into the final out of the game. Van Slyke had collected his 1,000th MLB hit (he spent his first four seasons in St. Louis) on May 10th, 1991 in a 5-2 Pirates win against the Atlanta Braves. 
• 2003 - The Bucs were down to the last three outs at GABP, down 2-1 to the Reds. Craig Wilson opened the ninth with a single. Rob Mackowiak grabbed a bat to hit for Jason Bay against RHP Chris Reitsma and sent a 1-2 fastball over the wall to give the Pirates the lead. Mike Gonzalez and Julian Tavarez put the game away in exciting fashion: Gonzo got a K, but the pitch escaped Jason Kendall and the runner reached first. Tavarez coolly served up a DP ball and whiffed Wily Mo Pena to ice the win in a game started by Ollie Perez. Mack’s dinger would be the last a Pirate pinch-hitter smacked when the team was trailing in the ninth or later as the go-ahead blow until Sean Rodriguez repeated the heroics in 2016 with a three-run jack. 
• 2004 - John Van Benschoten, the Pirates top pick in 2001, won his first game, topping the Astros, 6-1, at PNC Park. JVB went eight innings, giving up a run on five hits, a walk and three whiffs. The Pirates were hoping he had turned the corner after a slow start, but it wasn’t to be. He ended the season with two surgeries on his shoulder (rotator cuff and then labrum) and never regained his form; he wouldn’t win again until 2008. Van Benschoten only got 19 starts in his career, and they weren’t very sharp outings as he currently holds the all-time major league record for highest career ERA (9.20) with at least 75 innings pitched 
• 2014 - Andrew McCutchen hit the first inside-the-park home run of his career and the Bucs pounded out 13 hits in a 6-3 win over Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park. Cutch was one of six Pirates with two hits - Josh Harrison, Starling Marte, Russ Martin, Travis Snider and Jordy Mercer joined him - and Martin added a long ball as Vance Worley claimed the win. 

Cutch - 2015 Donruss Diamond King

• 2015 - With an eighth-inning homer that tied the game at 3-3, Andrew McCutchen became the second player in franchise history to produce at least 150 career home runs and 150 career stolen bases, joining Barry Bonds as the only two to accomplish the feat. It wasn’t enough, though, as the Bucs went down in 12 innings to the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park by a 6-4 count. Radhames Liz, the Pirates eighth pitcher (Milwaukee also used eight; September features some pretty well-stocked bullpens) took the loss while 47 different players made the box score. Fran Cervelli was an on-base machine with three hits and two walks during the match.