7/16 From 1970: TRS Opens; Big Red Blast; Cobra Back; ASG's; Gems & Game Tales

• 1970 - The first game at Three Rivers Stadium, located on about the same spot as old Exposition Park, the home of the Pirates from 1891-1909, was played. The Dukes of Dixieland played, Billy Eckstine sang the Anthem, and Pie Traynor threw the ceremonial first pitch. Cincinnati’s Tony Perez hit the park's first home run as the Bucs lost to the Reds 3-2. Richie Hebner scored the first run in the stadium’s history when Al Oliver doubled him home in the first inning to chase in the yard’s first RBI; Pops hit the first Bucco homer. Dock Ellis started and took the loss. The Pirates rocked their new uniforms of stretch cotton and nylon in front of 48,846 fans. 
• 1971 - Bob Robertson became the first player to blast a shot into the upper left field deck of TRS when he connected off of San Diego’s Steve Arlin in a 2-1 Pirate win. Al Oliver added three hits, Richie Hebner singled home a two-out run and Bob Johnson went the distance while tossing a six-hitter for the win. 

Bob Robertson - 1971 Pirates Picture Pack

• 1978 - The Bucs swept the Phillies by 3-2 and 10-6 scores in a TRS twinbill, but the big news was that Dave Parker was back. The Cobra missed 15 games with a broken cheek suffered in a collision at home and was the defending NL-MVP, and sporting a variety of masks (a goalie mask at bat and football face bar attachment for his helmet in the field), returned to action. He drew an intentional walk in the 10th inning of the opener, setting up Bill Robinson’s game-winning knock, and his triple in the seventh frame of the nightcap tied the score and triggered an eventual five-run outburst to break the game open. Although he did defend his MVP title, the Pirates were a couple of bricks shy, finishing second with 88 wins, 1-1/2 games behind Philadelphia. 
• 1985 - The senior circuit took a 6-1 decision from the AL at the Metrodome in the All Star game. For the second season, C Tony Pena was the only Buc on the team, and he struck out against Dan Petry. There was a local connection: Ex-Buc Dave Parker won the first Home Run Derby. In a nod to the past, the honorary captains were players from the 1965 All-Star game, the first held in Minnesota - hometown hero Harmon Killebrew, who homered in the ‘65 Classic, stood for the AL, and Sandy Koufax, 1965’s winning pitcher, repped the NL. 
• 1992 - Doug Drabek scattered four hits and turned a pair of two-out RBI hits - a homer by Andy Van Slyke and a single through the right side by Alex Cole - into a victory as the Bucs defeated the Chicago Cubs 2-1 at TRS. The win kept the Pittsburgh lead over the Baby Bruins and Cards at six games in the NL Eastern Division. 
• 1999 - The middle hitters of the Pirate order - Brian Giles, Kevin Young and Ed Sprague - provided the muscle when they each collected a homer and drove in a combined eight runs while scoring seven times in an 11-3 win against the Cleveland Indians at TRS. Francisco Cordova got the win. 
• 2002 - Brian Giles and Jack Wilson drove in all seven runs in a 7-3 Bucco win against the Astros at Minute Maid Park. Giles had a homer and sac fly while Wilson banged out three hits, including a triple, as the Pirates’ Josh Fogg defeated Houston’s Roy Oswalt. 

Zach Duke - 2005 Topps Update

• 2005 - The Bucs behind Zach Duke shut out the Chicago Cubs and Greg Maddux 3-0 at Wrigley Field. Zachster gave up eight hits, but the Buc defense turned four DPs in his behalf. Duke even helped himself with a sac fly; the other runs came on a Jason Bay homer and a double by Matt Lawton, both coming with two outs. Duke finished July with a 3-0/0.87 slash and was named the NL Rookie of the Month. 
• 2013 - OF Andrew McCutchen, 3B Pedro Alvarez, and pitchers Jason Grilli, Mark Melancon and Jeff Locke were named to the All-Star game. It was a homecoming of sorts for Alvarez, as the game was played in Citi Field near his Manhattan home of Washington Heights, and he also participated in the home run derby. Petey didn’t make it past the first round, but his six homers were the most ever hit by a Bucco in that event until Josh Bell’s 18 in 2019. The AL took the ASG match 3-0. El Toro went 0-for-1 and McCutchen 0-for-2, while Grilli tossed a scoreless inning of relief. Melancon didn’t get in the game, and Locke was injured. It was the first time since 1972 that the Pittsburgh Pirates had five players selected for the game.