8/26 From 1960: Bay/Perez, Davis Deals; Jordy Jolt; Flutter-Fest; 8 In A Row; Gems & Game Tales; HBD Eric & Jeff

• 1965 - IF Jeff Richardson was born in Grand Island, Nebraska. Richardson spent parts of three seasons (74 games total) in the show, with six games coming in 1991 for the Bucs; he went 1-for-4 during that time with three K. He spent a decade in the minors, closing out his career in 1995 with the Pirates AAA Calgary club. Richardson managed in the Pirates farm system from 1996-1998, then took over as head coach at Louisiana Tech University in 1999. He resigned following the 2002 season to devote more time to his family and bar business in his hometown of Grand Island. 

Steve Blass - 1968 Topps

• 1968 - The Bucs beat the Atlanta Braves for the seventh straight time as Steve Blass dodged several bullets to toss a complete game shutout, 4-0. He had only one clean inning, giving up nine hits and a pair of walks but kept the scoreboard blank. Manager Larry Shephard said of his young hurler “He went from my fifth starter (at the beginning of the year) to the top spot” after the win. The Pirates had a small-ball attack: they scored on two sac flies, an error and an infield single. Freddie Patek, Maury Wills and Gene Alley each had two raps. 
• 1975 - The first eight Pirates hit safely against the Braves’ Jamie Easterly and Ray Sadecki - Frank Taveras (triple), Rennie Stennett (single), Al Oliver (single), Willie Stargell (single), Richie Zisk (single), Dave Parker (single), Richie Hebner (single) and Duffy Dyer (single) - before P Larry Demery flew out‚ tying the MLB record. The Bucs scored six runs in the frame on their way to an 8-2 victory at TRS. 
• 1977 - The Bucs rode Bruce Kison’s arm and bat to a 3-1 win over the Padres at San Diego Stadium. Buster gave up a run over seven innings, had three hits, a run scored, the game-winning RBI and a stolen base before Goose Gossage came up to earn a two-inning save. It was Kison’s first win in eight weeks and 11 starts. Frank Taveras chipped in with four hits and the insurance was provided by Dave Parker’s sixth-inning homer. Both guys had base-running blunders to atone for; Frank was thrown out trying to stretch a double and The Cobra was picked off first twice. Pittsburgh cut Philly’s NL lead to 5-½ games, but that’s about how it finished as Philadelphia won 101 games, finishing the year five games better than the Bucs. 
• 1979 - Bruce Kison tossed seven strong innings and smacked a grand slam off Bob Shirley, the first Bucco hurler since Al McBean in 1968 to launch a grannie, to lead the Bucs to a 9-2 win over San Diego at Jack Murphy Stadium. He’s one of six Pirates twirlers to hit a grand salami, joining McBean, Deacon Phillippe (1910), Enrique Romo (1980), Don Robinson (1985) and Denny Neagle (1995). Bill “Mad Dog” Madlock had a big day at the dish with four knocks, a pair of RBI, and two runs scored. 

Buster had a couple of good outings OTD - Topps 1978

• 1983 - Larry McWilliams tossed a complete game five-hitter against his old teammates, the Atlanta Braves, as the Pirates romped 9-1 at TRS. The Bucs had 10 hits and were helped by a big three-run blast by Tony Pena and a couple of Bravo boots that led to three unearned scores. Pena, Jason Thompson and Johnny Ray each collected a pair of knocks to back McWilliams. 
• 1985 - C Eric Fryer was born in Columbus. He came to Pittsburgh as part of the Eric Hinske deal in 2009 and got a couple of cups of coffee with the Bucs in 2010-11, getting into 16 games as a C, PH, & OF. He returned in 2016 when injuries cut down the Pirates catching depth, went to the Cards in the following season and retired in 2018. 
• 1987 - The Bucs put up a three-spot against the Reds in the third inning built around John Cangelosi’s triple, but found themselves behind 5-3 going into the eighth at TRS. Andy Van Slyke tied it with two away when he singled home Bobby Bonilla and Barry Bonds off John Franco; they had just moved up a station thanks to a passed ball. The Pirates used the same two-out formula in the ninth when Al Pedrique’s blooper plated Johnny Ray, who had led off the frame with a double. The win went to Jeff Robinson, who came in for Brian Fisher. 
• 1992 - Pirate rookie Tim Wakefield defeated Tom Candiotti of the Dodgers, 2-0, in the first matchup of knuckleballers in the NL since 1982 when Phil Niekro and Joe Niekro faced off in a Braves-Astros game. Wakefield scattered six hits for the victory. Jose Lind provided the offensive spark with a pair of hits, an RBI and a run scored. 

Tim Wakefield - 1992 Score

• 2003 - The Pirates shipped Brian Giles to San Diego for Jason Bay, Ollie Perez, and Corey Stewart. Pittsburgh had wanted Xavier Nady in the deal, but SD refused and threw in Bay instead. He worked out pretty well, as Bay ended up the NL Rookie of the Year in 2004 and the Bucs reeled in the X-Man in 2006 from the Mets. 
• 2014 - Gerrit Cole pitched six no-hit innings at PNC Park, but a seventh inning St. Louis rally tied the score at 2-2. Things looked bleak when both Andrew McCutchen and Pedro Alvarez left the game with injuries soon after, but Ike Davis brightened up the room in the eighth. With Gaby Sanchez and Starling Marte aboard, he crushed a two-out, two-strike change up from Seth Maness off the back fence in right center 442’ away to lead the Pirates to a 5-2 win. Tony Watson got the victory and Mark Melancon earned a save. 
• 2016 - Jordy Mercer capped off a five-run sixth inning with his first career grand slam off Milwaukee’s Matt Garza to give the Pirates a 5-3 win at Miller Park. The Brew Crew answered Jordy’s blast with a three-spot of their own in the bottom of the frame, but the bullpens shut the door the rest of the way. Mercer’s slam, which came the day before his 30th birthday, was the fourth of the season for the Pirates and made a winner of starter Ryan Vogelsong, who allowed two runs over 5-1/3 innings with Tony Watson notching the save. 
• 2017 - Gerrit Cole had no success whatsoever against the Reds in his career (he was 0-6 against them in nine outings) until he took matters into his own hands at Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park. Not only did he throw seven shutout innings, but he homered to do it all in a 1-0 Bucco win. Cole Train's long ball was the third of his career and the first of the year. Per Elias Sports: Cole became the only Pirates pitcher ever to homer in a 1-0 win and the first in MLB since the Rays’ Nate Karns v the Phillies (July, 2015). Cole also went 8-0 in his last nine road starts; the last Pirates pitcher to win eight straight road decisions was Don Robinson in 1982. Redlegs rookie Luis Castillo was his equal but for that one pitch, tossing a three-hitter with nine K in seven strong frames to take a tough loss. 

Cole Train had a couple of good outings, too - 2016 Donruss

• 2020 - The Pirates made a waiver deal with the Phils for LHP Austin Davis, sending Philadelphia a PTBNL (24-year-old Class A RHP Joel Cesar) and cash. Davis had parts of five seasons in the show, with a 1-2/5.64 line. He averaged nearly 10 K per nine innings with a problem with long balls (11 in 58 career IP), but fit the Pirates need for pen depth and a lefty. He got into 15 games for the Bucs, slashing 0-1/4.73, and was traded at the 2021 deadline to Boston for IF Michael Chavis.