9/5 From 1975: Immaculate Ohlie; Reuss Roll; Jason No Go; Reggie #30; Sophie's Stadium; Maz Statue; Hans Card; Gems & Game Tales; HBD Jason, Rod & Pablo

• 1975 - Montreal used a record 15 pinch hitters in their doubleheader split with the Pirates at Parc Jarry. The Expos claimed the opener, 4-3, in 10 innings when Kent Tekulve walked in the winning run (he had a tough inning with two walks, two more intentional passes, a wild pitch and passed ball). Pittsburgh won the nitecap, 5-2, behind Richie Hebner’s two RBI, Willie Randolph’s two runs scored and a Captain Willie homer. Les Expos used six pinch-hitters in the first game (but none in the decisive 10th frame) and nine in the second contest. The Bucs burned four bench bats during the twin bill, all in the first match. 
• 1975 - C Rod Barajas was born in Ontario, California. Rod played for a dozen seasons, closing out his career in 2012 in Pittsburgh. He hit .206 in 104 games and surrendered 93 stolen sacks in 99 tries after signing a $4M FA contract at age 36. Hot Rod was released by Arizona in camp the following season, took a year off and has been coaching/managing for the Padres since. 
• 1978 - Jerry Reuss extended his scoreless streak to 21-1/3 IP, the bottom four in the Bucco order generated the attack, and the Pirates won their 10th game in a row (and 22-of-25) by an 8-0 count over the Mets at TRS. Reuss tossed a complete-game four-hitter while the 5-8 hitters (Phil Garner, Manny Sanguillen, Dale Berra & Duffy Dyer) combined for seven hits, six RBI and three runs scored as the Bucs got within 1/2-game of the first place Phillies. Dan Donovan of the Pittsburgh Press called the Pirates current hot streak their “Resurrection stretch.” 

Jerry Reuss - 1978 Topps

• 1990 - The Pirates beat the Mets, 1-0 and 3-1, at TRS to open a four-game lead over New York in the NL East. Zane Smith pitched a one-hitter in the twilight twin bill opener for the Bucs and Neal Heaton won the nitecap. Barry Bonds drove in the first game’s only run in the ninth, singling home Gary Redus. Jeff King homered twice in the nightcap to account for all three Bucco runs. Pittsburgh swept all five of its doubleheaders that season. 
• 1991 - While presenting her Six-Year Development Plan address, Mayor Sophie Masloff said that the City would like to build a 44,000 seat baseball stadium “...so we will finish the job of securing the Pirates’ future in this City.” She planned to locate it on the North Shore, to be ready by the turn of the century, and wanted to call it Clemente Field. She may not have got all the details right, but became the prime mover, often against stiff opposition, for the eventual building of PNC Park, pushed through by her successor, Mayor Tom Murphy.
• 1992 - The Pirates won for the ninth time in 10 games behind Bob Walk’s six-hitter to defeat the LA Dodgers, 6-1, at TRS. Barry Bonds did the heavy lifting with a three-run homer in the third to give Walkie all the runs he’d need. 
• 1993 - Utilityman Pablo Reyes was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. After batting .289 at Indianapolis in 2018, he was among the first wave of call-ups. He’s one of the Swiss Army knife-type players the Pirates value, having played both middle infield positions and the outfield for the Tribe. He got his first MLB start on September 4th, one day shy of his 25th birthday, and collected two hits, including his first MLB knock. He faded in 2019, spent the next year in the Dominican League and is now with Milwaukee. 

Pablo Reyes - 2019 photo Pirates

• 1995 - OF Jason Martin was born in Corona, California. He was an eighth-round draft pick of Houston in 2013, selected straight from high school, and joined the Pirates in 2018 as part of the Gerrit Cole trade. He was called up on April 5th, 2019, probably before his time due to injuries; Martin only had 60 AAA & 68 AA games under his belt as a 23-year-old before he was promoted. He hit .250 off the bench in 20 games, rejoined Indy, and then broke camp with the Bucs in 2020. Jason spent most of the year in the minors and is now playing for the Rangers. 
• 2000 - Manager Gene Lamont strongly denied an LA Times rumor that the Pirates and Dodgers were discussing a C Jason Kendall for C Angel Pena/ RHP Mike Judd deal, saying the return was too low and that he felt that there was a good chance of Kendall working out a new contract with the Pirates. Gene was right: on November 18th, Kendall signed a six-year contract extension worth $60M and remained with the Pirates through 2004. 
• 2003 - Reggie Sanders became just the sixth right-handed hitting Pirate to homer 30 or more times in a season with his solo homer in the seventh inning in the first game of a doubleheader at Atlanta’s Fulton County Stadium. Sanders joined Ralph Kiner (six times), Frank Thomas (twice), and one-timers Dick Stuart, Jeff King and Aramis Ramirez as Bucs to accomplish the feat. His long fly tied the opener against the Bravos, which the Bucs eventually lost, 3-2, in 10 innings. The Pirates won the nightcap, 5-3, behind Craig Wilson’s three-run homer and Jeff Reboulet’s solo shot. Mark Corey split even on the day, losing the first game and winning the second. 
• 2009 - In the seventh inning of the Pirates' 2-1 loss to St. Louis at PNC Park, Ross Ohlendorf tossed the Bucs’ second-ever “immaculate inning,” striking out the side on nine pitches. He fanned Kevin Greene, Julio Logo and Jason LaRue, all who were thrown out at first after swinging at pitches in the dirt. Jeff Robinson first turned the feat for the Bucs in 1987 against the Cubs Leon Durham, Andre Dawson and Rafael Palmeiro. Juan Nicasio became the third Pirate to toss an immaculate inning in 2016. As for the game, Ohlie’s effort went for naught when Albert Pujols bopped a 10th-inning pinch-hit homer off Matt Capps. 

Immaculate Ohlie - 2009 Topps Update

• 2007 - A 1909 T206 American Tobacco baseball card of Honus Wagner was sold for an at-the-time record $2.8M to an anonymous buyer. The card is such a rarity because Wagner refused to license his image to the tobacco company, and only between 50-200 of the cards were ever printed. It was a pretty good investment vehicle; in 2021, a Hans T206 sold for $6.6M. 
• 2010 - Bill Mazeroski’s statue was dedicated at PNC Park outside the RF gate, located on Mazeroski Way (it was the former Avenue of the Pirates, renamed in Maz’s honor in 2001) and unveiled on his 74th birthday. Pittsburgh sculptor Susan Wagner shaped the likeness of Maz on his 1960 home run trot. Susan also created the Clemente and Stargell monuments for PNC Park. Unfortunately, he wasn’t in the lineup that afternoon and the Bucs were whipped by the Nats.