5/16 From 1970: Leyland Returns; Bonds Show; Kramer Gem; Mack Whacks; Game Tales; HBD Williams

• 1970 - Bill Mazeroski's ninth inning single led to a 4-3 Pirate win over the Expos at Forbes Field. It was Maz's first ever pinch-hit knock in a big league career that began in 1956. Bob Robertson had a big day at the dish, falling a single short of hitting for the cycle. Luke Walker, the Pirates third pitcher, earned the win. 
• 1989 - Randy Kramer shut out the Reds, 5-0, at Riverfront Stadium. The rookie righty tossed one of the gems of Bucco history; the only hit he surrendered was to Ron Oester, who doubled with two outs in the eighth. Rey Quinones led the attack, going 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored. 

Barry Bonds - 1992 Topps Stadium Club Members Only

• 1992 - Barry Bonds put on a show at TRS, banging out three hits (two were homers, including a grand slam) and chasing home six runs, but it was in vain as the Bucs lost to San Diego, 10-9. The Pirates had jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead, but were down 9-6 by the fifth frame as the Friars teed off on Bob Walk (whose throwing error & wild pitch didn’t help the cause) and Vincente Palacios. A ninth-inning Bucco rally fell a run short with the tying run aboard. 
• 1992 - LHP Williams Jerez was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic. A second round pick out of Grand Street Campus HS (Brooklyn) in 2011 by the BoSox, he had cups of coffee with the Angels and Giants in 2018-19 before the Bucs claimed him off waivers and put him to work for six outings (no decisions, 7.36 ERA). He fit the Pirates mold as a high strikeout, high walk guy in the minors whose stuff hadn’t translated to the MLB in a small sample size. He elected free agency after the 2020 campaign and went to the Dominican League. He spent some time with the Seattle organization in ‘21 and is pitching indie ball this season. 
• 1995 - Denny Neagle, Jim Gott and Dan Maceli combined to shut out LA, 2-0, at Dodger Stadium. Dave Clark drove in both runs with a homer and single. The game was one of four scoreless contests in the NL, the first time there had been that many goose eggs posted in a single day in the past five years. 
• 1997 - Jim Leyland returned to TRS for the first time wearing a uniform other than that of the Pirates. Leyland, who spent 11 seasons as skipper in Pittsburgh before leaving in 1996, and his Marlins beat the Pirates, 3-1, on the way to a three-game sweep, the Fish’s first ever at Pittsburgh. The Bucs weren’t the only team he beat that year; Florida won the World Series, a feat Leyland couldn’t pull off in the Steel City despite three division titles. 

Rob Mackowiak -2004 Topps Total

• 2004 - Rob Mackowiak broke out of an early season slump with three hits, including two homers, four RBI and two runs scored to lead the Bucs to an 8-1 thumping of the Giants at San Francisco’s SBC Park. Craig Wilson added three more knocks as Kip Wells, with four frames of scoreless help from the pen, claimed the win. 
• 2013 - Led by Travis Snider, who went 3-for-5 with a homer, three RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base, the Pirates defeated the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-1, at PNC Park. He had a lot of help as Starling Marte, Andrew McCutchen, Garrett Jones and Russ Martin each chipped in two hits. Frankie Liriano won, with late support from Justin Wilson, Bryan Morris and Jose Contreras. It was an early leg of a 11-of-14 winning streak by the Bucs, who would finally break out of the doldrums and snap a 20-year losing streak with a 94-win campaign and earning a playoff spot.