6/1 From 1975: Morris Trade; Kendall, Manahan Drafted; We Are Family; Fregosi Upgrades; Frankie, Wags Gems Wasted; Game Tales

• 1978 - The Pirates released reserve infielder Jim Fregosi at the behest of California Angels’ owner Gene Autry. It was a good faith request - Fregosi, 36, replaced Dave Garcia as Angels manager the next day. 
• 1979 - The Pirates scored four times in the ninth inning to rally past the San Diego Padres, 9-8, at TRS. Dave Parker cranked a one-out, three-run homer off John D'Acquisto to tie it, and Lee Lacy drew a bases-loaded free pass with two away off Rollie Fingers for the win after Ed Ott had been intentionally walked before him. Phil Garner went 4-for-5 and scored twice. Teke gave up four runs in three innings of work, but it was good enough for the win. After the game, Willie Stargell blasted out a tune he thought exemplified the club - “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge - and it caught on, not only among Pirates Nation but the public at large, selling a million copies each of the LP and single after it had originally sputtered (although Kim Sledge, who along with her sisters were from Philadelphia, said “The Phillies...should have used our song.”) 

Dale Berra - 1980 Topps

• 1980 - The Bucs had a big day, banging the Mets, 13-3, at TRS in front of a cap day crowd of 49,626 at TRS. No one had a bigger day than Dale Berra, who had three hits, including a grand slam, and chased home five runs to atone for a pair of boots in the field, bettered by ex-Pirate and current Met Frankie Taveras’ three errors (it wasn’t a very good glove day for shortstops). Vance Law doubled for his first MLB hit while three other Buccos had a pair of knocks each, and the attack allowed Jim Bibby to cruise to a complete game win. 
• 1986 - Jim Morrison showed the way in a 12-3 win over the LA Dodgers at TRS, hitting a grand slam that he almost lost when when he passed Tony Pena for a heartbeat during his trot around the bases (Tony was standing on first and ready to tag if the big fly was caught, but the umps didn’t see it), a double and triple with seven runs chased home. How often does a guy fall a single short of the cycle? RJ Reynolds also had three knocks and Rick Rhoden went the distance for the win. 
• 1988 - The Pirates drafted prep SS Austin Manahan first in the draft (his bonus wasn’t released; Manahan said in an interview that it was “six figures”); he never made it past AA, and in fact Pittsburgh’s first five picks never made the show. They did hit on a couple of later selections, selecting Tim Wakefield, Randy Tomlin, John Wehner and Blas Minor. 
• 1992 - Prep C Jason Kendall was selected in the first round (#23) of the draft and signed for a $336K bonus two weeks later in one of Pittsburgh’s more enlightened picks. He spent nine of his 15 MLB seasons with the Pirates, hitting .306 and earning spots on three All-Star teams. After him came a group of reserves - OF’ers Adrian Brown and Trey Beamon, pitcher Marc Wilkins, and infielders Lou Collier and Kevin Polcovich. 

Paul Wagner - 1996 Fleer

• 1996 - Paul Wagner tossed a one-hitter with ten K for seven innings at TRS, but lost to Colorado, 2-0. He couldn’t find the plate in the third; two walks followed by a wild pitch cost him as Dante Bichette hit a ball through the shortstop hole to score the pair. The Bucs had nine hits, but stranded 10 in the whitewash. 
• 1998 - Jason Schmidt won his seventh straight game, 4-3, against the Mets at TRS, breaking a nine-game string of victories by New York. The righty scattered six hits and fanned eight, with ninth inning help from Ricardo Rincon, who earned a save. The Bucs were led at the plate by Tony Womack, who had two hits and a homer; Al Martin and Mark Smith also had a pair of knocks. Schmidt was 8-1/3.59 at this point but would go on to drop his next eight decisions. He wouldn’t win another game until August 12th and finished the season 11-14/4.07. 
• 2005 - Florida lost its ninth straight game at PNC Park‚ 9-1. Rob Mackowiak hit his second career grand slam and Jack Wilson went 4-for-4 to pace the attack behind Josh Fogg and Salomon Torres’ pitching. The last Marlin win in Pittsburgh was September 8th‚ 2002; they snapped the streak the next day by a 6-3 count. 
• 2006 - The Pirates swept the Milwaukee Brewers in a four-game set by scoring twice in the ninth to take a 4-3 decision at PNC Park. With two away, Jose Castillo doubled home Jeromy Burnitz, followed by the game winning knock by Ryan Doumit, both off Derrick Turnbow. John Grabow, the Bucs fourth pitcher, earned the win. The Pirates, despite this game being tight, outscored the Brew Crew 34-8 in the series. 

Frankie Liriano - 2013 Topps Chrome

• 2013 - Francisco Liriano tied the franchise record by striking out seven consecutive Reds, but Mike Leake won the duel at PNC Park by a 2-0 count. Liriano went six innings, giving up a run on four hits and a walk, punching out 11. Not a ball left the infield in the inning he surrendered the run, and only a disputed two-out call at first allowed Cincy to score at all. 
• 2014 - Miami got righty reliever Bryan Morris for a competitive balance selection (#39) that turned into first baseman Connor Joe, who was flipped to the Braves in 2017 for Sean Rodriguez. Morris retired in 2017, S-Rod hung 'em up for a Phillies coaching gig in 2022, and Joe is now with the Rockies. 
• 2015 - A left coast Bucco fan helped his boys during their 4-3 win over the Giants at AT&T Park. In the eighth, with two gone and the G-Men within a run, a foul ball drifted down the right field stands and was snagged by a fan decked out in a Pirates cap and tee. He leaned over, snagged the ball over a low railing and bumped into Gregory Polanco, who was tracking the fly. After an ump review, Pittsburgh was awarded the third out and the fan was awarded an unceremonious ejection from the park. In the game, the Giants had jumped out to a 2-0 first inning lead; the Bucs answered with three in the fifth, capped by Neil Walker’s two-run, two-out double off of former and future Pirate Ryan Vogelsong. Chris Stewart collected three hits and Andrew McCutchen had the other pair of RBI. Gerrit Cole took home the win and Mark the Shark Melancon earned the save.