6/11 From 1965: Cole Train MLB/PNC Debut; A-Ram 22-Gamer; Cam Canned; SI-Cobra; Game Tales; HBD Brock; Draft - Gonzales, Mlodzinski

• 1969 - The ‘Stros were cruising with a 6-3 lead going into the sixth at the Astrodome when the Bucs woke up. They loaded the bases and cut the lead to a run via some small ball with an infield single and walk. Then came the blast; Roberto Clemente cranked out a grand slam. It was his only hit, but he scored three times with an intentional walk, HBP and stolen base, adding an outfield assist to his basket. The Bucs banged out 15 hits, with Freddie Patek and Matty Alou chipping in three each, in the 13-8 victory. Houston helped - they committed four errors, leading to three unearned runs. Steve Blass got the win with Bruce DalCanton and Chuck Hartenstein mopping up the final four frames. 
• 1977 - Dave Parker was featured as the cover story of The Sporting News in an article titled “Wham.” He was an NL whammy that campaign, leading the league with a .338 BA, 215 hits and 44 doubles to go with 21 HR, 88 RBI and 107 runs scored to earn his first All-Star berth with six more to follow (three with Pgh). 

• 1982 - Lee Lacy, playing in place of an injured Dave Parker, lined a Larry Christenson curveball over the wall in right center with one away in the ninth to give the Bucs a 1-0 victory over the Phils at Veterans Stadium. Teke Tekulve tossed three frames of one-hit ball for the win in support of John Candelaria’s strong six-inning start as the pair combined for the Pirates first shutout of the campaign. Christenson went the distance for the Phils, striking out 11 Bucs. 
• 1985 - The Pirates romped over the Cards, 13-2, at TRS. All 12 Bucs with an at-bat had hits (five had multi-hit days) and 11 scored and/or drove in a run. Joe Orsulek led the parade with three hits while Tony Pena and Bill Madlock homered. Rick Reuschel went seven innings for the win; he added two raps and three RBI to the cause, with Al Holland mopping up. 
• 1988 - OF/IF Brock Holt was born in Fort Worth, Texas. Taken in the ninth round of the 2009 draft by the Bucs, he played some in 2012 for Pittsburgh, hitting .292, before being sent to Boston as part of the Mark Melancon trade. He soon became a valued plug-in guy for the BoSox, playing every position but pitcher & catcher, before moving on; he last played with the Rangers in 2021. 
• 1990 - Jay Bell went 2-for-2 with two triples and two RBI to lead the Pirates to an 8-7 win over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The Bucs took a 6-0 jump in the third inning before allowing St. Louis to tie the score in the seventh inning. In the eighth, Jeff King untied it with a run-scoring single to plate Jose Lind to give Stan Belinda the win in relief, saved by Bill Landrum. King and Barry Bonds had three hits each to pace the attack. The Bucs were their own worst enemies; Jose Lind’s two boots allowed a pair of unearned runs to score, and some Keystone Kops baserunning cost the Bucs a potentially big inning. 

Brian Giles - Topps Gold Label Series 1

• 2000 - The Bucs scored three runs in the first, five in the 10th and not much in between, but it was enough to down the KC Royals, 10-6, at Kauffman Stadium. Warren Morris and Adrian Brown combined for eight hits, three RBI and six runs at the top of the lineup while Brian Giles was the big gun, driving in three clutch runs with a game-tying double in the ninth and a banging a two-run homer in the 10th. 
• 2001 - Kevin McClatchy fired GM Cam Bonifay after seven losing seasons and several costly and questionable free agent signings, replaced by interim GM Roy Smith. Dave Littlefield was named his replacement a month later. Littlefield couldn’t get the Bucs’ motor running either (he was generally forced to make moves for financial rather than baseball reasons) and was swapped out for Neal Huntington in September, 2007. 
• 2003 - Aramis Ramirez extended his hitting streak to 22 games by going 3-for-5 against the Blue Jays at the SkyDome in an 8-5 loss. Toronto’s Mark Hendrickson and Aquilino Perez would end A-Ram’s string the next day. 
• 2005 - The Pirates exploded for 20 hits to beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 18-2, tallying the most runs scored by the club at PNC Park. The Bucs led, 12-0, after six innings and cruised to the victory. Jose Castillo homered and knocked in a team-high five runs. Daryle Ward had four RBI and Ryan Doumit had three hits and three RBI. Seven Buccos had two or more hits. Ollie Perez struck out 10 batters in seven innings for the win. 

Jose Castillo - 2005 Topps

• 2013 - First overall pick of the 2011 draft, RHP Gerrit Cole, made his MLB debut at PNC Park and picked up an 8-2 win over the SF Giants in front of 30,614 fans; some 10,000 were walk-ups who came to see Cole Train roll. Cole pitched to contact, giving up two runs on seven hits with two K in 6-1/3 innings, needing just 81 pitches and registering 99 on the gun a couple of times during the evening. Pedro Alvarez went 3-for-3 with a homer, two runs scored and three RBI to spark the Bucco attack. 
• 2020 - On the first night of the truncated five-round draft, the Pirates chose SS Nick Gonzalez with their first pick (7th overall - New Mexico State), a guy who sported a good stick but an unsettled position in the field, with 2B the early consensus. He signed for $5.4M, slot value. They next landed righty Carmen Mlodzinski with their competitive balance pick (#31, South Carolina) and agreed to terms with a $2M bonus, $300K under slot. The following day, the Bucs took RHP Jared Jones, a Texas commit, in the second round (#44: La Mirada HS CA) and inked him to a $2.2M deal, roughly $500K over slot. They closed the action by taking three more righties - Nick Garcia (#79, Chapman U; $1.2M, $400K over slot), Jack Hartman (#108, Appalachian State), and Logan Hofmann (#138, Northwestern State). They all signed by July 2nd.