7/21 From 1980: Grilli Signed; #11 Retired; Matt Splat; Pop's Last Blast; Game Tales; HBD Max

• 1982 - Willie Stargell hit his final bomb, a club record 475th home run, against the Reds’ Tom Hume, and it was clutch. The shot was an eighth-inning, game-winning, pinch-hit solo shot in a 3-2 victory at Riverfront Stadium to give Larry McWilliams the win, backed by a two-inning save by Kent Tekulve. 
• 1983 - The Pirates walked off with a 5-4 decision over the LA Dodgers at TRS for their 10th win in 11 games, the opening shot of a 20-of-25 July winning streak that would carry them from fifth place on July 10th to first. (They finished with 84 wins, good for second, six games behind the Phils.) The City of Angels raced out to a 4-1 lead behind Fernando Valenzuela, but the Pirates chipped away with single runs in the seventh and the eighth to trim the gap to one. The Bucs had a runner on first in the ninth, thanks to a Dodger boot, with two down when Bill Madlock singled and Jason Thompson drew a walk off Steve Howe to jam the sacks. Jim Morrison smacked one foul into the second level as a teaser, then became the hero in fact when his rap into left chased home two runs to give Kent Tekulve, the Pirates fourth pitcher, the victory. 
• 1991 - Randy Tomlin spun a three-hit, complete game masterpiece against the Cincinnati Reds at TRS, winning by a 6-0 score and allowing just four baserunners, none of whom made it past first base. (That no-one-past-first feat wouldn’t be duplicated by the Buccos again until 2017 when Steven Brault and three relievers stopped the Milwaukee Brewers). Andy Van Slyke and Don Slaught both had two-run raps while Gary Redus had three hits, missing the cycle by a homer, and scored twice. 

Kevin Polcovich, from goat to hero  - 1998 Upper Deck Collectors Choice

• 1997 - The Pirate “Freak Show” stayed alive with a 3-2 win over Curt Schilling and The Phillies at Veterans Stadium. Philadelphia jumped ahead, 2-0, on Esteban Loaiza, but Al Martin’s homer off a hanging forkball in the sixth tied it. Keith Osik led off the next frame with a double and went to third on a grounder, but a suicide squeeze attempt by Kevin Polcovich fizzled and Osik was caught at home. Kevin made amends, working the count full and then yanking a heater over the fence in left. Matt Reubel, Marc Wilkins and Rich Loiselle closed the door after that, and despite striking out 17 times (the Post-Gazette headline was “Get A Whiff Of This”), the Bucs remained alive in the race. 
• 1997 - RHP Max Kranick was born in Scranton and was drafted by the Pirates in the 11th round of the 2016 draft out of Valley View HS. The Pirates through pitching coach Vic Black shortened his arm motion and he reached the upper levels in 2021, starting out at Altoona, moving up to Indianapolis and getting his call to the show on June 27th. He opened some eyes in his debut, spinning five perfect frames against the Cards before rain washed out his day. Max started 2022 at Indy, and again was yo-yo’ed between AAA and the show, with his season coming to an end with June TJ surgery. 
• 2003 - Matt Stairs became the first player to hit two home runs into the Allegheny River (both on the bounce) during a 5-3 win over Houston (he hit his first river ball while playing for the Cubs two years before). Josh Fogg got the win with plenty of bullpen help; the last of three relievers, Mike Lincoln, got the save. It was also a benchmark match for Jason Kendall, who caught his 1,000th game. 

Matt Stairs - 2003 Topps

• 2007 - The Pirates retired Paul "Big Poison" Waner's #11 in a ceremony before their game vs. the Astros on the 55th anniversary of his 1952 Hall of Fame induction. Waner was the first NL player since Honus Wagner, 28 years before, and the seventh batter in history to reach 3,000 knocks. (He got #3,000 against his old matey Rip Sewell on June 19th, 1942, as a Boston Brave.) The team had a video presentation, his family on the field, and rolled his #11 into the outfield grass. The Bucs celebrated by ending a seven-game losing streak, toppling Houston, 7-3, before reverting to form and losing seven of the next eight contests. 
• 2008 - The Bucs ended a six-loss-in-seven-games streak with a 9-3 win over Houston at Minute Maid Park. Freddy Sanchez had three hits, including a homer, and four RBI. Jason Bay went 4-for-5 with a homer, Nate McLouth and Xavier Nady had three hits and Adam LaRoche chipped in with a home run. The game didn’t become a laugher until the Bucs rallied from behind with seven runs in the ninth inning to make Tyler Yates a winner. 
• 2011 - The Pirates signed Jason Grilli from Philadelphia’s AAA Lehigh club; he had a major league opt-out clause that he exercised to join the Buccos. “Grilled Cheese” pitched for Pittsburgh from 2011-14 with a line of 3-11-47/3.01 and a K rate of 12.4 batters per nine innings. He went from bridge man to closer, taking Joel Hanrahan’s spot in 2013 and earning an All-Star berth with 33 saves. Grilli had a down campaign in 2014 and was traded to the LA Angels, with Mark Melancon taking over the Pirates closer duties. 

Josh Bell - 2017 Panini Diamond Kings

• 2017 - Josh Bell had a career-high four hits, including a double, triple and four RBI, as the Bucs beat the Rockies 13-5 to extend their winning streak to six by claiming their 12th victory in 14 games. Fran Cervelli added three raps to go with three RBI for his fourth straight multi-hit game, Andrew McCutchen went 3-for-4 with two walks, three runs scored & three runners plated, Starling Marte scored four times & swiped two sacks, and Jordy Mercer hit a 444’ homer as the Pirates swatted 18 hits. Trevor Williams went into the seventh for the win with Jhan Marinez providing the finishing touches.