8/25 From 1980: Redus Cycle; Mid-Game Melee; Skyblast Misfires; Dunne, DeLeon Gems; Game Tales

• 1981 - The Pirates dropped a wild 9-7 game to the LA Dodgers at TRS. The Bucs rallied from 6-1 and 7-3 deficits (driven by a couple of key errors and a blown call at first), the latter lead erased on a three-run Dave Parker homer in the ninth. Sadly, Kent Tekulve was tapped for a pair in the 10th and the Pirates were out of comebacks. But the real excitement happened out of sight, in the runway between the dugouts when both teams milled about in a mid-game shoving/verbal get together. Pittsburgh’s Paschal Perez had bopped a couple of Trolley Dodgers and LA’s Reggie Smith called him out; Perez suggested they meet to discuss it, so both teams crammed into the runway in the sixth inning. Although the 145-pound Perez carried a bat to the rendezvous, no blows were exchanged as Bill Robinson had him in tow. Willie Stargell explained to Russ Franke of the Pittsburgh Press “There wasn’t any fight. We just went in there to hold the daily lottery drawing.” In better news, the Pirates signed impending FA John Candelaria to a one-year contract for 1982; he was out for the current season with a torn bicep, getting just six starts before the injury. 

Candy Man - 1981 Fleer

• 1982 - The Pirates blew a 4-1 lead at TRS, allowing San Diego to edge ahead in the eighth. But they tied the game in their half when Tony Pena’s grounder scored Lee Lacy and walked it off with a ninth-inning victory when Jim Morrison singled in Enrique Romo, running for Willie Stargell, with the game winner. Kent Tekulve claimed the win. It was a doubly dark day for the Padres; they not only lost the game but also Tony Gwynn, who broke his wrist diving for a fly ball. 
• 1983 - Behind the 11-strikeout performance of 22-year-old rookie Jose DeLeon and clutch hits by Jim Morrison and Tony Pena, the Pirates snapped a four-game losing streak to claw back into a virtual first-place tie with Philadelphia with a 5-3 win over the Astros at TRS. Morrison came off the bench to collect two hits & two RBI, Pena also had a pair of raps, including a solo home run, & chased home two more runs while Lee Lacy was a burr under Houston’s saddle with a hit, two walks, a stolen base and a run scored. Rod Scurry came on to get the last out. 
• 1984 - Lee Lacy had three hits and chased home three runs to help John Candelaria to his 11th win, 5-3, over the Reds at TRS. But the big news was after the game - a postgame pyrotechnics show that drew a crowd of 21,385 went haywire when a skyrocket landed behind the home plate stands, injuring 18 and sending 11 of the group to the hospital with burns.
• 1987 - Mike Dunne fired his best game of the year, a two-hitter, as the Bucs defeated the Cincinnati Reds, 1-0, at TRS. Johnny Ray’s first-inning RBI single that scored Andy Van Slyke, who had also singled and stole second ahead of Ray, was the game-winner. He struck out seven, allowed just one runner to reach second, and retired the last 10 batters. Ted Power was Cincy’s hard-luck loser; he only gave up four hits, two of them to the first three batters he faced. For Dunne, it was the icing on a super rookie campaign when he finished with a line of 13-6/3.03 and was named the NL Rookie Pitcher Of the Year by The Sporting News, but the righty only won 12 more games during the remainder of his career while battling shoulder injuries. 

Mike Dunne - 1987 Topps Rookies

• 1989 - OF Gary Redus hit for the cycle in a 12-3 win over the Reds at Riverfront Stadium, scoring three times and driving in four runs as the Pirates won their fifth game in a row. Barry Bonds homered and scored three times while Andy Van Slyke banged a pair of doubles to pave the road for Jeff Robinson, who banged out three hits to help himself, and Mike Smith. 
• 1991 - Pittsburgh blasted four homers off the bats of Cecil Espy, Jay Bell, Andy Van Slyke and Bobby Bonilla to whip the SF Giants. 8-3. at TRS. Bell had three hits, scored three times and had a pair of RBI while Espy added three RBI and Spanky Lavalliere collected three hits to back John Smiley’s 15th win, saved by Stan Belinda, who worked the final three frames. 
• 1992 - Andy Van Slyke had three hits, including a homer and double, drove home four runs and scored twice as the Bucs beat LA, 10-3, at Dodger Stadium. Leadoff hitter Alex Cole had three hits and scored three times as Danny Cox got the win in relief of Danny Jackson. 
• 1996 - Jeff King swatted five hits, including a homer and double, but it was in vain as the Bucs lost a 13-9 decision to Colorado at Coors Field. Jay Bell and Nelson Liriano also went deep, but four Bucco pitchers couldn’t hold off the Rockies with Marc Wilkins taking the loss. 
• 1997 - Joe Randa and Mark Smith homered in the ninth inning on back-to-back pitches for a 4-3 walk-off win over the Dodgers at TRS, giving the Bucs a DH split. Both blows came off Todd Worrell, who got the call when Eddie Williams walked the first hitter. Marc Wilkins, who worked the last two frames, claimed the win. Pittsburgh was clobbered, 8-2, in the opener. 

Mark Smith - photo All Sport

• 2006 - In a Skyblast concert the Buc PR department would rather forget, San Francisco punk cover band Me First & the Gimme Gimmes were booed out of PNC Park and their three-day booking canceled. They were lucky to get away with that; the 32,000 fans were in a forgiving mood after a 5-3 Bucco win over the Astros before the group took the stage. East End native and band singer Spike Slawson said “It was an obscene amount of money for the work we did...We’re a punk band. Getting booed by a sports crowd makes us viable.” Viable, maybe; bookable, nah. 
• 2009 - Andrew McCutchen hit his first MLB walk off homer in the ninth to beat Philadelphia and Brad Lidge 6-4 at PNC Park. Brandon Moss had tied the game moments earlier with a single and trotted home with the winning run ahead of Cutch. Matt Capps gave up a pair in the ninth to the Phillies for the rare daily double of a blown save and win. 
• 2020 - Coming into Chicago with a head of steam after sweeping the Brewers, the Pirates had the wind taken out of their sails when they were no-hit by Lucas Giolito at Guaranteed Rate Park. The White Sox’ Giolito walked one (in the fourth inning) and struck out 13 in the 4-0 win and survived a two-out, two-strike bullet (102.6 EV) by Josh Bell to right that Adam Engel gloved. It was the first no-hitter of the 2020 campaign and the 13th time the Buccos franchise was no-no’ed, with the last being in 2015 at the hands of the Nat’s Max Scherzer.