5/14 From 1975: Cutch, GI Five Spots; Lee's Happy Feet; Benny Catches; Gems Galore & Game Tales

• 1978 - Don Robinson struck out seven batters in a four-hit shutout during Pittsburgh’s 1-0 win at San Diego. Frank Taveras drew a leadoff walk in the sixth inning and eventually came around on a Dave Parker bouncer to score the only run (and it was unearned) of the game. For Robinson, it was the first of six shutouts he would record in his career. Randy Jones and Mark Lee of the Friars were both on top of their games, too, allowing the Bucs just five hits. 
• 1982 - Lee Lacy banged a go-ahead grand slam in the bottom of the eighth but got carried away with happy feet when he passed Omar Moreno between 1B and 2B. Lacy was called out and credited just a single and three RBI, leaving the Bucs just enough runs to top the Reds, 8-7, at TRS. Don Robinson started and didn’t make it out of the first frame; the Bucs had to rally from a 5-0 hole to take the victory. Manny Sarmiento did the heavy lifting for 5-1/3 IP to allow the bats to warm up and whittle the lead down, leading to Enrique Romo’s win and Kent Tekulve’s save. 

Benny Distefano - May 17, 1989 photo/NY Times

• 1989 - OF Benny Distefano became the first lefty catcher in a major league game since White Sox 1B Mike Squires in 1980 when he caught the ninth inning of a 5-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves at TRS. He came in after Jimmy Leyland burned starter Tom Prince and sub Junior Ortiz for pinch hitters. Distefano missed the first pitch Bill Landrum tossed on a cross-up over signs and then did a bang-up job for the rest of the frame. 1B Dale Long, then with the Cubs, is thought to be the only other LH catcher in the modern era; he caught two games in 1958 covering 1-2/3 IP. 
• 1992 - It was too much Jeff King for the Braves as the Bucco infielder was clutch at the end to lead the Pirates to a 4-3 win at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. His solo shot in the seventh pulled Pittsburgh within a run, and he capped it with a two-run, bases-loaded rap in the ninth to send the Buccaneers home winners. Vincente Palacios was the winner in relief of Zane Smith and Roger Mason picked up the save by stranding a pair of runners in the ninth to close it out. 
• 1997 - Kevin Young's two-run pinch double gave Pittsburgh the lead and Al Martin finished off a nine-run eighth inning with a grand slam as the “Freak Show” Pirates beat Colorado, 15-10, at Three Rivers Stadium. Every Pirate starter except the pitcher had a knock. Rockies pitchers were indeed rocky, surrendering 13 hits, a dozen walks and losing leads of 6-3, 7-5, and 9-6 to the first-place Buccos. 
• 2000 - Kris Benson tossed a four-hit, 3-0, shutout at TRS against the Milwaukee Brewers. He only struck out three, but it was a big step in his development - he did it on one pitch, his fastball, as his breaking ball was AWOL. Benson lasted until the ninth by keeping the ball low and generating grounders, but after the first batter reached, Gene Lamont, to the fans' displeasure, waved in Jason Christiansen to finish it up. The Pirates only had seven raps, with Bruce Aven leading the pack with two knocks, including a solo homer. Brian Giles also went long. 

Chad Hermansen - 2002 Fleer Tradition

• 2002 - Chad Hermansen hit his first homer of the year, a two-run drive in the third, which scored winning pitcher Kip Wells ahead of him, and that was the sum total of the attack at PNC Park in a 2-1 win over Arizona. Kip and Scott Sauerbeck carried the lead into the ninth, when Mike Williams kept the fans in their seats with a two-out walk, followed by a steal and misfire into center to move the tying run to third. But a next-pitch grounder put it to bed. Williams notched his 14th save in 14 opportunities and tied a franchise record with a save in his last nine straight outings. He was off to his career campaign: he was an All-Star with a team record 46 saves at the year’s end. 
• 2003 - Jeff D’Amico helped end a 10-game Pirates losing streak by going seven shutout innings against the Houston Astros at PNC Park, giving up four hits and fanning 10 in a 3-2 win. The Bucs had jumped ahead, 3-0, on the strength of Kenny Lofton’s two-run homer (D’Amico scored ahead of him after leading off with a walk) and Jack Wilson’s RBI knock that plated Randall Simon The game tightened when Brain Boehringer gave up a two-run blast to Jeff Kent in the eighth frame, but Mike Williams shut the gate in the ninth inning to seal the win. 
• 2005 - Lefty Mark Redman tossed his first shutout and his second straight complete game in a 2-0 win against the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park. Redman faced three batters over the minimum and threw 113 pitches while allowing just one runner to reach second base. The vet didn’t finish out the campaign so well, going 5-15/4.90 in 30 starts. Jose Castillo had two hits in the match, the key blow being a game-deciding two-run double off Victor Santos in the fifth inning. 
• 2010 - Andrew McCutchen went 5-for-5 with two RBI and five runs scored in a 10-6 win against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Garrett Jones also banged out five hits, plated twice and chased home five Buccos. The dynamic duo also added a homer each. Cutch and GI Jones were the first Pirate pair since Willie Stargell and Bob Robertson in 1970 to have five hits in a game. 

Vince Mazzaro - 2013 Quarry

• 2013 - The Bucs snapped a five-game home losing streak to the Brewers at PNC Park, thanks to six innings of shutout work from the bullpen and Andrew McCutchen’s walkoff homer in the 12th frame to take a 4-3 victory over Milwaukee. Cutch ended a frustrating night that saw two of his balls caught at the fence with the breeze from the river blowing in. That wasn’t nearly as frustrating as the Pirate hitters, who went 0-for-15 with RISP. Vin Mazzaro picked up the win with two scoreless innings as the fourth pitcher to follow starter Jeff Locke. 
• 2021 - The Pirates, stumbling through the month to the tune of 3-9 and beset with injuries, were down, 1-0, to the Giants at PNC Park in the ninth. But three singles in a row tied the game, even though three strikeouts after the opening barrage then slammed the door. After the extra-inning ghost runner score for San Francisco in the 11th frame, the Pirates rallied when Adam Frazier led off with a triple to plate the Pirates free runner, and he scored an out later after the G-Men walked the bases loaded to get to Gregory Polanco, who delivered a two-strike walkoff sac fly for a 3-2 victory. The Buccos’ heroes were Fraze, who had four of the seven Pittsburgh hits and a hand in all three runs, scoring twice and driving a runner home, along with six pitchers who combined to give up just four hits. Youth on the hill was served as Luis Oviedo earned his first MLB win in a game that Miguel Yajure started. Pittsburgh hitters added a degree of difficulty with 17 whiffs and a 2-for-14 RISP performance. It was the 10th time in the last dozen games that the struggling Bucco batsmen had scored two or fewer runs in regulation.