5/20 From 1970: Willie Wallop; Matt Moon Shot; Neil Knocks; Diggin' Outta Holes & Game Tales; HBD Tony

• 1970 - Pittsburgh beat the Phils, 3-2, in 14 innings at Forbes Field. Roberto Clemente's third-inning triple, a 440-footer off the left-centerfield light tower, plated Freddie Patek. In the eighth, John Briggs dropped an Al Oliver fly, allowing Matty Alou to score the tying run. Alou later scored the game-winner courtesy of two consecutive wild pitches by Philadelphia’s Dick Selma. After a two-out knock, Matty moved up 90’ on the first wayward toss and then scored when the next took a wild bounce off the cement beneath the backstop screen, giving Alou the time to scoot home from second base. Bob Veale started the marathon, followed by five innings of two-hit relief from Dave Giusti before Bruce Dal Canton finished off the last two frames to get credit for the win. 
• 1978 - Batting against Wayne Twitchell of the Montreal Expos, Willie Stargell hit the only fair ball ever to reach the upper deck of Olympic Stadium. The red seat where the ball landed, 535’ away, was painted yellow to mark the spot (and though baseball has long left, the seat memorial still remains). The Bucs won, 6-0, as Bert Blyleven tossed a three-hitter with eight strikeouts, backed by Pops’ five RBI. 

Mike Easler - 1981 Topps

• 1981 - Mike Easler lived up to his “Hitman” nickname by going 3-for-4 with two homers, a double and four RBI in a 6-1 win over the Atlanta Braves at TRS. Rick Rhoden went six innings to get credit for the win, with Enrique Romo tossing three hitless frames to close it out. 
• 1988 - Former Pirates MVP Willie Stargell was booed at TRS for coaching rival Atlanta, managed by Chuck Tanner, who consoled Pops by telling him “They didn’t deserve to have you.” The Bucs won rather handily despite facing their old legends by a 10-3 score as Junior Ortiz and Mike Diaz teamed up to drive home six runs. Mike Dunne got the win in a game finished by Jim Gott. 
• 1988 - C John Anthony “Tony” Sanchez was born in Miami. He was drafted in the first round (4th pick) of the 2009 draft out of Boston College and first appeared as a Bucco in 2013. Tony hit .259 from 2013-15, serving as a call-up third catcher. He was DFA’ed after the 2015 season and has bounced around, last playing in the Ranger’s system through 2019. 
• 2000 - C Keith Osik made the second mop-up relief appearance of his career, allowing five runs on five hits, two hit batters, a wild pitch and a home run in the ninth inning of a 19-4 loss to the Cards at TRS. Osik became the second position player since 1900 to both give up and hit a home run in the same game when he took Pat Hentgen deep in the eighth inning before serving a long ball to Thomas Howard. The 19 runs were the most the Redbirds had posted since 1977.

Keith Osik - 2001 Stadium Club

• 2001 - The Pirates did it the hard way at PNC Park - they fell behind the Brewers, 7-0, but had two big innings left in them to rally for an 8-7 victory in front of a Sunday crowd of 35,728. The Bucs mounted their first surge in the fifth frame, small-balling three runs across the dish but leaving the bases jammed. Still down by a 7-3 count in the eighth inning, Pittsburgh again did it by hitting the ball where they ain’t, cashing in on five hits (four were singles; Abraham Nunez’s double was the game’s only extra-base hit for the Corsairs out of their 12 raps) and an error to plate five runs and claim the 8-7 comeback win. The real heroes were the five guys called from the pen, who worked 5-1/3 IP of three-hit, one-run ball. Jose Manzanilla got the win and Mike Williams earned a save. It was the first time since 1998 the Pirates had overcome a seven-run deficit, and it was deja vu all over again: that was also an 8-7 decision over Milwaukee at TRS. 
• 2004 - The Bucs were down, 6-0, after an inning and 7-1 after two frames, but Daryle Ward and Jason Bay each bopped a pair of homers with three RBI to lead the Bucs to a 9-7 comeback win (the biggest since overcoming a seven-run deficit against the Minnesota Twins in June, 2001) over the San Diego Padres at PNC Park. Mike Gonzalez claimed the win and Jose Mesa posted the save. Despite the homers and nine runs scored, the Bucs went 0-for-7 with RISP. 
• 2005 - Matt Lawton hit the longest Pirate homer to date at PNC Park, blasting a 463’ rocket off Colorado’s Jamey Wright in a 9-4 Bucco victory. Lawton and Rob Mackowiak had three RBI each and Tike Redman went 4-for-4. Starter Mark Redman was credited with the win with four relievers filling in behind him to tag team the final eight outs against the Rox. 

Neil Walker - 2011 Topps

• 2011 - Neil Walker hit a homer and double while driving in five runs to lead Pittsburgh to a 10-1 win against Detroit at PNC Park. Jeff Karstens picked up the win, followed by a trio of relievers who carried it home. Jose Tabata and Garrett Jones added two knocks each while Lyle Overbay went long.