6/14 From 1980: Ortiz-Wynne, Solomon-Morrison; Bam A-Ram; AVS Out; Gems & Game Tales

• 1982 - RHP Eddie Solomon was sent to the Chicago White Sox for 3B Jim Morrison. Solomon was released after the season, while Mo found a home here for six years, posting a .274 BA with 57 HR and 241 RBI in 552 games for the Pirates. 
• 1983 - C Junior Ortiz and RHP Arthur Ray went to the New York Mets for RHP Steve Senteney and OF Marvell Wynne. Junior returned to the Pirates fold for the 1985 season via the Rule 5 Draft and hit .274 in seven Bucco campaigns. Marvell spent three years in Pittsburgh and batted .248 before moving on to San Diego. The two pitchers, Senteney and Ray, never made MLB appearances after the deal (Senteney had tossed 11 games for Toronto in ‘82). 
• 1985 - Jose DeLeon fanned 11 in seven innings at TRS to beat the Phillies, 3-2, backed by homers from Johnny Ray and Sixto Lezcano. DeLeon, who didn’t win his first game until June 2nd, then lost his next 11 outings to finish the campaign at 2-19. His 4.70 ERA was the worst of his career until his final season in 1995. The game also marked the return of Willie Stargell, who was hired as first base coach by Chuck Tanner and debuted this night. The next season, Pops didn’t make the transition to Jim Leyland’s staff and joined Tanner at Atlanta. 

Jose DeLeon - 1985 O-Pee-Chee

• 1987 - After the Bucs dropped a 7-3 decision to the Mets at TRS, Jim Leyland held a brief and X-rated closed door meeting with his team, citing lackadaisical play and then telling the Post Gazette’s Ed Bouchette that “If I was a fan, I’d want my money back today” after the game. The Pirates drew well - they attracted 84,836 for the three-game weekend set - but dropped two out of three. The only fire was shown by the Pirates pitchers: Brian Fisher and the Mets John Mitchell each buzzed a batter in this match, while the contest the day before featured Darryl Strawberry charging Bob Kipper after being plunked and a takedown of Ron Darling by the still-pumped Fisher during the dance. But despite Leyland’s prodding, the Bucs finished 80-82 on the year and were still a couple of bricks shy on the roster. They wouldn’t start their playoff run until 1990.
• 1992 - The Pirates won their fourth straight one-run game by a 5-4 count over the Mets at Shea Stadium to sweep the series. Andy Van Slyke plated Gary Varsho with a ninth inning sac fly for the victory. Denny Neagle got the win in relief with a Stan Belinda save. The club had taken consecutive 3-2 wins over the Mets in the first two games of the series and started the streak with a 2-1 win over the Phillies. On a down note: Barry Bonds sprained his rib cage, and was out of action until July 4th. But he was apparently 100% recovered when he returned - he slashed .311/.456/.624 with 34 HR and a 204 OPS+ and won the MVP. 
• 1993 - The Bucs not only lost their fifth game in a row, 8-3, to the St. Louis Cardinals but also lost center fielder Andy Van Slyke, who suffered whiplash and a fractured collarbone crashing into the Busch Stadium wall. He bemoaned the unforgiving fence, saying that “...an inch or two of more padding and I have a sore shoulder instead of a broken collarbone.” He wouldn’t return to action until August 27th. Even a healthy AVS wouldn’t have made a big difference in the Pirates final results - they were in the midst of losing 10-of-11 in their first campaign without Barry Bonds and Doug Drabek, and the lack of starpower showed. The Bucs finished 75-87, 22 games off the pace. 

Dan Plesac - 1996 Fleer Ultra

• 1996 - Jeff King singled home Jason Kendall and Mike Kingery in the ninth to send Rob Nen and the Marlins to a 5-4 defeat at TRS. Florida had raced out to a 4-0 lead as Matt Ruebel could only get three outs in his start, but Ramon Morel, Jon Lieber, Dan Miceli and winner Dan Plesac tossed eight shutout innings, giving up four hits and striking out eight Fish.
• 2003 - Aramis Ramirez homered and doubled, driving in four runs, while Jack Wilson smacked three two-baggers among his four hits, good for three RBI, as the Pirates outlasted the Tampa Bay Rays, 12-9, at Tropicana Field. Winner Josh Fogg was staggered in the ninth and was yanked after giving up four knocks to five Tampa batters. His replacement, Scott Sauerbeck, also allowed four of the five Rays he faced to reach before Mike Williams came on; he walked his first foe to pack the sacks before closing it out as the Pirates survived a six-run final frame. 
• 2006 - Two unlikely run producers, Jose Castillo and Zach Duke, combined for seven RBI to propel Pittsburgh to a 9-7 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park. Castillo had a double and homer to drive in four runs while Duke had a pair of singles to plate three more Buccos. Starter Duke got the win and Mike Gonzalez nailed down the save, coming in to dish out the final out after Matt Capps allowed two ninth-inning runs on a Scott Rolen dinger. 
• 2009 - The Pirates hosted the Detroit Tigers at PNC Park during the 100th anniversary of their 1909 World Series meeting. Both teams wore throwback uniforms and the stadium's PA and sound systems were turned off to simulate the game conditions of the Hans and Ty era for the 27,565 fans on hand. Pittsburgh won the game, 6–3, as Robinzon Diaz drove in three runs off Dontrelle Willis and Ross Ohlendorf went six solid innings for the victory. 

Robinzon Diaz -2010 Topps

• 2011 - The Bucs beat the Houston Astros, 1-0, at Minute Maid Park. Jeff Karstens threw 6-2/3 innings of three-hit ball and five relievers picked up the slack, with Joel Hanrahan getting the save. The only run came in the second when Neil Walker singled off Bud Norris, went to second base on a wild pitch and scored on Garrett Jones’ knock into short right. 
• 2015 - The Pirates defeated the Phils, 1-0, in 11 innings at PNC Park. AJ Burnett and Cole Hamels left the game scoreless before the Bucs staged a two-out rally to walk off with the win. Neil Walker singled, Jose Tabata reached on an error, and Josh Harrison’s first-pitch rap knocked Walker home. Antonio Bastardo was credited with the victory. The Pirates swept the three-game series in a set of to-the-wire squeakers. The opener was a 13-inning, 1-0, victory, with Starling Marte’s two-out single bringing home the game winner for Bastardo while the middle game was a 4-3 nailbiter won by Gerrit Cole and saved by Mark Melancon.