- 1982 - Willie Stargell hit his final bomb, his club record 475th home run, against the Reds’ Tom Hume, an eighth-inning, game-winning, pinch-hit solo shot in a 3-2 victory at Riverfront Stadium. Larry McWilliams claimed the win, backed by a two-inning save by Kent Tekulve.
- 1983 - The Pirates walked off with a 5-4 decision over the Los Angeles 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 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 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.
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| Kevin Polcovich - 1999 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, against 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 a dead duck at home. But 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 the rest of the way, and despite striking out 17 times (Schilling had 15 K in 8 IP; the Post-Gazette headline was “Get A Whiff Of This”), the Bucs remained alive in the race, 2-1/2 games behind Houston.
- 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 Buc coaches quickly shortened his arm motion and he reached the upper levels in 2021, starting 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 was yo-yo’ed between AAA and the show, with his season ending 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 at PNC Park (he hit his first ball into the drink while playing for the Cubs two years before). Josh Fogg got the win with the help of three relievers; Mike Lincoln finished for the save. It was also a milestone match for Jason Kendall, who caught his 1,000th game and celebrated with two hits and a walk to make the day a special occasion.
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| Matt Stairs - 2003 Topps |
- 2007 - The Pirates retired Paul "Big Poison" Waner's #11 in a ceremony before their game vs. the Houston Astros on the 55th anniversary of his 1952 Hall of Fame induction. Waner was the first National League player since Honus Wagner, 28 years before, and the seventh batter in history to reach the 3,000 knock plateau. (He got #3,000 against his old matey Rip Sewell on June 19th, 1942, as a Boston Brave.) The team had a video presentation, presented 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, and then reverted back to form by 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, led by Freddy Sanchez who had three hits, including a homer, and four RBI. Jason Bay went 4-for-5 with a homer, Nate McLouth and Xavier Nady posted three hits and Adam LaRoche chipped in with a home run. Despite the score, Pittsburgh was behind, 3-2, 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 as 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 Los Angeles Angels for Ernesto Frieri, passing the Pirates closer torch into Mark Melancon’s hands.
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| Josh Bell - 2017 Bowman Rookie |
- 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 games by claiming their 12th victory in 14 matches. 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 against Colorado at Coors Field. Trevor Williams went into the seventh inning for the win with Jhan Marinez providing the finishing touches.
- 2023 - Roberto Clemente became the second player to have his number retired by the Altoona Curve. Roberto never played minor league ball for Pittsburgh, but is the face of Pittsburgh baseball. He joins Adam Hyzdu (1999-2000, 55 HR/184 RBI) whose #16 was retired in 2000. Adam was an Eastern League All Star both years and still holds several franchise batting records. The Curve franchise started the same year Hyzdu arrived and has always been a Pirates affiliate.
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