7/28 From 1990: JJ For Ross, Wil-For-Wilson; Ty Dealt; Record Book Rally; A-Ram Sixer; Marte's #1,000; Rudy's HR String; No Norris; Gems & Game Tales

• 1995 - The Pirates scored twice with two outs in the ninth to outlast the Mets at Shea Stadium, 10-9. NY ran up seven runs in three innings against Esteban Loaiza, but the Bucs fought back to tie it in the sixth. The Metropolitans came back to regain the lead by scoring a pair in the seventh off Jeff McCurry. The Pirates made it a one-run game in the eighth, but had to solve John Franco in the ninth. And they did - with two gone and Steve Pegues on second, Nelson Liriano knotted the score with a single and then came home a batter later when Jacob Brumfield’s double was misplayed in the corner. Jim Gott worked his second scoreless inning to nail down the win. It was a team effort, as seven Corsairs drove in runs and nine scored while banging out 16 hits. It was the sixth straight loss for the NY nine, who then took the next three games of the series. 
• 1996 - Orlando Merced hit two home runs and tallied four RBI while Al Martin & Mark Johnson had four hits each as the Bucs beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 12-8, at Three Rivers Stadium. Reliever John Ericks took home the win of the nationally televised ESPN Sunday Night Baseball match in what would be the last SNB appearance for the Bucs until 2014. 
• 2000 - Aramis Ramirez drove in six runs with a pair of homers, Emil Brown went long to plate four more runners and John Vander Wal also went yard in a 16-5 romp over the San Diego Padres at TRS. A-Ram, Jason Kendall, Kevin Young and Vander Wal scored three times each. 
• 2000 - The Bucs sent OF Wil Cordero to the Cleveland Indians for IF Enrique Wilson and OF prospect Alex Ramirez. Cordero played respectably through 2003 while Wilson was traded again in 2001 and Ramirez began a long career as a slugger in Japan after the 2000 season. 

Brian Giles - 2001 Stadium Club

• 2001 - Pittsburgh became the second team in NL history (the Cubs were the first in 1952) to win a game by scoring seven runs with two outs and nobody on base in the ninth inning. Brian Giles capped the scoring with a walk-off grand slam (it was the first granny ever banged at PNC Park) off Astros ace Billy Wagner, to rally for a 9-8 win. Pat Meares had hit a two-run shot earlier in the frame to ignite the comeback. The game was the opener of the first home day-night doubleheader in franchise history before a crowd of 32,977 at PNC Park. The Buccos used up all their luck in the first contest as Houston rolled to a 12-3 nightcap victory. 
• 2003 - Jeff Suppan won his sixth consecutive start with a 3-0 decision over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, scattering seven hits. He was backed by Reggie Sanders’ homer and three hits from Randall Simon. Suppan was flipped to the Red Sox three days later as part of a recalculated deal that landed IF Freddy Sanchez and LHP Mike Gonzalez from Beantown.
• 2004 - In one of their more frustrating losses, the Bucs collected 11 hits but were shut out by the Atlanta Braves, 1-0, at PNC Park in a contest that saw the Pirates strand 11 runners. Ollie Perez threw a five-hitter with 10 strikeouts, but Chipper Jones’ fourth-inning homer was the difference for the Bravos. John Smoltz came out of the bullpen to save the game for Russ Ortiz.
• 2005 - The Bucs swapped with the Padres to get IF JJ Furmaniak in exchange for C David Ross. Furmaniak batted 52 times as a big leaguer with a .186 BA while Ross hit .229 but had a long shelf life ahead of him, playing through the 2016 season. He’s now the Cubs manager. 

JJ Furmaniak - 2006 Bowman Rookie

• 2010 - Bucco first baseman Garrett Jones went 4-for-4 and homered twice as Pirates beat the Rockies, 6-2, at Coors Field. Leadoff batter Andrew McCutchen went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Sean Gallagher tossed three hitless innings for the win in relief of starter Ross Ohlendorf, who left the game in the first inning after being struck in the temple by a line drive off the bat of Troy Tulowitzki. Ohlie fortunately just suffered a bruise and made his next start, only to be pulled in the first inning after again being smoked by a bullet, this one taken off the leg. 
• 2012 - The Pirates won for the ninth time in 11 games, taking a 4-3 decision from the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Alex Presley and Neil Walker had solo shots, with Rod Barajas singling in Andrew McCutchen with the game winner with two out in the eighth inning. Chris Resop got the win in relief of ex-’Stro Wandy Rodriguez with Jason Grilli posting the save. The win kept the Bucs two games behind the Cincinnati Reds in the National League Central race. 
• 2013 - The final page in a deal that didn’t happen was turned when the Houston Astros passed on the Bucs last and best offer of Luis Heredia & a competitive balance pick for RHP Bud Norris, as reported by Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune Review. The give and take was released as part of Astro emails leaked by St. Louis Cardinal staffers. The Pirates offered one of Heredia, Tyler Glasnow or Alen Hanson for Norris; Houston GM Jeff Luhnow wanted Glasnow and either Heredia or Nick Kingham as the return package, offers that Neal Huntington rejected.
• 2014 - The Pirates laid some small ball on Madison Bumgarner in the first inning, and it led to a big frame. The Bucs stirred together three hits, two walks, an error and a pair of sac flies to jump ahead of the San Francisco Giants, 4-0, and then added on a final run when Josh Harrison homered. The rest of the night at AT&T Park belonged to Vance Worley, who tossed his first MLB shutout and second career complete game. He allowed four hits, facing two batters over the minimum, just one of whom advanced past first thanks to three DPs and a caught stealing. It was the Bucs first complete game shutout since AJ Burnett did it in 2012. 

Vance Worley - 2014 Topps

• 2019 - Starling Marte went 2-for-5 and collected his 1000th career hit against the Mets at Citi Field. With the milestone, Marte became the 11th player in team history with at least 1,000 hits and 100 home runs. Bryan Reynolds, Jose Osuna and Jake Stallings added homers, but it wasn’t enough as the Bucs fell short, 8-7, after the NY nine jumped Chris Archer for six first-inning runs. 
• 2020 - So much for playing six-inning games and handing a lead off to the pen: after blowing a 5-1 ninth-inning lead the night before to the Milwaukee Brewers and losing, 6-5, in 11 frames, the Bucs provided their own late lightning to overcome a four-run Brew Crew edge by scoring four times in seventh and twice in the eighth innings to rally for an 8-6 win at PNC Park. The Pirates' tying frame was fueled by some sloppy Brewer fielding; Phil Evans knotted the score with a two-out double a couple of batters after the Crew threw away a DP ball to allow two runs to cross the plate. Adam Frazier bopped the game winner an inning later with a two-run homer. Fraze's blast allowed Geoff Harlieb to post his first MLB win and gave Nick Burdi his first big league save. 
• 2021 - It took two tries, but the Buccos moved LHP Tyler Anderson (5-8/4.35), offered as a two-month rental on an expiring contract, by sending him to Seattle for C Carter Bins, 22, recently promoted to AA as a Top 30 Mariner prospect with some pop in his bat, and Panamanian RHP Joaquin Tejada, 18, working out of the DSL (he had just five pro innings under his belt), touted but obviously a project. Anderson was first traded to Philadelphia earlier in the afternoon for a pair of Low A prospects, but that deal fell through when one of the Phils youngsters didn't pass the Pirates physical. Anderson is now with the Angels after earning an All-Star bid with the Dodgers last year. Bins is backstopping at Altoona while Tejada is tossing in the Florida Rookie League. 
• 2021 - On the field, the news wasn’t very cheery as the Brew Crew whupped the Bucs, 7-3, at PNC Park. But a bit of history was made when 22-year-old rookie 2B Rodolfo Castro, called up from Altoona after the Adam Frazier trade, banged a pair of homers to account for all three tallies against Milwaukee. Those long balls set an MLB record by making Rudy the first player whose first five big league hits were home runs. His streak ended when he doubled, with the ball clearing the wall but on a hop. After starting 2023 with the big club, he’s currently back with Indy.