8/12 From 1980: Giles 4-30's; A-Ram Rakes; One Man Bonds; 5 For Neil; '94 Strike; Gems & Game Tales; HBD Chris, Kyle, Jhan & Jose

• 1987 - The Pirates had it all going against the first-place Cards at TRS, winning 11-0. Bob Walk tossed his fourth career shutout, a complete game four-hitter. Johnny Ray had three hits, the team banged out four doubles, and Andy Van Slyke collected his 500th MLB knock. Every Pirate but Barry Bonds scored and/or drove in a run and all but Junior Ortiz had a hit, including Walk. The shutout snapped the Cardinals’ 145-game streak without being whitewashed, which was five short of the modern NL mark set by the 1924-25 Pirates. 
• 1988 - Jose Tabata was born in El Tigre, Venezuela. JT came over from the Yankees in a 2008 trade featuring Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte, and since 2010 has been in the show with various degrees of success after a promising rookie campaign, hampered by a variety of leg injuries and unfulfilled expectations. He signed a deal that ran from 2011-16 with three option years that the front office rather quickly regretted. He was traded to the Dodger for Michael Morse during the 2015 deadline period. He signed a minor-league deal with Toronto in 2017 and is now playing in Mexico after an indie league stint. 
• 1988 - RHP Jhan Marinez was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Jhan is a journeyman reliever who caught on with the Pirates in 2017 after being waived by Milwaukee, going 0-1/3.18 in 24 games. His peripherals weren’t as shiny as his counting numbers and he was released in August, with Texas picking him up. Marinez has tossed for seven teams in his five big league campaigns and last worked in the MLB for the Orioles in 2018. 
• 1989 - LHP Kyle Lobstein was born in Flagstaff, Arizona. The Pirates got him in the 2015 offseason from Detroit in a cash deal and he was traded to Baltimore for reliever Zach Phillips. In between, he tossed in 14 games from the pen for the Pirates in 2016, slashing 2-0/3.96. He pitched in Mexico after making three outings for the Nats in ‘21 and is now in an indie league. 

Kyle Lobstein - 2016 photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates

• 1991 - Barry Bonds drove in all four Pirates runs with a pair of two-run homers, including a dramatic 11th inning walk-off blast against Lee Smith, to rally the Bucs to victory against the Cards, 4-3, at TRS. Bob Patterson was the winner. 
• 1991 - IF Chris Owings was born in Charleston, South Carolina. The Pirates signed the 11-year jack-of-all-trades vet as a free agent in February, 2023. He failed to make the Opening Day roster but didn’t exercise his opt-out clause and was assigned to Indy. He joined the big club in May, hit .160 in 10 games, and was returned to Indy in early June. 
• 1992 - The Bucs held off the Mets, 7-6, at Shea Stadium. It took 10 innings and an unorthodox call by skipper Jim Leyland. After losing the first batter in the 10th on a 3-2 pitch, Stan Belinda went full to the next hitter. Rather than wait for the result, Leyland stomped out to the mound and yanked his closer, bringing in Bob Patterson. As John Mehno of the Beaver County Times noted, Leyland figured Patterson had a better chance of throwing a strike, keeping the runner close and getting a fly ball out to avoid a first-and-third situation. Bob did all three. A later single and walk loaded the sacks for the Mets with two away, but Patterson got Eddie Murray (who to add to the drama was the MLB’s active grand slam leader at the time with 16) on a fly to seal the deal. He earned the save of Denny Neagle’s victory while Jay Bell led the attack by going 2-for-3 with a double, triple, two walks and three RBI. The Pirates were rollin’ - the win was the 12th in their past 13 games. The Corsairs won the division handily. 
• 1993 - Jeff King dropped a liner over a drawn-in infield to give the Bucs a 5-4 walk off win in the 11th inning against the Cards at TRS. Carlos Garcia opened the frame with a triple that was lost in the lights, and after a pair of intentional walks, King came through against Todd Burns, leaving the unlucky hurler with an 0-8 record. Steve Cooke started the game, relieved by Mark Petkovsek, Denny Nagle and eventual game-winner Joel Johnston. Garcia had four hits, Jay Bell banged out three knocks and Dave Clark added a solo homer. 

• 1994 - The postseason and the last 50 games or so of the season were canceled due to a player's strike called by the MLBPA, led by Don Fehr and spurred by the owners’ desire for a hard salary cap. The World Series wasn’t played for the first time in 90 years. In the off-season, the owners declared an impasse and attempted to implement their own rules. The strike was ended by a ruling from US District Court (and now Supreme Court) judge Sonia Sotomayor at the end of March, 1995, just as the owners were prepared to start the season by using replacement players. She kept the old collective bargaining agreement in place until a new one could be reached. It led to a deal, and though the 1995 season was cut by approximately 20 games, ball games did begin again at the end of April. Ironically, the umpires decided to go on strike just as the union and owners settled, so the 1995 season opened with regular players, but pick-up umpires. 
• 1995 - The Dodgers defeated the Pirates‚ 11-10‚ in 11 innings thanks to a brain cramp from a rookie. With the winning run at 3rd base, Mitch Webster of the Dodgers swung at a pitch in the dirt to whiff. C Angelo Encarnacion blocked the ball and then scooped up with his mask. LA manager Tommy Lasorda charged out of the dugout and appealed, citing a rule which awarded a runner two bases if a fielder intentionally touches a thrown ball with his mask. He was right (it’s called a catcher’s balk) and the winning run jogged home. 
• 2000 - The Bucs rode the bat of Aramis Ramirez to down the Arizona D-Backs, 9-6, at Three Rivers Stadium. A-Ram went 3-for-4 with a homer and double, driving in five runs. He was helped by Jason Kendall who added two hits, including a home run, to earn Scott Sauerbeck the win despite three Snake long balls. The victory came during a rough stretch; the Pirates had lost the previous three games and went on to lose the next four.
• 2001 - Pittsburgh scored three times in the eighth inning and once again in the ninth frame to snatch a 7-6 win from the San Diego Padres at PNC Park. Light hitting Keith Osik had a big day, going 3-for-4 and driving in four runs, including the game-tying knock in the eighth. Aramis Ramirez homered in the ninth off Rodney Myers to give Josias Manzanillo the win. 

Keith Osik - 2001 Topps Chrome

• 2002 - Brian Giles became the third Pirate to hit 30 home runs in four consecutive seasons in a 10-6 loss to the Cardinals with his seventh-inning, two-out solo blast against Steve Kline at PNC Park. He matched Willie Stargell’s mark from 1970-73; both lag behind Ralph Kiner’s six straight seasons with 30+ from 1947-52, with a seventh thrown in during 1953 in a campaign split between Pittsburgh and the Cubs when he launched 35 long balls (seven as a Bucco). 
• 2007 - Tom Gorzelanny fired a five-hitter and Josh Phelps drove in four runs with a homer and a triple to lead the Bucs to a 5-0 win over the SF Giants at AT&T Park. Phelps had a nice run off the Bucs bench that season, slashing .351/.463/.629 in 95 PAs before moving to St Louis in 2008 in his last MLB campaign. 
• 2012 - Neil Walker went 5-for-5 while Clint Barmes' first and only career grand slam (atonement for two prior errors) was the key blow in a nine-run fourth inning as the Pirates roared past San Diego, 11-5, at PNC Park. The Bucs sent 14 batters to the dish in the fourth, their biggest inning since 2010. It ended an 11-game home losing streak to the Padres the day after the Bucs blew a six-run lead to lose 9-8 to SD, prompting Clint Hurdle to say "We kind of felt we got slapped by our girlfriend in front of our mother..." Erik Bedard won over former Pirate Ross Ohlendorf.