8/14 From 1970: Ax Claimed; B-Rey One Man Show; Bo Bops; K-Man Doubles Down; Adam & Andy Pair Up; Gems & Game Tales; HBD Josh

• 1971 - The Card's Hall of Famer Bob Gibson no-hit the Pirates, 11-0, at TRS in front of 30,678 frustrated fans. Gibson walked three, struck out 10, and added three RBI. For Gibby, it was the only no-no of his illustrious career. He was 35 when he tossed it, and checked it off the last item on his to-do list, joining five 20-win seasons, eight All-Star appearances, two Cy Young awards and two seventh-game World series wins. It was the last no-hitter thrown against the Bucs until 2012; they've been held hitless eight times overall. And it was the first seen in Pittsburgh in 64 years, since Nick Maddox tossed one in 1907. The Candy Man would serve up the next one in 1976. 
• 1983 - An Old-Timers Game Day crowd of 50,062 at Olympic Stadium went home disappointed thanks to Dave Parker’s two-run, two-out single in the seventh after Montreal had just tied the score in the sixth to give the Pirates a 5-3 victory. Rick Rhoden got the win with a Kent Tekulve save. The rap gave the Pirates a three-game sweep of the Expos and was payback for the Bucs, who had been swept by Montreal at TRS the weekend prior. 
• 1988 - The Pirates made it tough on themselves by blowing a seventh-inning, 8-2 lead to the Phils at the Vet, but Andy Van Slyke’s ninth-inning homer off Steve Bedrosian nudged them past the finish line by a 9-8 count. The Phillies scored five times in the seventh off Brian Fisher & John Smiley and tied it in the eighth off Jim Gott before AVS’ game-winning bomb. The early Buc barrage was led by Barry Bonds with three knocks, with two more hits apiece by Spanky LaValliere (w/three RBI), Bobby Bonilla (who homered) and Sid Bream. Gott earned the blown save/win daily double by closing it out in the ninth. 
• 1990 - Bobby Bonilla hit a pair of two-run homers, one in each game, as the Bucs swept a twi-light twin bill from Atlanta at TRS by 3-1 and 6-4 counts in front of 25,542 rooters. Doug Drabek won the opener, going wire-to-wire while spinning a six-hitter for his 15th win. Bobby Bo had three hits and Gary Redus scored twice in support of the righty. Zane Smith made his Bucco debut in the nightcap after being acquired from Montreal and went into the eighth to earn the victory with help from Stan Belinda and Bob Patterson. Jeff King was the big man; he stroked a two-run homer and two-run double, both with two outs (as was Bo’s dinger) to pace the attack. The victory moved the Buccos back into first place ahead of the Mets. 

Josh Bell - 2020 Donruss Diamond Kings

• 1992 - 1B Josh Bell was born in Irving, Texas. A high school star who said he was committed to attending college, he was nevertheless taken in the second round of the 2011 draft out of Dallas Jesuit College Prep by the Bucs and received a record non-first-round bonus of $5M to change his mind. Many felt that offer was the straw that broke the back of unlimited draft spending and ushered in the era of pool money. Switched from the outfield to first base, Josh played in two Futures games. He got his call up in July of 2016 and in his second big-league at-bat smacked a grand-slam. By 2017 the first base gig was his although his glovework was indifferent and he saw time as a DH. He held the job in Pittsburgh through 2020, and in five seasons hit .261 with 86 homers and a 116 +OPS. In the ‘20-21 off season, he was traded to the Washington Nationals for pitchers Wil Crowe and Eddy Yean and is now with his fifth club, the Miami Marlins. 
• 2001 - The D-Backs dropped the Pirates, 4-3, at Bank One Ballpark in 10 innings, but the Bucs didn’t go down without a fight. In the second inning, Kevin Young tried to score on a Craig Wilson fly and was tossed out; C Mike DiFelice straddled KY after the tag and was flipped for his efforts, resulting in some punches, dancing and Denny Bautista wrestling Spin Williams. After three minutes of pleasantries, Young and DiFelice were sent to the showers. The game featured four homers, with Jason Kendall and Brian Giles connecting for Pittsburgh (Giles’ long fly tied the game in the ninth). It wasn’t DiFelice’s first rodeo with the Pirates; he had been involved in some pleasantries once or twice prior as a Card. Young took it as part of the game - “It was a play at the plate,” he told Robert Dvorchak of the Post Gazette. “It’s not going to be cookies and cream.” 
• 2005 - Dave Williams threw 118 pitches on the way to his first career complete game and shutout (in his six-year career with 72 starts, it was the only time for either one) as the Pirates beat the Astros, 8-0, at Minute Maid Park. Jose Castillo, Jason Bay and Ryan Doumit each homered while Jack Wilson added a grand slam with two outs in the 8th inning, extending his hitting streak to 10 games. 
• 2008 - Andy and Adam LaRoche appeared together for the first time as Pirates in a 3-1 loss to the Reds, going 1-for-6 with a walk between them. They become the eighth pair of brothers to play together in franchise history and the first in 50 years since the O’Brien twins, Johnny and Eddie. 

Andy & Adam - Medley Photo/Atlanta Journal Constitution

• 2014 - RHP John Axford was claimed off waivers from the Cleveland Indians. The reliever was the only MLB deadline addition made to the team from outside the organization for the 2014 stretch run. He slashed 0-1/4.09 in 13 outings, then moved on to Colorado in the off season. He last pitched with the Brewers in 2021. 
• 2015 - Gregory Polanco’s 10th inning single to center field broke a 1-1 tie and Aramis Ramirez’s sac fly added some needed insurance as the Pirates edged the Mets 3-2 at Citi Field. The Bucs used five pitchers to claim the contest - JA Happ, Jared Hughes, Antonio Bastardo, game-winner Arquimedes Caminero and Mark Melancon with the save. Polanco and Pedro Alvarez had two knocks while Neil Walker banged a homer. With the victory, Bucco skipper Clint Hurdle became the ninth manager in Pirates history to win 400 games with the franchise. 
• 2016 - One day after tying a team record by stranding 18 runners in an 8-4 loss, the Bucs cashed in at Dodger Stadium and punished LA’s Big Blue 11-3. They still had 10 runners LOB, but the 16 hits, five walks and HBP led to plenty of plating. Josh Harrison and rookie Adam Frazier each collected four hits while Jordy Mercer, Sean Rodriguez and Jung Ho Kang homered as Chad Kuhl, with help from his friends in the pen, cruised to victory. Kuhl, in his first MLB campaign, started his sixth straight game that ended in a Bucco win. 
• 2021 - Kevin Newman, who wasn’t even in the original lineup, drilled four doubles in a 14-4, seven-inning, twin bill lidlifter win against the Brewers at PNC Park, tying a much-shared MLB record. It was the third time the feat’s been done in Pirates history, as Newman joined Paul Waner (May 20th, 1932) and Adam Frazier (July 1st, 2019) in the record book. K-Man scored four times and drove home a pair of runs; Hoy Park had three hits and four other Buccos had a pair of knocks, including Bryan Reynolds, who homered with four RBI as the Bucs banged out a season-high 19 hits. Chasen Shreve got the win, his first as a Pirate. The bats disappeared as they lost the nightcap, 6-0, collecting just four hits. It was also the debut of 2B-turned-analyst Neil Walker in the AT&T SportsNet booth. 

Kevin Newman - 2020 Topps Gypsy Queen

• 2022 - Bryan Reynolds either drove in or scored every Pirates run when he homered, doubled, drove in five runs for the second time this season (six is his career high), and scored three runs. But it wasn’t enough as the Bucs dropped an 8-7 decision to the Giants at Oracle Park. Pittsburgh overcame a 5-0 lead largely on B-Rey’s slugging and had a 6-5 lead in the eighth and 7-6 edge in the ninth. Both were wiped out by fielding gaffes - Oneil Cruz and Kevin Newman ran into one another to allow a pop to drop and bring home a run, and Josh VanMeter, who was just subbed in the inning before, couldn’t turn a DP ball in the ninth; the runner he allowed aboard plated on Thairo Estrada’s walkoff homer. Reynolds had three hits while Newman, Rodolfo Castro and Jason Delay each added a pair. Wil Crowe took the hard luck loss.