9/10 From 1970: Cutch 150 Club; AVS - 1,000; Zisk, Pops & Hebner Assault & Bat-tery; #1 For JVB; Game Tales; HBD Phil, Kuhl Whip, Neil & Chad

• 1970 - The Pirates were on a three-game losing streak that had dropped them into a tie for first place and were in need of a stopper; the unlikely hero was lefty Luke Walker, who spun a two-hit, nine-strikeout complete game gem against the Cards at TRS. Willie Stargell’s second-inning solo homer and Bob Robertson’s sac fly in the fourth weren’t much, but Walker made the two runs hold up. The Bucs righted the ship after that; they moved back into first place a game later and won the East Division pennant by five games over the Cubs and six games over the Mets. 
• 1973 - Willie Stargell and Richie Zisk combined for nine hits while Jim Rooker cruised on the bump as the Pirates blasted the Cubs 11-3 at Wrigley Field. Pops (4-for-4 w/two walks) was on a tear and was on a 14-of-17 roll at the plate; Zisk (5-for-6) was in a zone, too, with his first career five-hit day. Bob Robertson added three knocks while Rennie Stennett, Richie Hebner, Scoops Oliver and Manny Sanguillen each had a pair of raps. The Pirates collected 21 hits off five Chicago pitchers as they moved 1/2 game behind the Cards. 
• 1974 - The Pirates went on a rampage in Chicago, scoring all their runs in the first five innings on the way to a 12-4 win at Wrigley Field. Richie Hebner led the way with four hits, including a homer, three RBI and two runs scored while Rennie Stennett and Manny Sanguillen each had three knocks and scored five times between them. Ken Brett got the win with some late help. 
• 1977 - OF Chad Hermansen was born in Salt Lake City. The first round (10th overall pick) of the 1995 draft straight out of high school, Hermansen played in parts of the 1999-2002 seasons with the Pirates. Considered the Bucco center fielder of the future, he hit only .199. Chad bounced around the league, mostly as a AAA player, until 2008, and is now a scout for the LA Angels. 

Chad Hermansen - 1999 Upper Deck Star Rookie

• 1983 - The Bucs had their rally hats on as they overcame a pair of late deficits to drop the Phils, 6-5, in 10 innings at TRS. Philadelphia was coasting with a 3-0 lead when the Bucs tied it up in the sixth by turning a walk, three singles and a sac fly into three runs. The Phillies came right back with two more scores to chase Larry McWilliams; the Pirates knotted it up in the eighth on a Brian Harper double, Tony Pena RBI knock and Dale Berra two-bagger. In the 10th, Gene Tenace walked and Doug Frobel came in to run; a one-out rap by Milt May sent Doug on his way to third. Gary Mathews’ throw to the hot corner skidded past Mike Schmidt & into the stands, and the umpires waved Frobel home for the victory. Kent Tekulve got the win after Cecilio Guante had pitched two scoreless frames before him in relief of McWilliams. The victory left Pittsburgh one game out of first place as four teams - the Expos, Phils, Bucs and Cards - were all within 1-1/2 games of the top spot. 
• 1985 - 2B Neil Walker was born in Gibsonia. The switch-hitting Pine-Richland grad, called The Pittsburgh Kid, was a three sport star in HS, and was drafted in the first round of the 2004 draft. Playing mostly catcher and third in the minors, he got his shot in 2010 at second base after Akinori Iwamura fizzled and Neil never looked back. He was sent to the Mets in 2016, the season before his walk year, and ended the year with September back surgery. Still, NY inked him to a one-year, $17.2M qualifying deal. Walker later suffered a hammy injury, missed some action and was dealt in August to Milwaukee, then moved on to the Yankees in 2018 and is now retired, popping up on occasion in the TV booth. 
• 1988 - Dave LaPoint spun a complete game six-hitter for his fourth win in five starts as a Buc in a 5-1 victory over the Phils at TRS in front of 29,831. Five of the first six Pirates batters reached in a three-run third inning; the game then remained tight until the eighth when two walks and a Philly miscue allowed two more Buccos to cross the plate. It would be LaPoint’s last win as a Pirate - he struggled some in his next three outings and the Pirates let him walk in the offseason to the Yankees, who doubled his salary. In the pregame ceremonies, the Pirates commemorated the 40th anniversary of the Homestead Grays victory in the last Negro League World Series. 11 members of the Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords were present and led onto the field by Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonilla. They raised a pennant banner for the 1948 Homestead nine that flew beside the Pirates title flags. 

Chad Kuhl - 2020 photo/Pirates

• 1992 - RHP Chad Kuhl was born in Newark, Delaware. The Pirates drafted him in the ninth round of the 2013 draft from the U of Delaware. Kuhl made his major league debut on June 26th, 2016, as he & the Pirates defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers & Clayton Kershaw on ESPN 4-3. Chad joined the rotation full-time in 2017, overcoming a slow start by adding a little velocity and learning to work past lefties to become one of their more dependable pitchers during the campaign. His 2018 campaign was bumpy, and ended in late June with a lengthy DL stint followed by TJ surgery. He rejoined the rotation in 2020, and was the Opening Day pitcher in 2021. Injuries bumped him from starter to the bullpen in the late stages of that campaign, and he was non-tendered, signing a free agent contract with the Colorado Rockies for 2022. Chad moved on to the Washington Nationals in ‘23, was DFA’ed in June and rather than join another club, he took off the remainder of the campaign to help his wife, Amanda, as she battled cancer. 
• 1992 - IF Phil Evans was born in Whittier, California. The utility guy played a bit for the Mets from 2017-18 at 1B-2B-3B and LF before moving to the Cubs system. The Pirates signed him to a minor league deal in the 2019 offseason after a solid year in AAA, and he broke camp with the club in 2020. He was hitting the ball well (.359) and seeing considerable PT until mid-August when he collided with Gregory Polanco while chasing a pop in no-man’s land and breaking his jaw, costing him the remainder of the season. He bounced back nicely, beating out vet Todd Frazier for the corner bench spot in 2021, broken up by the occasional trip to the IL and Indy. He became a free agent after the season and is now playing AAA ball in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization after a year in the Yankee system. 
• 1993 - Andy Van Slyke collected his 1,000th hit as a Pirate (he finished with 1,108 hits as a Bucco) at TRS when Pittsburgh lost, 9-8, in 11 innings vs Colorado. He homered, singled and drove in three runs. It was an exciting finish; the Rox scored three times in the top of the 11th, but the Bucs answered with a pair and AVS was on second as the equalizer when Dave Clark bounced into the final out of the game. Van Slyke had collected his 1,000th MLB hit (he spent his first four seasons in St. Louis) on May 10th, 1991 in a 5-2 Pirates win against the Atlanta Braves. 

Mack - 2003 Topps Total

• 2003 - The Bucs were down to the last three outs at GABP, down 2-1 to the Reds. Craig Wilson opened the ninth with a single. Rob Mackowiak grabbed a bat to hit for Jason Bay against RHP Chris Reitsma and sent a 1-2 fastball over the wall to give the Pirates the lead. Mike Gonzalez and Julian Tavarez put the game away. Gonzo opened with a K, but the pitch escaped Jason Kendall and the runner reached first. Tavarez came on and coolly served up a DP ball and then whiffed Wily Mo Pena to ice the win in a game started by Ollie Perez. Mack’s dinger would be the last that a Pirate pinch-hitter smacked when the team was trailing in the ninth or later as the go-ahead blow until Sean Rodriguez repeated the heroics in 2016 with a three-run jack. 
• 2004 - John Van Benschoten, the Pirates top pick in 2001, won his first game, topping the Astros, 6-1, at PNC Park. JVB went eight innings, giving up a run on five hits, a walk and three whiffs. The Pirates were hoping he had turned the corner after a slow start, but it wasn’t to be. He ended the season with two surgeries on his shoulder (rotator cuff and then labrum) and never regained his form; he wouldn’t win a game again until 2008. Van Benschoten only got 19 starts total in his career, and they weren’t very sharp outings as he currently holds the all-time major league record for highest career ERA (9.20) for hurlers with at least 75 IP. 
• 2014 - Andrew McCutchen hit the first inside-the-park home run of his career and the Bucs pounded out 13 hits in a 6-3 win over Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park. Cutch was one of six Pirates with two hits - Josh Harrison, Starling Marte, Russ Martin, Travis Snider and Jordy Mercer joined him - and Martin added a long ball as Vance Worley claimed the win. 

Cutch - 2015 Donruss Diamond King Original

• 2015 - With an eighth-inning homer that tied the game at 3-3, Andrew McCutchen became the second player in franchise history to produce at least 150 career home runs and 150 career stolen bases, joining Barry Bonds as the only two Pirates to accomplish the feat. Another notable moment celebrated the return of AJ Burnett, who started the game after spending nearly six weeks on the DL, and was greeted by the Bat signal flashing off the downtown skyline. Those vibes weren't enough, though, as the Bucs went down in 12 innings to the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park by a 6-4 count. Radhames Liz, the Pirates eighth pitcher (Milwaukee also used eight; September features some pretty well-stocked bullpens) took the loss while 47 different players made the box score. Fran Cervelli was an on-base machine with three hits and two walks during the match. 
• 2021 - Ke'Bryan Hayes claimed his first walkoff knock when he bounced a two-out single into right to plate Ben Gamel to give the Pirates a 4-3 victory over the Nationals at PNC Park. The Pirates had tied the game the batter before when Colin Moran’s grounder plated Anthony Alford. Chad Kuhl, the Bucs fifth pitcher, got the win behind Nick Mears, Sam Howard and Cody Pence. The pen foursome gave up one run in seven innings after coming on to pick up starter Steven Brault.