4/8 From 1985: A-Ram Six-Pack; JT One-Hitter; Starling Slam; Game Tales - Openers, Sly Clint, Gems, NBC, Rallies; Kiner's Paws; HBD Slamtana

• 1986 - 1B Carlos Santana was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The Pirates signed the 13-year vet (ten years were spent with Cleveland) FA for one-year/$6.725M after a down 2022 campaign (.202/19 HR), which featured stronger peripherals than counting numbers. He joined a posse of players the Pirates brought in to address 1B/DH/middle-of-the-order holes in the lineup and was slotted in the 2023 plans as a platoon partner (and mentor) with Ji-man Choi. Carlos was solid on the field and in the locker room, but like most veteran signings, was flipped at the deadline, going to Milwaukee for a teen prospect. “Slamtana” became a free agent in the off season and though some blarney was spun for a return, he ended up signing with Minnesota. 
• 1989 - The Pirates, who at the time were on national TV about as often as taxes get cut, not only were booked for seven outings on NBC during the season, but their game today against the Cubs at Wrigley was the season opener for the network. Alas, the Bucs struggled getting out of the gate, dropping five of their first six games, including this one, a 5-3 loss. The bottom of the order (Glenn Wilson, Rafe Belliard and Neal Heaton) rang up four of the Pirates five hits and scored/drove home all three Pittsburgh runs. Heaton took the defeat and former mate Mike Bielecki claimed the victory. 
• 1997 - The Pirates quieted the Padres, 2-0, behind Steve Cooke, Rich Loiselle‚ and John Ericks. They teamed up to toss a one-hitter, a single, while Pittsburgh had 11 raps but went 1-for-14 w/RISP against San Diego. Tony Womack was the Buc batting hero, driving in a pair of eighth-inning runs with a two-out triple to beat Sean Bergman at Qualcomm Stadium. Cooke was credited with the while and Ericks earned the save; he was a late-blooming swingman who was injured later in the season, had two shoulder surgeries and never pitched afterward. 
• 2001 - The Pirates whipped the Astros, 9-3, at Enron Field behind the smokin’ bat of 3B Aramis Ramirez, who slammed three HRs and drove in six runs. Joe Beimel was the winning pitcher, lasting just long enough to toss five innings before Billy Taylor and Jose Silva put the game to bed. 

Ron Villone - 2002 Upper Deck 40 Man

• 2002 - Lloyd McClendon’s Pirates ground out a 1-0 victory against the Reds in their home opener to hold on to first place. Ron Villone, Mike Fetters, and Mike Williams combined on a four-hit shutout, running the Bucs season winning streak to five and breaking a nine-game home opener losing streak. The run was set up by Reds pitcher Elmer Dessens. With Brian Giles on second base, Dessens balked Giles to third and he scored on Aramis Ramirez’s sacrifice fly. 
• 2003 - The Bucs honored Hall of Fame slugger Ralph Kiner by unveiling a commemorative sculpture at their home opener. The bronze artwork is a bit oddball, showing just Kiner's hands gripping a Louisville Slugger bat, located in the left field rotunda near the Willie Stargell statue. He was honored during the pre-game ceremonies and tossed out the first pitch, but the Buccos weren’t sharing his celebratory mood. Kip Wells walked seven, the fielding was brutal, and except for a late three-run homer by Jason Kendall that made it look deceptively close, the Brewers easily had their way with Pittsburgh, winning 5-3. To add insult to injury, only 24,000+ showed up on a chilly, gray day after the original opener had been pushed back due to inclement early-April weather.
• 2011 - The Bucs outlasted the Rockies, 5-4, in a 14-inning, five-hour, 11-minute overnighter when Jose Tabata doubled with two outs to score Josh Rodriguez. Rockies' manager Jim Tracy decided to work on JT rather than walk him, even though Pirates pitcher Garrett Olson was on deck. The Buccos didn't have any position players left to pinch-hit, but the wily Clint Hurdle had Andrew McCutchen swinging in the on-deck circle (he was the leadoff hitter) and some suspect a con job was being pulled on Tracy. Still, the bullpen was the story of the game - six Pittsburgh pitchers tossed 11-1/3 frames of six-hit shutout ball as starter Ross Ohlendorf only lasted three innings. The game was played in front of 29,192 at PNC Park; most had hit the gates for home before Tabata’s walk-off and had to read about the dramatic finish in the morning paper. 

Casey McGehee - 2012 Topps Update

• 2012 - Down 4-1 to the Phillies in the seventh at PNC Park, the Bucs found their two-out mojo. The Bucs scored twice in the seventh with two away, tied it in the eighth on Matt Hague’s first MLB hit, a two-out knock, and won in the ninth on Cutch’s drive to center over Shane Victorino’s head with two gone, his third hit. Casey McGehee was the glue man, coming in late to go 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles, driving in one run and later touching home with the game winner. 
• 2016 - Trailing 5-2 in the eighth frame with two away and the bases empty, the Bucs parlayed a walk, hit batter and infield single into a game-winning inning. Starling Marte followed the small ball by banging JJ Hoover’s hung slider into the stands for his first MLB grand slam to rally the Bucs to a 6-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Neftali Feliz and Mark Melancon shut the door after that to give Ryan Vogelsong his first win as a Pirate since 2005. 
• 2018 - Jameson Taillon tossed the first complete game of his young career, and it was a dandy one-hit shutout at PNC Park to defeat the Cincinnati Reds 5-0. He walked two, bopped one and whiffed seven while tossing 110 pitches. Only one Redleg reached second base, and that was due to defensive indifference with two down in the ninth. JT even drove in the game’s first run with two outs in the second before homers by Gregory Polanco and Corey Dickerson in the fifth frame gave him some breathing room. It was the Pirates first complete game since Ivan Nova’s in April of 2017 and the first one-hitter since AJ Burnett fired one in 2012. Ironically, the only hit he surrendered was to mound opponent Tyler Mahle in the third frame. 
• 2019 - The Pirates were thumped, 10-0, by the Cubs at Wrigley Field, highlighted by an error-filled second inning that gifted six unearned Cubbie runs. It was the third Home Opener of the year for Pittsburgh and their third loss - the Reds had beaten them, 5-3, in the season Opener at GABP and the Cards spoiled the PNC Opener, 6-5. But once they got those bright-light games out of the way, they were otherwise fine on the field, putting together a 5-1 record for normal game dates.