7/17 From 1975: Loaiza-TVP, Moskos Signs; Walk-Off Granny, KY Fiver, Game Tales; Rebuild, '22 Draft, 9 Straight; Cobra MVP & ASGs; HBD Brian

• 1978 - The Pirates bullpen imploded in the ninth inning at TRS, allowing San Diego to score three runs to tie the game at six as they rallied from a fourth-inning 6-1 deficit. The Padres tacked on another run in the 10th frame to take the lead, but the Bucs weren’t quite done. With Rollie Fingers on the hill, Bill Robinson reached on an error and Willie Stargell singled through a shift before Rennie Stennett’s rap tied the game. Ken Macha, who ran for Willie, and Stennett tagged and moved up a base after Ed Ott’s line out to left. San Diego decided to not walk Manny Sanguillen with lefty John Milner on deck, and The Roadrunner made it a bad choice by banging a ball off the left field wall for a long single and walk-off win, with the dub credited to Kent Tekulve. 
• 1979 - The National League won its eighth straight All-Star Game, 7-6, at the Kingdome in Seattle. Pittsburgh’s only representative, Dave Parker, threw out runners at home & third and was named the game's MVP. The Cobra went 1-for-3 with an RBI and was intentionally walked once. Future Bucco Lee Mazzilli tied the game in the eighth inning with a pinch-hit home run and then put the Senior Circuit ahead in the ninth frame by drawing a bases-loaded walk to finish as the MVP runner-up to Parker. This ASG was the only one ever played in the Kingdome; by the time the Midsummer Classic returned to Seattle in 2001, the Mariners were playing in a new yard, Safeco Park. 
• 1982 - RHP Brian Rogers was born in Dallas, Texas. He joined the Pirates in 2006 after a trade with the Detroit Tigers for Sean Casey, was sent to AA Portland, and was called up at the end of August. He didn’t fare very well, and was sent back to the minors the following campaign, getting just three more not-so-successful outings with the big club and finishing his career with a Bucco slash of 0-0/9.28 in 13 games. Rogers was released in mid-June of 2008 and got short minor-league stints with the Tigers and New York Mets to end his pro career at age 25. He went to work for a resort in Hawaii, got his degree and is now a manager. 
• 1983 - The Pirates whipped the San Diego Padres at Jack Murphy Stadium by a 5-4 score, concluding their best-ever west coast trip by taking 9-of-10 games. The Buccaneers ran their winning streak to eight games to reach .500 on the season. The Corsair attack was powered by Jason Thompson, who had three hits, including a homer, and three RBI. Dave Parker and Dale Berra also chipped in three knocks to key a 13-hit outing. Lee Tunnell took the win and Kent Tekulve picked up the save. Pittsburgh kept on keepin’ on against the left coasters; right after the trip, LA, SF and SD came calling to TRS and the Bucs took 8-of-11. 

Jason Thompson - 1983 Donruss Action All-Star

• 1988 - The Pirates ran their winning streak to nine games when they held off the Giants, 5-4, at Three Rivers Stadium. Pittsburgh jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning on a Mike Dunne RBI grounder and a two-out, two-run knock by Darnell Coles. San Francisco used a pair of homers to tie it up before the Bucs regained the lead in the eighth frame on Barry Bonds’ long ball, stroked with two outs and two strikes, to take a 5-3 edge. Jim Gott finished it up, though with some drama - a pair of walks (one intentional) sandwiched around a double narrowed the gap to one run, then he survived Harry Spilman’s long drive to center that Andy Van Slyke had just enough room to corral to save the win for Jeff Robinson. The streaky club lost the next day, took three in a row, then dropped 15-of-23 on the way to a roller-coaster 85-75 campaign. 
• 1998 - The Bucs traded RHP Esteban Loaiza to the Texas Rangers for RHP Todd Van Poppel and 2B Warren Morris. The Pirates plugged Van Poppel into the rotation to replace Loaiza while Morris was considered the key as a lefty-hitting, power-bat second baseman. It didn’t work out quite as planned. TVP lasted 10 weeks for Pittsburgh while Morris was released after the 2001 season. Loaiza pitched for another 10 seasons (albeit with seven teams), topped by a 21-9/2.90 campaign with the White Sox in 2003 when he was an All-Star and Cy Young runner up. TVP pitched through 2004 while Morris played for six more organizations, with his only MLB stops at Detroit in 2003 plus an ‘02 cup of coffee with Minnesota, before playing his last pro game in 2005. 
• 1998 - After scheduled starter Esteban Loaiza was traded before the game, the Bucs called on reliever Mike Williams to make the bullpen start, hoping for two or three frames. He lasted five strong innings, giving up a run, and Jason Christiansen picked up the final 12 outs in the Bucs’ 5-1 win over Montreal at Olympic Stadium. The Bucs offense wasn’t very exciting in grinding out five runs, but Aramis Ramizez and Expo pitcher Javier Vazquez ignited a couple of bench-clearing dances, the first caused by a basepath bump and the next after A-Ram took a pitch off the shoulder. Both hotheads were ejected after the HBP festivities (and would later earn five-day suspensions), but Elmer Dressens started off the Expo half of the frame by coming in high and tight on Rondell White, ringing the bell for round three. The rest of the night was all baseball, with Lou Collier collecting three raps to lead an 11-hit attack. The suddenly battlin’ Bucs went on a rampage afterward, winning 7-of-9 games before settling back into the doldrums. 

Mike Williams - 1998 Pacific onLine

• 1999 - In a wild 13-10 win over the Cleveland Indians at Three Rivers Stadium, Kevin Young homered twice to drive in five runs and Al Martin also went yard two times to plate three more; both had three hits, as did Adrian Brown. The teams combined to bang out 32 hits and together burned through 13 pitchers during the game, played in front of 43,299 fans, many from Ohio for the weekend. The Bucs led throughout the contest, though the Tribe cut the lead to a single run in the sixth and two in the eighth, to net Kris Benson the win, saved by Mike Williams. 
• 2003 - The Brewers and Bucs exchanged grand slams in a 7-5 Milwaukee win at PNC Park. Ex-Bucco John Vander Wal clocked a first-inning salami off Kris Benson; Craig Wilson pounded a pinch-hit grannie in the fifth off Wayne Franklin, but to no avail as it was already 7-0 Brew Crew at that point. 
• 2007 - LHP Daniel Moskos, the Pirates first round draft pick and fourth overall, agreed to a deal including a $2.5M signing bonus. The Clemson junior was selected as a back-end bullpen option for the Pirates bullpen, although he made 10 starts for the Tigers as a junior. He got his only MLB action in 2007, slashing 1-1/2.96 in 312 Pittsburgh outings but with a 1.56 WHIP and just four K’s per nine innings. The Bucs waived him in June of 2012, and Moskos then pitched through 2018, working for various farm clubs and in Mexico and the indie leagues. 
• 2009 - It took 14 innings, but the Bucs ended a streak of seven losses in eight games going into the All-Star break with a 2-1 win over the Giants at PNC Park to resume the season. Garrett Jones homered off Bob Lowry at PNC Park for the walkoff winner; he also brought home the first run with a long ball off of Tim Lincecum. The pitching duel, begun by Paul Maholm and Lincecum, featured 13 pitchers between the two clubs, with Evan Meek getting the win. 

GI Jones - 2009 Topps Update

• 2013 - The International League won the AAA All-Star Game, 4-3, over the Pacific Coast League. The big bop was delivered by Pirates C prospect Tony Sanchez of the Indy Indians who banged a three-run homer in the second inning and won the game MVP. He got a late call to the big club that season, hitting .233 in 22 games. Tony got into 29 more games with the Pirates over the next two seasons, was released and then bounced around among various organizations in the minors as a depth player through 2019, getting one last MLB at bat for the Bravos in 2017. 
• 2016 - Starling Marte went boom against ex-Bucco Ollie Perez in the 18th inning to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 win over Washington at Nationals Park; he had chased home Adam Frazier in the sixth with the Pirates first run. The Pirates took a 1-0 lead into the ninth frame in a duel between Chad Kuhl and Max Scherzer, but Daniel Murphy homered off Mark Melancon with two outs and two strikes to pave the way for some bonus baseball. The Bucs took a shot at ending it in the 16th inning when Josh Harrison doubled, but not-so-fleet catcher Eric Kratz (who caught all 18 innings) was cut down at home. The two clubs shuffled through 17 pitchers (Pittsburgh used nine) with Jon Niese getting the win after three innings atop the mound to earn his final MLB victory. 
• 2018 - Closer Felipe Rivero got his first All-Star nod (some thought the honor was a year overdue) as the only Pirates AS rep at Nationals Park, the yard where his career started. The American League prevailed over the senior Circuit in 10 innings by an 8-6 score that saw a record 10 homers belted between the clubs, but they couldn’t dent Felipe. In his inning of work, he fanned a pair, walked one and gave up a single on a routine fly that was lost in the lights. 
• 2021 - MLB teams were not-too-surprisingly 314-0 when leading by six or more runs after eight innings this season, but Jake Stallings and the Pirates put an end to that streak when The Cheetah’s two-out, first-pitch grand slam that hugged the left field line carried Pittsburgh to a 9-7 win over the Mets at PNC Park. Down 6-0 going into the eighth in front of a season-high 27,229 fans, John Nogowski’s double and a grounder made it 6-2 before Wilmer Difo dropped a three-run bomb midway up the Clemente seats to turn it into a one-run game. The Mets rallied to tack on a ninth-inning insurance tally before a hit batter, walk and infield rap filled the sacks with two away for the Bucs, setting the stage for Stallings. Despite giving up the late run, Clay Holmes got the win. Fun fact: It was the third Bucco walk-off grannie at PNC Park, joining those swatted by Rob Mackowiak (2004) & Brian Giles (2001), and the 10th in Pirates history. Not-so-fun fact: The Pirates reversed roles on New York by jumping to a 6-0 lead in the next day’s game only to lose via a two-run, ninth-inning homer, 7-6. It was the first time in National League history that opposing teams lost 6-0 leads in consecutive games. 

Termarr Johnson - 2024 MLB Development

• 2022 - The draft began in Los Angeles and the Pirates selected SS Termarr Johnson, 18, from Mays HS in Atlanta as the fourth overall pick of the draft. Termarr (throws right, bats left) was projected as perhaps the best hitter in the draft, but on the smallish side at 5-8 and projected as a second baseman, although the Bucs started him out at short. He had a college commitment to Arizona State, but a $7,219,000 check countered that. With comp pick #36, they chose soph RHP Thomas Harrington, 21, from Campbell University; he was more reasonably priced at $2,050,000. In the second round with pick #44, they claimed Florida redshirt sophomore LHP Hunter Barco, 21, who had TJ surgery in May and before that was considered a Top 15 draftee. Hunter made his organizational debut in July, 2023, in the Florida Complex League after signing for $1,520,000. 
• 2023 - The long-promised youth rebuild arrived at PNC Park. Six players who were in the minors in June - RHP Quinn Priester, C Endy Rodriguez, 2B Nick Gonzales, SS Liover Peguero, 3B Jared Triolo and RF Henry Davis - all started. And it was a rough start, matching the weather and a delayed opening pitch. Priester retired the first nine Cleveland Guardians, then had the wheels come off. The bullpen added gas to the fire, the five rookies in the batting order went 2-for-17 with a walk, and the young guns absorbed an 11-0 beatdown. Rome wasn’t built in a day...