7/18 From 1960: Skenes Signed, The Hat Goes, Pops & Dave AS; Luke, Charlie Gems, King Konks, Big Daddy's #400, Game Tales; Scolding, 11 Straight

• 1964 - The Milwaukee Braves got blown out at County Stadium, losing 8-2 to the Pirates, paced by Bob Bailey and Roberto Clemente’s three hits to back Bob Veale’s seven-hitter. Despite the loss, Braves legend Warren Spahn reached a career milestone. Seven of Pittsburgh's 15 hits came against the southpaw, who lasted just 3-2/3 frames, but he managed to complete his 5,000th MLB inning, putting him in an elite group; he still ranks eighth all-time in IP (sixth since post-1900) and joined a club with just a dozen other 5K workhorse members. The Hall-of-Famer usually fared pretty well against the Buccos; he defeated them 49 times over his two-decade career. 
• 1967 - Harry “The Hat” Walker was fired as manager amidst reports of team dissension when the Bucs started out 42-42, despite winning 182 games and finishing third in back-to-back seasons. Old standby Danny Murtaugh returned to the bench in his stead until the year’s end. 
• 1969 - Roberto Clemente ruined Bob Gibson’s day as the Bucs defeated the Cards at Forbes Field, when Arriba’s two-run homer and productive bouncer plated three of the Pirates' runs in a 4-1 victory. He remained a burr in Gibby’s side; his three-run homer at St. Louis did Gibson in, 3-0, the week before, the first two long flies he had ever hit off the ace. Dock Ellis was the recipient of Arriba’s largesse as the Docktor scattered seven hits in a complete game victory. 
• 1971 - The Bucs won their 11th straight game when they swept a DH from the Dodgers, 3-2 and 7-1, at TRS. The Pirates took the opener when Gene Alley opened the ninth with a triple and plated on Gene Clines' tapper. Dave Giusti got the blown save/win in relief of Bruce Kison. Luke Walker had a no-hitter going into the ninth inning during the second game, losing the no-no on a homer by Joe Ferguson. Richie Hebner and Milt May went long for the Buccos. 

Willie Stargell Profile - March 16, 1973 Post-Gazette

• 1973 - Willie Stargell went 4-for-4 with a double and a homer, Rennie Stennett went deep and Bob Robertson doubled in a run as the Pirates defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-2, at Three Rivers Stadium. Dock Ellis won the mound battle against Tommy John, with Dave Giusti coming on for the save. The two men of the hour, Willie and Giusti, got their league letters notifying them that they had made the All-Star team. The Bucs pranked Giusti; he had been bypassed for AS honors the past couple of seasons despite strong credentials, and his teammates hid his notification and then razzed him about missing the boat again until they finally disclosed the good news. 
• 1986 - Rick Reuschel made the 400th start of his big league career a winner, allowing three runs in seven innings to earn a 12-7 decision over the San Diego Padres at Three Rivers Stadium. UL Washington led the way for the Pirates, going 3-for-4 with four RBI, Jim Morrison collected three hits with three RBI and Sid Bream had three knocks and scored twice. The game was a laugher at 10-0 in the fifth; the Friars scored four times in the ninth off Barry Jones to save some face. Big Daddy would finish his 19-year career with 529 starts and 214 victories. 
• 1987 - Pittsburgh rallied for a pair of eighth inning runs to drop LA, 4-2, at Dodger Stadium. Doug Drabek won his first game since April 19th and got beaned in the process while SS Felix Fermin, called up 10 days before and batting .316, fouled a bunt off his thumb and was lost for two months. The Dodgers jumped ahead, 2-0, on a first inning, two-run shot by Pedro Guerrero before Fermin’s two-run single tied it in the second. It was zeroes until the eighth, with the main excitement being DD’s beaning in the seventh by Orel Hershiser. It wasn’t a payback pitch; Drabek was served an inside curve and ducked right into it. As Bob Hertzel of the Press wrote, Doug was “...probably the first player in baseball history to be hit in the head with a knee-high breaking ball.” He shook it off, although Barry Jones came on to work the last two innings for the save as the Pirates plated a pair in the next frame on three singles, a walk and passed ball. Bobby Bonilla led the batsmen with three hits and scored twice. Pittsburgh was its own worst enemy during the match, stranding 10 runners, hitting into a double play and going 0-for-2 in steal attempts. 

Jim Leyland - 1989 Veryfine Juice

• 1989 - After a 17-4 loss to the San Diego Padres at Jack Murphy Stadium, Jim Leyland held a closed door team meeting and per the Pittsburgh Press’ Bob Hertzel, “...informed his team that it was, in no particular order, selfish, dumb, unprepared, a disgrace and probably unkind to animals.” Despite this being a team family trip, he also called for an afternoon practice before the next game, spoiling any last minute outings with the clan. The Pirates didn’t seem to take much umbrage at the wake up call, nor did it seem to have much effect - they were 13 games under .500 before the chat, lost the next night, 9-1, and then finished the year that same 13 games under. But Leyland was playing the long game, and was laying the groundwork as the Pirates went on to win the next three division titles, claiming at least 95 victories per season, between 1990-92. 
• 1990 - Jeff King hit his first career grand slam and added five RBI to lead the Pirates to an 11-2 win over San Francisco at Three Rivers Stadium. Sid Bream and Chico Lind also chipped in with long balls. Doug Drabek allowed two runs in eight innings while improving to 11-4. 
• 2000 - The Bucs snapped a six-game losing streak with an 8-6 win over Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium. The Pirates scored five times in the first two innings, but the Dodgers came back with a six-spot in the third frame. The Bucs finally prevailed thanks to three RBIs each from Jason Kendall and Wil Cordero, both of whom also homered. Five Pirate relievers combined to toss seven innings of scoreless three-hit ball to cement the win, which went to Jose Manzanillo. 
• 2009 - Charlie Morton went seven innings of three-hit ball to stop the San Francisco Giants, 2-0, at PNC Park. Matt Capps made the finish exciting, putting runners on second and third with an out in the ninth frame, but came back to get a whiff and grounder to preserve the win. Ryan Doumit scored and had an RBI to provide a spark to the otherwise listless attack. 

Charlie Morton - 2010 Topps Anniversary

• 2011 - The Pirates took a 2-0 decision at PNC Park against Cincinnati as Charlie Morton tossed a three-hitter against the Reds. The Bucs played small ball in the fourth inning for the win. Chase d’Arnaud and Neil Walker led off with singles, with The Kid taking second behind the play when the throw targeted d’Arnaud going to third. Andrew McCutchen’s tapper drove in Chase with one run, Matt Diaz’s sac fly scored Walker, and that was it for either squad’s lumber. 
• 2012 - The Pirates spent their final day tied for the top of the NL Central after taking a 9-6 decision from Colorado at Coors Field as Garrett Jones, Pedro Alvarez, Casey McGehee and Rod Barajas homered for the Bucs. Pittsburgh collapsed like a house of cards after that, going 28-43 the rest of the way to finish with 79 wins and their 20th straight losing campaign. 
• 2023 - The Pirates signed first round and first overall draft selection Paul Skenes, RHP from Louisiana State. His bonus of $9,200,000 broke the signing record set in 2020 by IF Spencer Torkelson, who inked his $8,416,300 deal with the Detroit Tigers. Still, it was under the $9,721,000 slot value of the selection, leaving the Pirates with plenty of room for a couple of yet-unsigned Top 10 picks and a pair of high school players who were taken in the later rounds.