7/21 From 1985: Coles-Wilson; Leyland HoF, #11 Retired, Grilli Signed; Oh Henry, Bell-Ringer, Stairs Splash, Randy Gem, Game Tales; HBD Max

• 1988 - RJ Reynolds was clutch; his double and triple, both with two away, drove in all three Bucco runs in a 3-2 win over the Western-Division leading LA Dodgers at TRS, moving the Pirates to a half-game behind the East leaders, the NY Mets. Pittsburgh was hot; the Corsairs had won 12-of-13 to get themselves back in the pennant race. Hits were hard to come by as Orel Hershiser and Doug Drabek were both sharp on the bump. RJ learned after the game that he had a new competitor for outfield time as Darnell Coles was traded to the Mariners for Glenn Wilson. 
• 1988 - In a swap of outfielders, Pittsburgh sent Darnell Coles to Seattle for Glenn Wilson. Wilson spent 1988-89 as a Buc, returning again for his 1993 swan song. He got into 147 games and was solid, hitting .274 with 11 HR. Coles spent 1987-88 as a Pirate, also smacking 11 homers but hitting just .230 in 108 games. GM Syd Thrift had been after Wilson for over a year when he was with the Phillies, but couldn’t strike a deal with the Philadelphia FO, which sought a front-line pitcher. This exchange was finalized during the game and announced the next day. 
• 1991 - Randy Tomlin spun a three-hit, complete game masterpiece against the Reds at TRS, winning by a 6-0 score and allowing just four baserunners, none of whom made it past first base. (That no-one-past-first feat wouldn’t be duplicated by the Buccos again until 2017 when Steven Brault and three relievers stopped the Brewers). Andy Van Slyke and Don Slaught both had two-run raps while Gary Redus had three hits, missing the cycle by a homer, and scored twice.
• 1997 - The Pirate “Freak Show” stayed alive with a 3-2 win over Curt Schilling and the Phillies at Veterans Stadium. Philadelphia jumped ahead, 2-0, against Esteban Loaiza, but Al Martin’s homer off a hanging forkball in the sixth tied it. Keith Osik led off the next frame with a double and went to third on a grounder, but a suicide squeeze attempt by Kevin Polcovich fizzled and Osik was a dead duck at home. But Kevin made amends, working the count full and then yanking a heater over the fence in left. Matt Reubel, Marc Wilkins and Rich Loiselle closed the door the rest of the way, and despite striking out 17 times (Schilling had 15 K in 8 IP; the Post-Gazette headline was “Get A Whiff Of This”), the Bucs remained alive in the race, 2-1/2 games behind the Houston Astros. 

Max Kranick - 2020 Topps Breakout

• 1997 - RHP Max Kranick was born in Scranton and was drafted by the Pirates in the 11th round of the 2016 draft out of Valley View HS. The Buc coaches quickly shortened his arm motion and he reached the upper levels in 2021, starting at Altoona, moving up to Indianapolis and getting his call to the show on June 27th. He opened some eyes in his debut, spinning five perfect frames against the Cards before rain washed out his day. Max started 2022 at Indy, and was yo-yo’ed between AAA and the show, with his season ending with June TJ surgery. He’s now in the New York Mets system. 
• 2003 - Matt Stairs became the first player to hit two home runs into the Allegheny River (both on the bounce) during a 5-3 win over Houston at PNC Park (he hit his first ball into the drink while playing for the Cubs two years before). Josh Fogg got the win with the help of three relievers; Mike Lincoln finished for the save. It was also a milestone match for Jason Kendall, who caught his 1,000th game and celebrated with two hits and a walk to make the day a special occasion. 
• 2007 - The Pirates retired Paul "Big Poison" Waner's #11 in a ceremony before their game against the Houston Astros on the 55th anniversary of his 1952 Hall of Fame induction. Waner was the first National League player since Honus Wagner, 28 years before, and the seventh batter in history to reach the 3,000 knock plateau. (He got #3,000 against his old matey Rip Sewell on June 19th, 1942, as a Boston Brave.) The team had a video presentation, presented his family on the field, and rolled his #11 into the outfield grass. The Bucs celebrated by ending a seven-game losing streak, toppling Houston, 7-3, and then reverted back to form by losing seven of the next eight contests. 
• 2008 - The Bucs ended a six-loss-in-seven-games streak with a 9-3 win over Houston at Minute Maid Park, led by Freddy Sanchez who had three hits, including a homer, and four RBI. Jason Bay went 4-for-5 with a homer, Nate McLouth and Xavier Nady posted three hits and Adam LaRoche chipped in with a home run. Despite the score, Pittsburgh was behind, 3-2, until the Bucs rallied from behind with seven runs in the ninth inning to make Tyler Yates a winner. 

Freddy Sanchez - 2008 Upper Deck

• 2011 - The Pirates signed Jason Grilli from Philadelphia’s AAA Lehigh club as he had a major league opt-out clause that he exercised to join the Buccos. “Grilled Cheese” pitched for Pittsburgh from 2011-14 with a line of 3-11-47/3.01 and a K rate of 12.4 batters per nine innings. He went from bridge man to closer, taking Joel Hanrahan’s spot in 2013 and earning an All-Star berth with 33 saves. Grilli had a down campaign in 2014 and was traded to the Los Angeles Angels for Ernesto Frieri, passing the Pirates closer torch into Mark Melancon’s hands. 
• 2017 - Josh Bell had a career-high four hits, including a double, triple and four RBI, as the Bucs beat the Rockies, 13-5, to extend their winning streak to six games by claiming their 12th victory in 14 matches. Fran Cervelli added three raps to go with three RBI for his fourth straight multi-hit game, Andrew McCutchen went 3-for-4 with two walks, three runs scored & three runners plated, Starling Marte scored four times & swiped two sacks, and Jordy Mercer hit a 444’ homer as the Pirates swatted 18 hits against Colorado at Coors Field. Trevor Williams went into the seventh inning for the win with Jhan Marinez providing the finishing touches. 
• 2023 - Roberto Clemente became the second player to have his number retired by the Altoona Curve, both to honor Arriba and keep the number out of circulation. Roberto never played minor league ball for Pittsburgh, but you can spot his jersey on fans in the stands at every Curve contest. Helping celebrate were Roberto Clemente Jr, Roberto Clemente III and Duane Rieder of the Clemente Museum. Arriba joins Adam Hyzdu (1999-2000, 55 HR/184 RBI) whose #16 was retired in 2000. Adam was an Eastern League All-Star both years and still holds several franchise batting records. The Curve franchise started the same year Hyzdu arrived and has always been a Pirates affiliate. 

Henry Davis - 2023 Donruss

• 2023 - Rookie Henry Davis had three hits, two leaving the yard, to became the first MLB player to have a multi-homer game against Shohei Ohtani (it was also the 23-year-old’s first two-dinger contest), and for the first time in his career, Ohtani gave up four home runs in a game (Ji Man Choi and Jack Suwinski also went deep; Choi and Davis went back-to-back). But the Halos put up eight runs in the fourth and fifth innings on just five hits - four cleared the fence to go with four walks - at Angel Stadium to outscore the Pirates, 8-5. The defeat was the Bucs’ 12th loss in 15 July games. The match was the first nine-inning game in MLB history in which each team hit 4+ home runs while also striking out 13+ times. Not much swingin’ for the fences going on... 
• 2024 - Jim Leyland was enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Jim was the skipper of the Pirates, Marlins, Rockies and Tigers, posting a record of 1,769-1,728. He took three teams to the postseason, won a World Championship, was voted Manager of the Year three times and won a WBC Championship at the helm of 2017’s USA nine. In 2017, Leyland was inducted into the Michigan Sports HoF, the Tigers retired his number in ‘24 and he’s a member of the Pirates HoF.