4/9 From 1980: Gleaton Signs, Ks For Kell, Bravos Broomed, McW-AVS-Kris-Bombs Away & Game Days, PNC Opens, RIP Pops

• 1983 - It was tough to toss the ball much better than Larry McWilliams did at the Astrodome, pitching the Bucs to a 1-0 win against Houston. McWilliams gave up two hits, never allowed a runner to reach second, struck out seven without a walk and retired the last 16 Astros to face him. And he needed to be on top of his game; Joe Niekro pitched a three-hit gem of his own, with the only run coming in the first when Lee Lacy tortured Houston catcher Luis Pujols. Lee walked, stole second, went to third on a bad throw by Pujols and then scored on a passed ball. 
• 1990 - The Bucs turned Doc Gooden every which way but loose as they won 12-3 at Shea Stadium behind Doug Drabek’s arm and long balls by Andy Van Slyke (two homers, 2B) and Bobby Bo. Bonilla, along with Jay Bell and Jose Lind, collected three hits; the foursome had 10 hits (six for extra bases), nine runs scored and eight RBI. At 0-1, Gooden had a losing record for the first time in nine seasons. 
• 1992 - The Bucs signed LHP Jerry Don Gleaton, 34, after he was released by the Kansas City Royals. He went 1-0/4.26, almost exactly his career ERA, in 23 outings, and the Pirates let him go in late July. The 12-year vet caught on with the Giants and then the Marlins as minor league insurance, but his Pirates stint would be his last MLB work stop. At last check, Jerry Don was coaching DIII baseball at Howard Payne University and active with the Pro Athletes Outreach ministry. 
• 1999 - Rookie RHP Kris Benson beat the Cubs 2-1 at PNC Park in his first MLB start. He became the second #1 draft pick to win his debut, following Texas’ David Clyde (1973). Benson went six innings, giving up a run on two hits with three walks and three K, before Chris Peters and Mike Williams finished it up. The Pirates only had two hits, but made them count: Kevin Young doubled home the first run and Warren Morris added a solo shot, his first MLB long ball, for the game winner. Mo reached base twice - he also walked - and scored both runs for Pittsburgh. 

PNC Park - first pitch 4/9/2001 Pirates image

• 2001 - PNC Park, the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates since 1887, opened for business along the North Shore of the Allegheny River when its first regular season game began on a blue note, debuting just hours after Pirate icon Willie Stargell passed away. Local boy Sean Casey had four hits and five RBI to lead the Reds to an 8-2 win in the park’s maiden match against Todd Ritchie. The game was played in summery 77-degree weather and 36,954 came out to catch the action. Team owner Kevin McClatchy threw out the first pitch and Iris Brown of the local band House of Soul sang the National Anthem. PNC Trivia: Casey homered, the first blast registered at PNC Park, three days after he banged the first longball at Miller Park. Both came off the same bat, which was sent to the Hall of Fame. 
• 2001 - Willie Stargell, who suffered from a host of medical conditions, passed away at the age of 61. Cap’n Willie spent his entire career (1962–1982) as a Pirate. Over his 21-year MLB tenure, he batted .282 with 2,232 hits, 423 doubles, 475 home runs and 1,540 RBI, helping his team to six National League East division titles, two pennants and two World Series titles (1971, 1979). Pops is the all-time Pirate career leader in home runs, RBIs, extra-base hits and was the oldest player at age 39 to win a MVP award. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988 while the team honored him with a statue by the left field gate, dedicated just two days prior to his passing, retired his #8 in 1982 and selected Willie as a charter member of the Pirates Hall of Fame in 2022. 
• 2014 - The Pirates hit five home runs at Wrigley Field but lost the game 7-5 to the Chicago Cubs. Pedro Alvarez and Russ Martin each drilled a pair of long balls while Travis Snider added a dinger. It was the first time since 2004 that two Bucs had multi-homer games during the same contest. But it was a case of all or nothing for Pittsburgh - the Pirates had only one other hit and never had a runner in scoring position. Starter Wandy Rodriguez took the loss. 

Starling Marte - 4/9/2017 walkoff Topps Now

• 2017 - The Bucs swept the Braves at PNC Park, but the final win was a struggle. Down 4-2 after seven, the Pirates rallied in the eighth and ninth innings to tie the game only to see the Bravos score in the 10th frame to regain the lead. But the Pirates rolled up their sleeves and went back to work: two batters later Jose Ramirez and Atlanta met defeat when Adam Frazier led off with a double and Starling Marte smacked a first-pitch, walk-off dinger to ice the series, nine days before he was spanked with an 80-game PED suspension. It was the 100th walk-off in PNC Park history. Felipe Rivero, who was in line to suffer the loss, instead ended up taking credit for the victory. 
• 2023 - It was a good news, bad news kinda day. The Pirates took 2-of-3 from the White Sox on Home Opener weekend by a 1-0 score. Winner Johan Oviedo went 6-2/3 innings, giving up five hits and fanning five, then Dauri Moreto, whose punchout stranded a runner at third, Colin Holderman, who earned his league-leading fourth hold, and David Bednar, who claimed his fourth save, kept the zeroes coming. The Pirates only had two hits playing a Sunday lineup, but Canaan Njigba-Smith’s second-inning triple was followed by Jack Suwinski’s sac fly to provide just enough offense. The bad? Oneil Cruz tried to score from third on a soft bouncer and made a late slide; he was not only thrown out but broke his ankle. To add insult to injury, Chicago catcher Seby Zavala had a few words for Cruz as he lay writhing, and Carlos Santana had a response, emphasized with a shove, as both benches emptied and held an on-field dance. Cruz had surgery the next day and Mark Mathias was called up from Indy to take his spot on the roster. The locker room was somber after the game, deflated by Cruz’s season-ending injury, but two vets, Santana and Andrew McCutchen, called a team huddle to dispel the pity party and move on with who was there. 
• 2025 - Mitch Keller became the fastest pitcher in club history to reach 700 strikeouts (by innings) after going 7-1/3 scoreless frames, giving up four hits while walking one and fanning six while retiring 15 straight Redbirds. It was a good thing that he brought his A-Game to PNC Park - the Pirates were no-hit until the seventh. The Cards lost a run in the eighth when Ke’Bryan Hayes made a heads-up tag at home after Joey Bart and Endy Rodriguez crashed into each other chasing a pop in front of the dish to keep the game scoreless through regulation. Tommy Pham kept it that way when he threw out a runner at home in the 10th. Both teams broke the ice in the 12th; for the Bucs, Pham's two-out single scored Hayes to keep Pittsburgh alive. In the 13th, Isiah Kiner-Falefa came across when Bart lifted a bases-loaded fly to the track over the shallow Card outfield, and the Pirates prevailed 2-1 to give Justin Lawrence, the last of five Corsair twirlers, his first Steel City victory. As a final footnote, recent call-up SS Tsung-Che Cheng started to make his MLB debut.