6/10 From 1975: Charlie Sharp, Dewey Damage, Go Mo, Q-Ball, Pops Pop, Game Days, Danny POTW; RIP Gunner, HBD Carlos

1977 - It took 11 innings, but the Bucs defeated the San Diego Padres 10-7 at TRS. Willie Stargell hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the 11th inning - Pops timed his only hit of the night well - to score Dave Parker and Al Oliver for the walkoff win. Bill Robinson had three knocks and three RBI while Rich “Goose” Gossage got the win. He came on during the eighth inning and pitched four scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out four.

1978 - 1B Carlos Rivera was born in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Rivera was drafted in the 10th round by the Bucs in 1996 out of high school. He got the call to Pittsburgh and saw action in the 2003-04 seasons, hitting .218 off the bench. After his last season with the Bucs, Rivera took his game south, playing in AAA, Mexico and Puerto Rico through 2015. 

1985 - The Gunner, Bob Prince, died of pneumonia and cancer at the age of 68. The long time Pirate broadcaster last called a game May 20th, when a rain delay sent him to the hospital and he never recovered. He served a 28-year stint as the voice of the Pirates on KDKA, famed for his “Gunnerisms” and hometown boosterism. Prince was posthumously awarded the Ford C. Frick Award by the Baseball Hall of Fame for broadcasters in 1986.

1989 - Rey Quinones was the unlikely hero as the Pirates walked off the New York Mets at TRS 6-5 after Q’s two-out blast in the ninth snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Rey also got the Bucs within a run the inning before when he was chased home by Barry Bonds to cut the Mets’ lead to a run (he returned the favor by driving in Bonds in the final frame). Bob Kipper got the win as he, Jeff Robinson and Neal Heaton put up zeroes in relief of Randy Kramer. It was a dramatic weekend of ball - it also took overtime to finally win the Friday game played the night before in ten innings, 4-3.

Rey Quinones -  1989 Donruss

1992 - RHP Jeff Robinson was selected off waivers by the Bucs from the Rangers. He was the second Jeff Robinson to join the Leyland-era Pirates; the original came from the Giants and tossed from 1987-89 with the middle name of Daniel; today’s pickup went by Jeffrey Mark. He replaced Dennis Lamp in the bullpen, but only lasted until July 25th, when he was released after posting a line of 3-1/4.46. It was the 30-year-old’s last major league stop.

1996 - RHP Danny Darwin was named the National League Pitcher of the Week. THe spun two dubs for the Bucs, tossing 16 scoreless innings & giving up just 10 hits with no walks and six whiffs. Before catching fire, Darwin hadn’t won a game since April 22nd and was 2-6.

2000 - The Kansas City Royals edged the Pirates 2-1 in 12 innings. But don’t blame 2B Warren Morris; he went 5-for-6 during the match, and had four more raps the next day. The Bucs banged out 13 hits, but they were all singles and they stranded 13 runners. Pittsburgh didn’t get on the scoreboard until there were two outs in the ninth inning to prolong the drama at Kauffman Stadium.

2001 - The Bucs were 3-of-21 on the road and looked like they were going to take another one on the chin when they entered the eighth down 8-4 (it was an 8-1 deficit after three innings) to the Twins at Hubert Humphrey Metrodome. They showed some fight, loading the bases to start the frame, but only cashed in once after Pat Meares’ bullet to third became the second out instead of the game-tying shot. But they kept comin’ - three hits, sandwiched between a pair of walks, gave Pittsburgh an 11-8 edge, keyed by Brian Giles two-out, two-run triple. Mike Williams tossed a zero in the Twinkies half and struck out the side in the ninth as the Pirates finally took home a road win. They worked hard for the victory; Jason Schmidt didn’t make it through the second inning and left the game behind by seven runs, but Dave Williams, Scott Sauerbeck and the soon-to-be-traded Williams (the trio gave up no runs on five hits in 7-1/3 IP with eight whiffs) kept Minnesota at bay. It was the second time in three weeks that the team rallied from a seven-run hole but didn’t help in the long run; the club still lost 100 games.

Brian Giles - 2001 Upper Deck Vintage

2008 - Ryan Doumit had a big day, going 4-for-4 with two homers and two doubles, but Washington came out on top by playing late long ball at TRS to claim an 8-7 win. Paul Maholm gave up four Nat homers (three in the seventh inning alone) and Matt Capps blew his first save when he served up a two-out, two-run, first-pitch homer to Lastings Milledge in the ninth. It was a brutal defeat; the Bucs had just put up a pair in the eighth to regain the lead before Milledge’s dagger.

2015 - The Bucs shut out the Brewers at PNC Park by a 2-0 score. The runs resulted from a Starling Marte knock and Pedro Alvarez blast that traveled 438’ and cleared the right field stands. But the story of the night was Charlie Morton, who went 7-1/3 IP, giving up three hits, three walks and K’ing six. Charlie set a couple of personal bests during the night. He won five in a row for the first time in his career and started a season off 4-0 for the first time.

2017 - The Bucs were losing by a 6-4 count at PNC Park going into the seventh when Jordy Mercer banged a two-run triple and John Jaso’s pinch-hit, ground-rule double plated Jordy with the game winner in a 7-6 decision over Miami. Andrew McCutchen added a pair of doubles among his three hits, giving him 500 career extra-base raps, along with two RBIs and a run scored to help give the Pirates fourth pitcher, Daniel Hudson, the win with Felipe Vazquez notching the save. The lineup’s 5-through-8 hitters (Josh Bell, Cutch, Elias Diaz, Mercer) went 11-for-16 with five ribbies and five runs scored as Pittsburgh posted 16 hits against five Fish twirlers.