7/15 From 1980: Cutch Streak, King V, Gems, Cobra, Rallies, Game Days, Skenes & ASGs, Hans T206, HBD Kevin & Anthony

1982 - Dave Parker came through early and late to carry the Pirates and John Candelaria to a 5-1 win over Houston in the Astrodome. His first-inning single chased home two Buccos (one aboard on an error) and his three-run, 430’ blast to center in the ninth inning off reliever Frank LaCorte iced the game. In between, the Candy Man and Don Sutton were hooked up in a dandy little duel, with Rod Scurry covering the final 2-2/3 frames without allowing a hit for the save.

1984 - RHP Anthony Claggett was born in Hemet, California. 2009 was his only MLB season, starting with the Yankees and ending with the Pirates after he was DFA’ed in late September, getting into one game and giving up a run on two hits in his inning. During the off season, Claggett was cut by Pittsburgh when Octavio Dotel was signed. He played indie ball in Australia and Japan from 2012-14. Claggett has since been a coach for College of the Desert, Riverside, San Jose State and New Mexico State. He’s now the pitching coach at Washington State.

1986 - The Junior Circuit squeezed out a 3-2 win over the National League in the Midsummer Classic held at the Houston Astrodome. C Tony Pena came on as a ninth inning pinch runner; P Rick Rhoden was also selected, but didn’t get to climb the bump. This was the last All-Star Game to be played indoors until 2011 when Chase Field hosted the match.

1991 - The 2-3-4 hitters for the Bucs were on fire against the Astros at TRS. Jay Bell, Andy Van Slyke and Bobby Bonilla went a combined 8-for-12 with eight runs chased home and scoring six times, putting together a trifecta cycle to generate an easy 8-0 romp. Randy Tomlin was sharp, too, tossing a five-hit complete game victory; if the bats don’t get ya, the pitchin’ will.

Carlos Garcia - 1994 Donruss

1994 - The Pirates erased an eight-run deficit and came back to beat Houston 11-8 at TRS after the Astros had scored seven times in the first inning. Carlos Garcia homered and plated four RBI while John Wehner and pitcher Ravelo Manzanillo both delivered two-run hits. Relievers Rich Robertson, Manzanillo (win) and Mike Dyer (save) tossed seven innings of shutout ball.

1995 - Jeff King hit two home runs with five RBI to power the Pirates past the St. Louis Cardinals, 9-2, at TRS. The Pirates jumped ahead early by a 6-0 count after two, fueled by long balls from King, Mark Parent and Jay Bell. Denny Neagle went the distance, pitching his third of five complete games during his 1995 All-Star season, his first of two (1997 with Atlanta).

1996 - IF Kevin Padlo was born in Murrieta, California, and was a 2014 draft prep selection of Colorado. In 2021-22, Padlo got to suit up with Tampa Bay, Seattle, San Francisco, Seattle again and then three games with the Pirates in 2022 after they claimed him from the Mariners. All that travel may have earned frequent flier miles but the corner infielder got just 49 plate appearances in 23 games, thanks to a .109 BA. The Pirates assigned him back to Indy after three weeks on the big league roster and released him at year’s end. He’s now in the KC Royals system.

1998 - Rookie sensation Kerry Wood helped draw 28,655 fans to TRS (half-price day helped, too) but Francisco Cordova, who last won on May 31st, stole the show by spinning a four-hit shutout with eight K in a 3-0 Bucco win over the Cubs. Cordova got all the help he needed from Kevin Young, who bombed a two-run homer and Ricardo Rincon, who nailed down the save.

2000 - A 1909 Honus Wagner T-206 baseball card was auctioned on eBay for a record $1.265M on this day; the same card was resold for $2.8M in 2007. Another version, the “Jumbo” (a miscut that was 1/16” longer than the usual size) went for $3.12M in 2016. It’s still among the top five baseball cards in value. On August 3rd, 2022, a T206 Wagner card sold for $7.25M.

Honus - 1909 T 206

2003 - The American League scored three times in the eighth inning at US Cellular Field to claim a 7-6 All-Star win over the National League in the 70th Anniversary matchup. Reliever Mike Williams was the Pirates only selection for the second straight year, and he didn’t get into either game. This contest was the first to award home-field advantage for the World Series to the winning league, a rule that stemmed from a 7–7 tie the previous year that led fans to question whether the game had any meaning. That hot-potato rule remained through 2016.

2008 - The AL continued its domination over the NL with a 4-3 All-Star squeaker at Yankee Stadium that took 15 innings to complete. It was a final tribute to the storied “House That Ruth Built” that would close its gates after the season. OF Nate McLouth was the Pirate rep, and he went 1-for-4 during the contest. It was the longest MLB All-Star Game in time (4 hours and 50 minutes) and the 15 innings played tied the mark for the most frames with the 1967 contest.

2011 - Jeff Karstens and Andrew McCutchen took care of business, leading the Bucs to a 4-0 win over the Astros at Minute Maid Park. Jeff was in control, spinning an 83-pitch five-hitter while facing just 30 batters (no walks and two DPs); one Houston runner reached third and one more touched second. Cutch provided enough O when he belted a two-run blast in the third inning.

 
2012 - Andrew McCutchen homered in his fourth straight game among his three hits, but it went for naught as the Bucs and AJ Burnett were dropped 4-1 by the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Field.

2014 - The Americans whipped the Nationals 5-3 in the Midsummer Classic at Target Field in Minnesota. It was Derek Jeter’s 14th and final ASG appearance. All the Bucco All-Stars played: Andrew McCutchen went 1-for-3 as the starting center fielder, Josh Harrison was a sub in left and went 0-for-2, while LHP Tony Watson came in to face one batter, Jose Abreu, and got him to fly out to Josh. Manager Clint Hurdle was there too, as a coach for the NL squad.

Josh Bell - 2018 Topps Opening Day

2018 - The Pirates completed a five-game brooming of the Milwaukee Brewers in dramatic fashion, twice rallying in their final at bats to pull out a 7-6 win. They were down 5-2 going into the eighth when a two-out single by Starling Marte scored Corey Dickerson to cut the lead to 5-3. The Bucs were cooking in the ninth, loading the bases with no outs, but a DP, though bringing home a run, left them on the brink of defeat before David Freese tied it with a two-strike triple to right to provide the fans with some bonus baseball. In the 10th, a couple of walks by Tanner Anderson, just called up from Indy, led to a run. The Pirates were down to their last out with a runner on first when Colin Moran singled to keep the pulse pumping. Then, in the midst of a sudden summer storm, Josh Bell banged a ball over Lorenzo Cain’s head in center; the double scored Polanco while Moran, chugging around the circuit, scored the winner as a throw that would have easily beat him skipped off the mound and through the catcher's wickets. It gave the Pirates six straight wins and 8-of-9 going into the All-Star break; it was the Brew Crew’s sixth straight loss and the series sweep dropped them out of first place in the division. It was a big day for Tanner; it was Anderson’s first MLB win.

2025 - Paul Skenes started the All-Star game by tossing 14 pitches, fanning a pair, and was up 2-0 when Ketel Marte doubled home a pair in the NL's half. But much like his Pirates outings, he didn't get the decision - after nine frames the Midsummer Classic at Atlanta's Truist Park, it was 6-6, and decided for the first time by an extra-inning "swing off", a sort of home run derby. Each squad picked three players, each of whom got three “homer or no count” swings. The Phils Kyle Schwarber went three-for-three, winning both the ASG MVP and the game (7-6 was the official final). Another first was the The Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) challenge system — allowing batters, pitchers and catchers to question called balls and strikes. It's been used in the minors and tried out on the big stage on Tuesday. It seemed to work out pretty well as four calls were overturned by review without much delay.