8/4 From 1960: Jack Pot, Gorzo Gem, KYx4, Game Days, Sluggo Signs, Josh's Park, Paul POTM, HBD Kevin, Domingo, Steve & Ruben

1964 - C Ruben Rodriguez was born in Cabrera, Dominican Republic. His big league stay consisted of four games, two in 1986 and two more in 1988, for the Bucs. He went 1-for-8 with a triple. The Pirates signed him as a 17-year-old and he played minor league ball from 1982-94, closing out in 1995 in Mexico. He became the bullpen coach for KC and is now a youth instructor.

1967 - OF Steve Bieser was born in Perryville, Missouri. Steve played for the New York Mets in 1987 and got into 13 games as a Pirate in 1988, going 3-for-11 with a double (his MLB BA was .250). Bieser spent 13 years in pro ball with five organizations, then retired to become a high school coach and later the manager at Southeast Missouri State University, his alma mater.

1971 - OK, this is a bit of local lore more than Pirates stuff, but... Tom Walker of Dallas-Fort Worth in the Texas League pitched a 15-inning no-hitter in a 1-0 win over Albuquerque. Tom is Neil Walker’s dad, and after six seasons in the show, his last pro season was with the Bucs AAA Columbus club in 1978. He retired, moved to the City, and you know the rest of the tale.

1992 - Alex Cole delivered a walkoff single in the 12th inning to push the Pirates to a 3-2 win over the Mets at TRS. Don Slaught was the man of the hour; Sluggo drove in both runs during regulation and scored the winning run on Cole’s knock. Bob Walk, the Bucs fifth hurler, pitched three scoreless innings in relief to pick up the win. Walkie was on a roll. Pittsburgh had beaten the Cards the night before via the walkoff route, 2-1, and Walk worked the ninth to win that game, too.

1992 - RHP Domingo German was born in San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic. In six years with the Yankees, he posted a 31-28/4.41 slash and authored a perfect game in 2023. He was also suspended in 2019 for domestic violence, so he was quite a mixed bag. Nevertheless, the Bucs inked the FA to a minor league contract in 2024 after the Yankees waived him. He was released in July, re-signed, and as his opt-out date arrived, he was called up as a pen arm.

Don Slaught - 1993 Donruss

1993 - C Don Slaught and the Pirates agreed on a two-year/$3.5M contract extension. In his four years as a Pirate, Sluggo had hit .314 in a platoon role. The extension carried him through his age 36 campaign. He played for two more years after the contract for three other clubs, retiring during the 1997 season. Sluggo has since been an amateur baseball instructor and UCLA softball coach.

1993 - SS Kevin Newman was born in Poway, California. A first round pick (19th overall) of the Pirates in 2015 from the U of Arizona, he was called up as a utility infielder in 2018. He hit only .209, but made the club in 2019. When SS Erik Gonzalez went down early during that season, Newman took over the starting spot and has held it ever since. With Oneil Cruz knocking on the door, K-Man saw some duty at second. He struggled at the dish before having a bounce-back year in '22, batting .274, was dealt to the Cincy Reds, moved on to the D-Backs, then the Angels and was just released by the Royals in July ‘26.  

1998 - Fours were wild as 1B Kevin Young went 4-for-5 with four runs scored and four RBI during a 13-5 win over the Rockies at TRS. None of the Bucs went yard, but they did bang out nine doubles off four Colorado pitchers, with Young cranking out three of them while Jason Kendall and Jose Guillen smacked a pair apiece. Jason Christiansen, the fourth of five Pirates hurlers, got the win.

2006 - 23-year-old lefty Tom Gorzelanny went eight innings of two-hit ball and struck out seven as the Bucs beat the Cubs at Wrigley Field, 6-0. Xavier Nady went 4-for-5 with three doubles, two RBI and two runs. Jose Castillo and Ronny Paulino each homered, had two knocks and chased home a pair of runs. The Bucs made it easy, not only scoring freely but making a handful of glovely plays in the field, led by Nady at 1B and Chris Duffy in center field. For the cherry on top, Gorzo preened in front of his homies - he was born in nearby Evergreen Park.

2017 - The Pirates, who had dropped the series at San Diego the week before and were in the throes of losing eight-of-10, fell behind Travis Wood and the Padres, 3-0. They rallied with back-to-back two-run frames to tie the game before a bullpen implosion put them behind the eight ball again by a 6-4 count in the seventh (each team twice surrendered leads). But they had one more hurrah left, and behind a three-run pinch-hit homer by Gregory Polanco and a two-out, two-run knock by Josh Harrison, rallied one more time to defeat the Friars, 10-6, at PNC Park. 32,243 were at the game, which was delayed for two hours by a passing storm, and they hung around to listen to the group Chicago and “Saturday in the Park” (the game began Friday night but the band didn’t get on stage until 1AM Saturday morning, a case of art imitating life). David Freese added a homer while AJ Schugel got credit for the win despite facing just two batters and walking in a run. 

Gregory Polanco - 2017 Museum Collection

2022 - For the third straight game, the Pirates overcame a multi-run deficit to rally for victory against the Brew Crew, winning 5-4 in a wild finish at PNC Park. Pittsburgh tied the game in the seventh inning on RBI knocks by Tucupita Marcano and Ben Gamel, carrying the contest into extra frames. In the 10th inning, Duane Underwood gave Milwaukee the lead without a hit. The free runner and two walks jammed the sacks and then Kolten Wong was plunked with two away to force home the go-ahead run. The Bucs answered when Bryan Reynolds chased the ghost runner home with a leadoff double. A sac fly sandwiched around two intentional walks loaded the bases before a wild pitch plated B-Rey, giving Underwood the victory. The Bucs 9-through-3 hitters (Jason Delay, Marcano, Reynolds and Gamel) each banged a pair of hits to cap the sweep.

2022 - A new park celebrating Hall of Famer Josh Gibson’s legacy and Pittsburgh’s storied Negro League history was dedicated in Station Square. The Josh Gibson Heritage Park featured bronze murals of Gibson and other Negro League stars: James “Cool Papa” Bell, Leroy “Satchel” Paige and Cum Posey, with plans to add more murals of Negro League greats to the outdoor exhibit in the future. The bronzes were based on drawings by Pittsburgh sports artist Dino Guarino and will remain on display along West Station Square Drive near Highmark Stadium.

2025 - Paul Skenes was picked as the National League Pitcher of the Month, the first time he won the award. He posted a 2-1/0.67 line with 36 strikeouts in 27 innings of work and started the All-Star Game for the NL. 

2025 - Two guys returned from injury for their first MLB work since 2023, RHP Johan Oviedo and RH reliever Dauri Moreta. And the results couldn’t have been more different between the pair. Oviedo was still rusty; he lasted an inning, threw 42 pitches and gave up two runs with three walks, earning himself a return ticket to Indy to continue the rust removal. Moreta came on in the ninth, pitched a 1-2-3 final frame with a K and got the win. As for the game, the Bucs started in the hole, down 4-1 at PNC after six innings. But a two-run shot by Jack Suwinski and ninth-inning small ball pulled out a 5-4 win over the G-Men. A walk and a bopped batter set the Bucs up; Joey Bart's single knotted the score and put a runner on third. Isiah Kiner-Falefa then rolled a swinging bunt bouncer along the right side and Suwinski's slide beat the rap for the win.