8/4: Sluggo Deal; Yeager In, Leever Out; Gorzo Gem, 4 For KY, Salky Cycle, Heinie Bookends, Rallies, Game Tales, Josh Park In SS; HBD Kevin, Steve, Ruben, Luke, Bill, Homer, Cliff, Hicks, Paddy & Jake

• 1867 - 1B Jake Beckley was born in Hannibal, Missouri. “Eagle Eye” played eight seasons (1888-96) for Pittsburgh, with a year off in 1890 when he suited up for the Pittsburgh Burghers of the outlaw Player’s League. He hit .300/123 OPS+ with 113 triples as a Buc and posted three 100+ RBI/four 100+ runs scored campaigns. Jake could glove it, too. He’s the all-time leader for putouts and top 20 in assists for MLB first basemen. After his 20-year MLB career was done, he was eventually selected in 1971 to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee with a lifetime .308 BA and 23,755 putouts at first base during his career, the all-time record. Jake got his nickname because of his batting eye; he was a contact hitter who finished his career with more walks than whiffs. 
• 1879 - C Patrick “Paddy” O’Connor was born in County Kerry, Ireland. A little used catcher for the Pirates from 1908-10, he hit .250. He played one more season in Pittsburgh in 1915, albeit with the Rebels of the Federal League, batting .228. Paddy got a lot of mileage out of baseball, with a playing career that spanned from 1901-21 counting his bush league years. 
• 1883 - RHP Lew “Hicks” Moren was born in Pittsburgh and attended Duquesne University. He pitched exactly two games for the Pirates between 1903-04 (0-1/9.00), but was more successful with the Philadelphia Phillies, picking up 48 wins and 10 shutouts while compiling a 2.88 ERA from 1907-10 before arm problems ended his MLB career. He was one of the first twirlers to feature a knuckleball, closely following its original practitioner, Eddie Cicotte. Hicks (no clue as to how he got that moniker) lived to the age of 86, and is buried in Homewood Cemetery. 
• 1896 - Utilityman Cliff Lee was born in Lexington, Nebraska. Cliff began his eight-year run in the show at Pittsburgh in 1919-20 after being drafted from Portland and then putting in military time. He hit .213 before being claimed by the Phillies and put up three consecutive .300+ campaigns in Philadelphia, playing outfield, catcher and first base. His splits aren’t available, but it appears he never saw much time as a regular because he was a platoon guy that could maul southpaws but righties, not so much. He played in the minor leagues before retiring in 1930. 

Frank Killen via Baseball Revisited

• 1897 - It was a bad day for Pittsburgh at League Park II in Cincinnati. Lefty Killen and the defense floundered in the opener of a twin bill, losing, 14-3, and per the Pittsburgh Press “The Reds won the first one with ease as they found Killen at will and the Pirates made so many errors they simply couldn’t do anything else.” In the second game, ump Tim Hurst caught a beer bottle tossed at him from the stands and threw it back at his attacker. Hurst ended up the one arrested (he was fined $100 as the bottle gashed its victim; he had a good arm for an ump) and Red Bittman, who umped a handful of times and was a Cincinnati native, replaced Hurst and called the game a 4-4 tie after six innings due to darkness, wiping out a six-run seventh by the Bucs. Per the Press, the real reason was “...because he failed to check the run getting of the Pirates, he called the game. As the sun was shining, it was a clear case of a steal.” The Pirates won the rescheduled make-up game, 8-1, and it was the last of 10 big league games Bittman umped. 
• 1901 - Before Pittsburgh’s 6-3 win at Cincinnati’s League Park, Reds and Pirates players were clocked while running from home plate to 1B. The fastest time for the 90-foot sprint was three seconds flat, by Bucco OF Ginger Beaumont. Though Beaumont was a lefty and was known for his wheels, scouts today consider 3.9-4.0 to be elite speed. The SABR Biography Project says he was once timed at 4.4, which seems a little more like it. As for the game, the Buc attack was primed by the speedy Beaumont and Hans Wagner with three hits apiece and a Lefty Davis homer. Ed Poole, subbing for sore-armed starter Sam Leever, took the win. 
• 1901 - The Bucs made a couple of moves. First, they brought in veteran C George Yeager from the Cleveland Blues on a try-out basis after Chief Zimmer, the Bucs starting catcher, was spiked and put out of action (he would then break a rib in a fall three weeks later). George passed the test and finished the year with the Bucs, hitting .264 in 26 games. On the same day, pitcher Sam Leever requested an unpaid leave of absence because of a sore arm, a problem he suffered from throughout his career. The Goshen Schoolmaster told club secretary Harry Pulliam, as reported by the Pittsburgh Press, that “I am not in a position to earn my salary and in justice to the Pittsburg club I think I should take a vacation at my own expense. Just lay off me, Harry, until I send you word that my arm is right.” The Bucs granted his leave, with Pulliam replying “You are one of the highest paid men in the league and the officials will be pleased when they hear of your offer (but) you will get your salary if you do not pitch another game this season.” He didn’t but came back strong the following year and tossed for the Pirates through 1910. 

Homer Blankenship - photo via Find-A-Grave

• 1902 - RHP Homer Blankenship was born in Bonham, Texas. Homer tossed for a couple of years with the Chicago White Sox (1922-23) and then became a long-time Texas League twirler; the Pirates gave him a shot in 1928 and he went 0-2/5.82 in two starts with one complete game. 
• 1912 - IF Bill Schuster was born in Buffalo, New York. He started his five-year, 123-game big league stint in 1937 with the Pirates, going 3-for-6 in a three game audition. Schuster did have a long career spanning 16 years of pro ball, mainly in the Pacific Coast League, where he’s a member of its Hall of Fame. After retiring as a player, Schuster stayed to manage and coach in the west coast league, and later worked in the press room of the Los Angeles Times. 
• 1915 - 1B Luke Easter was born in Jonestown, Mississippi. The slugger played for the Homestead Grays from 1947-48. He hit .363 and led the Grays to a win over the Birmingham Black Barons in the 1948 Negro League World Series, the last one NLWS held. The Grays sold him to Bill Veeck and he went on to play for the Cleveland Indians, but age (he was 34 when he made his MLB debut) and injury limited him to just a couple of productive MLB seasons. 
• 1931 - Heinie Meine started it and ended it. Pirate pitchers put together a streak of 45 consecutive scoreless innings, starting with Meine’s outing on July 27th and ending with Meine’s 7-1 loss to the Cards at Forbes Field after adding five more frames to the zero column. In between, Buc pitchers Larry French, Ray Kremer, Glenn Spencer and Erv Brame all tossed shutouts. 
• 1945 - C Bill Salkeld went 5-for-5 to become the first and only Pirates rookie to hit for the cycle. He drove in all five runs in the Bucs 6-5 loss to the Cardinals at Forbes Field, with the club stranding 12 runners against St. Louis. “Wallopin’ William” must have really been feeling his oats on this day; his triple was the first of just two that he would hit in 1,050 plate appearances during his six-year MLB career with the Bucs, Boston Braves and Chicago White Sox. 

Roberto Clemente - 2002 E-Topps Classic

• 1958 - Roberto Clemente’s two-out homer in the ninth inning off future teammate Juan Pizarro gave the Pirates a 4-3 win over the first place Milwaukee Braves at County Stadium. Arriba had three hits and scored three times while Roy Face saved the game for winner Curt Raydon. 
• 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. 
• 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. 

Don Slaught - 1993 Flair

• 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 and now is with the Diamondbacks. 
• 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 and Chris Duffy in center field. To make it a little sweeter, Gorzo flaunted his stuff 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). David Freese added a homer while AJ Schugel got credit for the win despite facing just two batters and walking in a run. 

El Coffee - 2017 Topps Inception

• 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) banged a pair of hits to cap the sweep of the Brewers. 
• 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.

8/3 Through the 1960s: Danny Hired, Henry Moved; Smoky 6/Stu 5, Walter Gem, Game Tales; All-Star Shuffle, Wild Crowd, ASG; HBD Kevin, Mackey, Sid, Jim, Dave & Gee Gee

• 1889 - IF Gus “Gee-Gee” Getz was born in Pittsburgh. He closed out his seven-year MLB stay with seven games for the home team in 1918, going 2-for-10 and playing some hot corner. Gus started his career back in 1908 as an 18-year-old with McKeesport and closed it out in 1927. 
• 1895 - Pittsburgh took over first place with a rousing 5-4 win over the Cleveland Spiders at Exposition Park in front of 6,000 fans. The Pirates were down 4-2 in the eighth inning when Elmer “Mike” Smith banged a two-strike, two-run triple off the wall in right to tie the score. The Bucs took it in the ninth frame on Jake Starzel’s double, a bunt, and Monte Cross’ walk off single. Pink Hawley, making his third start of the week, got the win. Alas, it would be the last day that Pittsburgh was in first place; the Pirates finished the year in the middle of the pack at 71-61. 
• 1905 - Pittsburgh ended the New York Giants 13-game winning streak with a 10-4 victory at a rockin’ Exposition Park. The Pittsburgh Press reported that “...after little rooting in the first five innings,” the Pirates ignited their rooters by taking the lead in the sixth and “the crowd went wild with delight (and) was on its feet for five minutes cheering with might and main and waving hats, canes and handkerchiefs.” In fact, one fan had a fatal heart attack during the action, and a Giant supporter had to be removed by the police after assaulting Pirate owner Barney Dreyfuss in his private box; of all things, the bossman’s attacker was a seminary student decked out in his clerical garb. 3B Dave Brain had three hits and four other Buccos had a pair of knocks apiece. Sam Leever, with help from Pat Flaherty, got the win over Iron Man McGinnity and reliever Sam Wiltse. 
• 1914 - The Pittsburgh Rebels of the Federation League took their second straight 1-0 win from first-place Chicago at Exposition Park. The Pittsburgh Press noted that “The winning...was due to the great pitching and timely hit of Walter Dickson.” Dickson wasn’t much of a hitter, but the paper reported that “He was twirling such fine ball that (manager Rebel) Oakes didn’t want to take a chance on a pinch hitter.” Walt rewarded the skipper by banging the game winning hit. No box score was available, but Dickson faced just 33 batters in 10 innings and none of the Chi-town nine reached third base. The Rebels had to lend the Chi-Feds a catcher, Skipper Roberts, so that they could continue their road trip, as the two Windy City receivers were laid up, one with appendicitis and the other with a broken finger. Roberts played four games for them before returning. 

Walter Dickson (NY Nats) - 1911 Broadleaf

• 1917 (some sources have 1925 as his birth date, but 1917 is the consensus) - OF/P Dave Hoskins was born in Greenwood, Mississippi. A RHP and LH batter, Hoskins spent his early career with the Homestead Grays from 1942-44, batting .289 as a right fielder and posting a line of 7-6/4.81 as a pitcher in a dozen starts. Hoskins went on to become the first black player in the Texas League at Dallas before spending a couple of years with the Indians, mostly as a pitcher, slashing 9-4-1/3.81 and hitting .227. In 1953, he and Satchel Paige made the history books when they matched up in the first MLB game that featured black pitchers opposing one another. He played pro ball until he was 41, spending 11 years in the minors before closing out in Mexico in 1960. Dave then retired to his 18-acre Flint, Michigan, farm and worked at GM as his day job. 
• 1930 - The Pirates won their seventh game in eight outings when they whipped the Chicago Cubs, 12-8, at Wrigley Field, riding an eight-run, 12-batter eighth inning to victory. On the day, Gus Suhr & Adam Comorosky each had three RBI, Al Bool homered and Dick Bartell scored three times as all nine Pirates in the lineup recorded hits for the second contest in a row. Erv Brame went the distance for the win despite surrendering 14 hits to the Chi-town nine. 
• 1941 - Ken Heintzelman started both ends of a doubleheader against the New York Giants at Forbes Field in front of 25,688 fans, with the Bucs taking both games by 5-4 and 10-4 tallies. Heintzelman didn’t get the decision in either contest though; he lasted for just two innings total and gave up seven runs. The victories went to relievers Dutch Dietz and Bob Klinger. Deitz was especially strong on the slab; he whitewashed the G-Men, yielding two hits over 8-1/3 innings while the nitecap lasted six innings, long enough for the Pirates to bang five triples. 
• 1950 - RHP Hank Borowy was sold to the Tigers, moving from a last-place Pittsburgh club to the AL frontrunners. The 34-year-old started the season with the Phillies, was sold to the Bucs in June and so was on his way to his third team. Of course, he’s probably lucky that three teams wanted him - he went 1-3/6.25 during the year. However, he was a solid get for the Tigers down the stretch, going 1-1/3.31 from the pen in 13 outings, but even with 95 wins, Motown finished three games behind the Yankees. Detroit released him following the 1951 season. 

Hank Borowy (Phils) - 1950 Bowman

• 1952 - The last-place Pirates knocked the New York Giants 6-1/2 games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers by sweeping a doubleheader at the Polo Grounds, 7-0 and 10-8. The two wins matched the hapless Buccos’ longest win streak of the year. Murry Dickson came in for Paul La Palme in the third inning with the bases loaded and an out. He got a double play bouncer from Bobby Thompson cruising through his 6-2/3 innings, giving up three hits and no runs. Gus Bell was a homer shy of the cycle and drove in two runs. The Pirates jumped out to a 10-1 lead in the closer, scoring four times in the sixth frame before the Giants answered with seven scores, hanging on to the win when the game was called because of darkness. 
• 1954 - At Forbes Field, Reds manager Birdie Tebbetts started RHP Bud Podbielan and Bucco skipper Fred Haney countered with an all-lefty Pirate lineup. Birdie then lifted Podbielan after one batter and brought in southpaw Joe Nuxhall. The ploy worked to perfection and Cincinnati won, 7-2, as the portsiders were baffled. Haney was duped by an old gambit first pulled by manager Bucky Harris in Game 7 of the 1924 World Series. (S/O to John Thorn’s “Old News in Baseball”). 
• 1956 - Dick Groat’s single up the middle chased home a pair of Buccos to claim a 4-3 walkoff win against the Milwaukee Braves at Forbes Field. The Pirates had lost eight straight games, but manager Bobby Bragan said before the game that the streak would end tonight. The first eight innings were a duel between Vern Law and Warren Spahn with Pittsburgh holding a 2-1 edge. With two gone in the ninth inning, the Braves got back-to-back singles and took the lead when Del Crandall doubled them home. Groat, who scored the Bucs first run, canceled the Brew City party with his base-loaded knock, plating Bill Virdon and Dick Cole while making a prophet of Bragan. Most of the 17,479 fans went home happy; a group of about 100 Brave fans who had spent the afternoon snake-dancing through the ballyard presumably went to their hotel to cry in their beer. 
• 1956 - During the NL meetings, the Pirates were awarded the 1959 All-Star game as they and the Giants switched Midsummer Classic host dates. The Bucs original 1961 All-Star slot was swapped out to the G-Men, who were scheduled to host the ASG at the Polo Grounds in New York, but the Giants left that yard after the 1957 campaign for the Bay and eventually Candlestick Park, which didn’t open until 1960. The flipped date was quite copacetic for Pittsburgh, falling during the City’s bicentennial celebration. The Pirates had last hosted an ASG in 1944. 

Danny Murtaugh - 8/4/1957 Berger/Press

• 1957 - The news that Danny Murtaugh replaced Bobby Bragan as manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates leaked to the press ahead of time, and Bragan heard it on the radio before GM Joe L. Brown could reach him. It wasn’t a surprise; the quirky Bragan had greased his own skids with an outre incident in Milwaukee when he strolled onto the field sipping a drink through a straw and offered it to the umps a couple of days earlier, and he took it as well as could be expected. 
• 1958 - The Cards finally scored against Pittsburgh in a 2-1 loss in the second game of a twin bill at Forbes Field as George “Red” Witt beat Vinegar Bend Mizell. Bob Skinner had both RBI. The Bucs took the lidlifter, 2-0, as Bob Friend outdueled Sal Maglie, supported by a Bill Virdon homer and run-scoring knock from Frank Thomas. St. Louis had nine hits in each game, but found home plate off limits. The day before, Vern Law beat Sam Jones, 1-0, tossing a three-hitter and making a lone first-inning run stand. In the lidlifter, Ronnie Kline beat Bob Mabe, 2-0, spinning a four-hitter in a game that was scoreless until Pittsburgh plated in the eighth. The Bucs served goose eggs to the Cards for 33 straight innings in the four-game set, giving up one run on 25 hits. 
• 1959 - The second All-Star Game of the year was held at LA Memorial Stadium with P Roy Face, C Smoky Burgess, SS Dick Groat and 2B Bill Mazeroski representing Pittsburgh. The AL won 5-3. Face went two innings, striking out two but was touched up by a solo shot off Rocky Colavito’s bat. Burgess and Groat both went 0-for-1 and Maz was planted on the bench. 
• 1959 - RHP Jim Gott was born in Hollywood. Obtained from the Giants off waivers in mid-1987, the Bucs used him as a closer, and he saved 13 games with a 1.45 ERA. In 1988, he broke Teke’s franchise record with 34 saves. But he only appeared once the next year after an elbow injury, and signed with the Dodgers as a FA for 1990. Gott came back to Pittsburgh for his final season in 1995. 

Sid Bream - 2015 Topps Archives

• 1960 - 1B Sid Bream, the harbinger of the Bucco dark ages, was born in Carlisle, PA. Sid played first from 1985-90 for the Pirates with a .269 average, having three pretty solid years from 1986-88. He signed with the Braves in 1990, and in 1992...let’s not talk about it. Sid played into 1994, retiring during the player’s strike. Despite that soul-crushing slide, he sank roots in the area and lives in the northern suburbs. Always a solid citizen, he’s now a Christian motivational speaker. 
• 1961 - The Pirates ran away with a 19-0 victory over the St. Louis Cards at Busch Stadium for the largest shutout score in a National League night game. The Bucs banged out 24 hits while Harvey Haddix twirled a four-hitter for Pittsburgh. It was the most lopsided shutout in modern NL history at the time, tying a record set in 1906. Smoky Burgess had six RBI with a pair of homers and Dick Stuart drove in five more tallies, adding a long ball. Bob Skinner and Roberto Clemente scored four times, with Roberto collecting five hits and Bill Mazeroski banging out four as the Bucco quartet overwhelmed the Redbirds. 
• 1962 - C Mackey Sasser was born in Fort Gaines, Georgia. He joined the Pirates in 1987 from the Giants for Don Robinson, got into a dozen games (.217 BA), and was moved in the offseason as a piece of the Randy Milligan swap with the Mets. There he developed a case of the yips, known as Sasser Syndrome, when returning the ball to the pitcher (although oddly enough not on steal attempts) and it stayed with him through the rest of his career. Sasser re-signed with the Pirates for the 1995 season but played in only fourteen games, getting four hits in 26 at-bats before being released in mid-May. He retired and became a college coach. 
• 1964 - IF Kevin Elster was born in San Pedro, California. The 13-year vet spent 1997 with the Bucs, hitting .225. He had just won the American League Comeback Player of the Year Award as a Texas Ranger in 1996 and signed a $1.65M contract with the Pirates as a free agent, but he broke his left wrist in a collision at first base with and missed all but 39 games of the season. Kevin returned to the Rangers the following year as a FA and played through 2000.

8/3 From 1970: Zach NL-ROTM, BB, DD POTM, Lenny Goes; El Coffee X 2, Cutch Conked, DD 1-Hitter, Game Tales; Kendall Tops, Gunner & Charley Cited; HBD Matt

• 1972 - In the 10th inning of a 1-1 game, the Cards shifted the opposite way to the National League’s top hitter, Vic Davalillo, and he answered by banging the ball up the middle to chase home Gene Alley and give the Bucs a 2-1 win at Busch Stadium. The game was a duel between eventual winner Steve Blass and the Cardinals’ Rick Wise, with Ramon Hernandez coming in to nail down the save with a 1-2-3 ninth. The first Bucco run came in the second frame when Dave Cash tripled home Willie Stargell, who had walked to open the inning, with two outs. 
• 1973 - John Morlan won his first MLB game, and it was a memorable outing as he tossed a five-hitter over seven innings to beat Steve “Lefty” Carlton and the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-1, at the Vet. Ramon Hernandez tossed the last two innings to close out the victory. Morlan got all the run support he needed from a two-run Willie Stargell homer & a solo shot by Manny Sanguillen, and the leather behind him was sharp with glovework robberies by Richie Zisk & Bob Robertson. 
• 1975 - The Bucs eked out a pair in sweeping the New York Mets in a twin bill at Three Rivers Stadium. Pittsburgh took the opener, 5-4, in 15 innings when Duffy Dyer led off the extra frame with a homer off Bob Apodaca for the walkoff win. Dave Giusti tossed five innings of two-hit relief, Al Oliver went 4-for-6, and Larry Demery, the fifth Bucco hurler, was credited with the dub. The Pirates jumped to an early lead in the nitecap and hung on for a 4-3 victory, carried by Richie Hebner’s 3-for-3 day with a double, homer and four RBI to back winner John Candelaria. 
• 1979 - The New York Yankees purchased Lenny Randle from Pittsburgh. The 31-year-old utilityman appeared in 20 games for the Bronx Bombers, which was 20 games more than he played for the Pirates. Lenny was sold the same week the Bucs got him from the San Francisco Giants as a piece of the Bill Madlock deal and he never hit the field in a Bucco uniform. 
• 1984 - OF Matt Joyce was born in Tampa, Florida. The 31-year-old, nine-year MLB vet signed with Pittsburgh for $1M as a 2016 free agent. Joyce hit .242 with 13 homers and a .403 OBP (his 21 pinch-hit walks set a MLB record) for the Pirates as a fourth outfielder/bench bat and he turned that performance into a two-year, $11M deal with Oakland. He’s now retired. 

Matt Joyce - 2016 Topps Update

• 1986 - Pirates announcer Bob Prince was posthumously awarded the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcast excellence, presented during the Hall of Fame ceremonies. Per the HoF, ”Prince's charming yet brash demeanor, clever command of the language, entertaining gift of gab and appreciation of baseball's human elements made him the consummate professional.” 
• 1987 - The Pirates were on the verge of ending a seven-game losing streak, going into the ninth inning with a 6-0 lead over the SF Giants at Three Rivers Stadium when trouble struck. Doug Drabek gave up a two-run homer and Brett Gideon gave up another homer, then walked a pair. In strolled new reliever Jim Gott, just obtained from the Giants off waivers earlier in the day (he was originally part of a trade that had to be juggled through the waiver ploy to get him to Pittsburgh), and he shut the door with the winning run at bat to close out a 6-4 win over yesterday’s team. The big Bucco blow was a three-run blast by Bobby Bonilla. 
• 1989 - A pair of unlikely offensive heroes, Rafael Belliard and Benny DiStefano, teamed up to give the Bucs an extra inning 1-0 win at TRS. With two down in the twelfth, Belliard singled through the left side off Andy McGaffigan, stole second and scored on DiStefano’s knock to left center. Bob Walk tossed eight innings of four-hit ball, but the victory went to Doug Bair. 
• 1990 - Doug Drabek, who captured the 1990 Cy Young Award, was one strike away from a no-hitter in Philadelphia when he gave up a single through the second base hole to Sil Campusano, who was hitting .188 at the time. The game was a bit lopsided; the Bucs outhit the Phils 18-1 and outscored them 11-0 at Veterans Stadium. Andy Van Slyke and Sid Bream each had a homer & double, combining for seven RBI. On the same day, Barry Bonds was named NL Player of the Month and Drabek NL Pitcher of the Month (sharing with Danny Darwin) for July, the first time since August 1978 that both winners were Pirates (Dave Parker/Kent Tekulve). Bonds hit .326 with five homers, 22 RBI, 18 runs and 14 stolen bases while Doug went 5-0/2.23 in six starts. 

Carlos Garcia - 1992 Donruss Rookie

• 1992 - The Sporting News reported that the Pirates and Los Angeles Dodgers were talking about swapping LHP Bob Ojeda and RHP Jay Howell for IF Carlos Garcia. It was a good deal for the cash-conscious Bucs to pass on; Garcia was under team control until 1996 and considered a team building block while Ojeda and Howell both were in their walk year (and both did walk) with the Dodgers. They also had a feeler out with the Angels for RHP Mark Eichhorn, who California ultimately traded to Toronto. He had two more good seasons left before injuries derailed him in 1995. The Pirates gave up their hunt and left their pitching staff intact after failing to find a deal they liked. 
• 1993 - The Bucs had brawled and lost the last two days; today they stuck to baseball instead of basebrawl and took home a 7-3 win from the Cubs at Wrigley Field. The top of the order - Carlos Garcia, Jay Bell & Lonnie Smith - combined for nine hits, five runs scored and six RBI to give Zane Smith all the support he needed against Chicago. Don Slaught chipped in three hits and Mark Dewey finished up the last two frames to give Smith his first win of the year after returning to the rotation in July (it was his fifth start) following shoulder surgery. 
• 1997 - Post Gazette Pirates beat writer Charley Feeney was presented at Cooperstown with the Baseball Writers' top honor, the 1996 JG Taylor Spink Award. Charley covered the Bucs for two decades, from 1966-86, and was TSN’s local correspondent. He chronicled two World Series winners, the death of Roberto Clemente and the 1980s drug scandal. Before he came to town, he covered the Giants, Yankees and Mets for the New York Journal American. He called everyone (even himself) “Pally” because he had such a bad memory for names. 
• 1999 - The Bucs bopped the Atlanta Braves, 7-1, at TRS. Brian Giles bombed a pair of homers accounting for four RBI while Al Martin, Kevin Young and Warren Morris added solo shots (all five homers were solo shots). Kris Benson went eight innings of four-hit ball for the win. 

Kris Benson - 1999 Skybox

• 2004 - In his ninth season, Jason Kendall set the Pirates franchise record for games caught when he donned the tools of ignorance for the 1,156th time, breaking George “Mooney” Gibson’s mark that had stood for 88 years. Kendall backstopped 1,225 games behind the dish for the Buccos before being traded during the offseason. The game itself wasn’t memorable other than for the record; Jason went 0-for-4 in a 3-2 loss to Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium. 
• 2005 - Rookie Brad “Big Country” Eldred’s two-out double in the ninth inning scored Rob Mackowiak and gave the Pirates a 9-8 walkoff win over the San Diego Padres at PNC Park. Eldred had a career-high four hits, going 4-for-4 with three doubles, three RBI and a run scored during his highlight game. The Bucs blew two-run leads twice, but behind Eldred’s stick and a Jason Bay homer, they flexed enough muscle to earn Pittsburgh’s fourth pitcher, Jose Mesa, the win. 
• 2005 - LHP Zach Duke was named the National League Rookie of the Month. He went 3-0/0.87 in five starts, holding foes to a .237 BA and three earned runs during July with 27 whiffs in 31 IP. The five July outings were the first major league contests the 22-year-old had appeared in after spending just three months at Indy. 
• 2010 - The Pirates jumped out to an early 6-0 lead and held on to beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-6, at PNC Park. Neil Walker went 3-for-4 with four RBI while Jose Tabata had a pair of hits, two runs scored and one driven home. After Paul Maholm and Evan Meek barely kept the Bucs above water, Joel Hanrahan shut the door in the ninth with a pair of punchouts. 
• 2012 - Not only did the Pirates lose, 3-0, to Cincinnati at GABP, but Aroldis Chapman added insult to injury by drilling Andrew McCutchen with a 100 MPH heater with two outs in the ninth. It caused a furor when the Pirates didn’t retaliate the next day with James McDonald on the hill, and the head-shaking only intensified when three Bucs were hit in the last two games of the series without a Red getting buzzed, with the fans believing that the lack of response reflected a sad state of clubhouse chemistry. And the conjecture may have been right: the Pirates were 60-44 going into the game, but the loss triggered a 19-39 collapse. 

Gregory Polanco - 2021 photo Pirates

• 2021 - The Pirates were down, 4-0, after six frames and being no-hit by Milwaukee’s Adrian Houser at American Family Field. But three guys came up clutch and led the Bucs to an 8-5, 10-inning victory over the division-leading Brewers. First was Gregory Polanco, who was batting .206 coming into the game. El Coffee had two hits, two runs, two walks, two steals and the game-winning RBI to go along with the game-saving bring-back of a ball ticketed for the seats in the ninth inning to carry the game into bonus time. Rookie Hoy Park keyed the comeback in his second MLB start, doubling with the bases loaded in the seventh to chase home three runners, while All Star Bryan Reynolds, who started on the bench when given a rare rest day, pinch hit in the same inning and stayed on, driving in three runs on the night. David Bednar, Pittsburgh’s fifth twirler, went two scoreless innings for his third win in his first season as a Pirate. 
• 2022 - It was a game of big swings, with the Pirates overcoming an early four-run deficit and then blowing a late three-run lead, but at the end, Pittsburgh triumphed over division-leading Milwaukee, 8-7, ending it in the ninth when Bryan Reynolds smacked a leadoff homer, the first walk-off jack of his career. It was a day for the team core to show the way - Reynolds had three hits and scored three times while Ke’Bryan Hayes had two hits and three RBI - and for the new kids on the block to show, as Oneil Cruz cracked a two-run homer and scored twice with two raps while Tucupita Marcano collected three hits, scored once and plated a run. The wild contest at PNC was triggered by a curious front office decision to trade Jose Quintana and not call up a replacement, leaving them without a starter (or a closer; David Bednar was placed on the IL earlier in the day). The Pirates used six pitchers in a bullpen game slab rotation in a match that was ten minutes shy of lasting four hours. Wil Crowe earned the win.

8/2 Through 1974: Big Red Sixer, Grays-KC, Wright On, Game Tales; Pops On SI, TSN Mateo, Roman Romp, Shutout Sweeps, Hot Hans, Run/Inning; HBD Tim, Wilmer & Bucky

• 1881 - RHP Frederick W. “Bucky” Veil (he went to Bucknell) was born in Tyrone. He only pitched two MLB seasons (1903-04), both for the Bucs, as his career was cut short by malaria bouts. He did have a good arm; Honus Wagner predicted "...A brilliant future for the promising star..." in the Pittsburgh Press, although his health held him to just five career victories. He holds the distinction of being the first relief pitcher in a World Series, when he tossed seven innings against Boston in 1903 after replacing an injured Sam Leever in game two, giving up just one run. He finished his career in the minors, tossing through 1909. He stayed in baseball as player/manager for the Cresson RR team and coach of St. Francis College. 
• 1894 - The Pirates set a club record by scoring in 14 straight innings during a 7-4 loss to the St. Louis Browns when they plated a run in the first. They started the streak on July 31st, beating Cincinnati, 11-10, while scoring in the last five frames, and then tallied in all eight frames on August 1st against the Reds, winning by a 15-5 count. The games were played at Expo Park. One footnote to the game: the infield fly rule was new, and what the Pittsburgh Press called “a puzzling play” occurred when pitcher Red Ehret missed an infield pop (not intentionally) that had been called an infield fly by the ump. The runner on first took off (the original rule stated he had to remain on first), the pitcher threw the ball into center field and all sorts of hilarity broke out until the Pirates had, per the Press, “a sudden awakening” and tagged first for the forceout. 
• 1905 - Temper, temper, Hans: In the course of a 3-1 loss to the New York Giants, Honus Wagner was called out on a bang-bang play at first. Hot at the decision, he fired a baseball past umpire George Bausewine’s noggin during warmups the next inning. The Flying Dutchman was ejected, then later suspended by the league for three games and banged with a $40 fine. 
• 1907 - The Big Train, Walter Johnson, lost his debut outing, 3-2, to Ty Cobb’s Tigers. But before then, he was this close to being a Buc instead of a Senator: the Pittsburgh Pirates had wanted to try him out, but refused to guarantee his $9 train fare back home if he didn't make the team. Instead, Johnson signed with the DC nine for $350 a month, a $100 bonus and a train ticket according to Biography.yourdictionary.com. The Big Train went on to win 417 games for the Senators during his Hall of Fame career and went on to manage the club. 

Harry Pulliam - 1906 Sporting Life

• 1909 - National League President Harry Pulliam was buried in Louisville. In his honor (and for the first time in baseball history) both National and American League games were postponed and the teams wore black armbands in his memory for the remainder of the season. Harry had been the Pirates team president prior to that, and is widely credited with convincing Honus Wagner to leave Louisville and join him in Pittsburgh among his other accomplishments. 
• 1922 - RHP Wilmer Fields was born in Manassas, Virginia. Fields was a 6’3”, 220 lb. quarterback at Virginia State when the Homestead Grays discovered him and his fastball. Wilmer spent from 1940-48 with the team as a two-way player: not only did he win 102 games from the hill, but he was used as a utility man off the bench, playing 2B, 3B, SS, catcher and the OF. After the Grays folded he went on to win an amazing seven MVP awards in four different Latin and indie leagues. Though in the right era, he never played MLB ball, turning down several offers because the pay was too low ($4,500 was the going rate for rookies in those days) and also because as an indie player his wife could attend all his games, an impossibility for a major-league spouse. A Wilmer factoid: He was variously known as Bill, Red and Chinky. They were in reference to his light skin color, which led him to become known jokingly among his teammates as “the man who integrated the Homestead Grays.” He also continued his college education during the off-season, and after his playing days became an alcohol abuse counselor, wrote his autobiography and served as the first president of the Negro League Baseball Players Association. 
• 1928 - The Pirates scored 12 runs in the first three innings and ran away with an 18-4 laugher over the Phillies at the Baker Bowl. Glenn Wright (five RBI) and George Grantham (who scored four times) cranked out early three-run homers to pace the attack. Three more runs were driven in by both Pie Traynor and Fred Bickell, setting the table for an easy Burleigh Grimes win. 
• 1930 - Playing at night under Kansas City's portable light system, the Homestead Grays' 44-year-old hurler, Smokey Joe Williams, spun a one-hitter (an eighth-inning bloop) and struck out 27 batters to defeat the Monarchs' Chet Brewer, who gave up four hits & fanned 19, including 10 in a row starting in the seventh inning, by a 1-0 count in a fiercely contested 12-inning matchup. Oscar Charleston scored the game’s only run when he walked - the first free pass of the game - and eventually scored on Chaney White’s single. Not only were the pitchers masterful, but both were also masters of doctoring the horsehide, an especially effective ploy at night. Per the Pittsburgh Courier “The opposing pitchers were cheating without the question of a doubt. An emery ball in daylight is very deceptive but at night it is about as easy to see as an insect in the sky.” Still, Grays’ owner Cum Posey later called it “the greatest pitching battle of the Grays’ history...” 

Erv Brame - 1930 photo TSN Collection/Getty

• 1931 - The Pirates stopped the Cincinnati Reds, 3-0, at Forbes Field behind Erv Brame to sweep the series. It was the team's third straight shutout over the Redlegs and its’ fourth whitewash in a row. Paul Waner posted three hits, scored two times and drove in a run while Tommy Thevenow also kicked in with three knocks and chased a pair of Bucco teammates home. 
• 1954 - Roman Mejias, a 23-year-old second-year Cuban outfielder in the Pirates system (Class B Waco), had his 55-game hitting streak snapped. Mejias’ streak was the third-longest in minor league ball; the record is held by Joe Wilhoit, who collected a hit in 69 straight games with Wichita of the Western Association 1919. During the streak, Mejias batted .419 with 19 doubles, five triples and seven home runs while driving home 67 runs and plating 56 times. He hit .358 on the year and was called up the following season, spending six campaigns with the Buccos as a back-up outfielder. His MLB stick never matched his minor league performance; he hit .245 as a Bucco and .254 over his nine-year career. 
• 1960 - The Pirates defeated the Dodgers, 3-0, at Forbes Field behind Vern Law’s five-hitter. Roberto Clemente’s arm was a game breaker. He threw behind Norm Larker at first to catch him rounding the base too aggressively after a single, and then played Johnny Roseboro’s ball into the RF corner perfectly, holding the Dodgers to a single that was followed by a DP. The Bucco glovework was contagious; earlier in the game, Frank Howard was nailed going to third on a Bill Virdon to Dick Groat to Don Hoak trifecta with the Tiger climbing the ladder on a high relay and coming down with the tag. Pittsburgh took the lead in the seventh when Bill Mazeroski rolled a single up the middle to score Joe Christopher. But the play of the game came in the next frame when Dodger hurler Stan Williams mishandled a bunt, leading eventually to a two-out, two-run double by Dick Groat that kept Pittsburgh three games ahead of Milwaukee and four up on LA. 
• 1966 - Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield was born in Melbourne, Florida. The RH spent his first two seasons (1992-93) as a Buc and went 14-12 with a 4.17 ERA. After a fairly terrible year in AAA Buffalo in 1994, he was released and then spent the next 17 years in Boston, winning 187 games and making an All-Star appearance before hangin’ ‘em up after the 2011 season at the age of 44. Tim is now the NESN studio analyst for the Boston Red Sox. 

• 1969 - Matty Alou was featured on the cover of The Sporting News for the story “Pirate Treasure.” He was a treasure in his second All-Star season, leading the league in hits (231), plate appearances (746), at-bats (698) and doubles (41). His .331 BA was the fifth highest in the majors. 
• 1970 - Pittsburgh outslugged the Braves, 10-7, at Atlanta Stadium behind the hot sticks of Bob Robertson and John Jeter. Robertson went long twice and drove home six runs; the other four runs were chased home by Jeter, who also went yard. Dock Ellis was credited with the win, although Dave Giusti made it interesting in the ninth by giving up three runs on back-to-back Bravo home runs. The victory moved the Bucs back into first place, a game ahead of the Mets. 
• 1971 - Willie Stargell was the cover boy for Sports Illustrated as part of the feature article “Pittsburgh Overpowers the East.” The Bucs did just that, taking the division crown, National League title and World Series championship with 31-year-old Captain Willie leading the way with 48 long balls, 125 RBI, .295 BA and a .628 slugging % as he lifted his game to another level. 
• 1974 - The Bucs took advantage of a couple of Redbird miscues to take a 3-2, 14-inning match from St. Louis at Three Rivers Stadium, snapping a six-game Cardinal winning streak. The Bucs legit run scored on an Al Oliver solo homer. Pittsburgh scored a second run when the Cards muffed a double play. The winner came home after the Cards had already cut down one run at the plate but blew the chance at a second. Richie Hebner singled with two outs and Ed Kirkpatrick at second; he scored uncontested when C Ted Simmons (a future Pirates GM) drifted up the line to track the throw home when he should have covered the plate. 1B Joe Torre had slid over to cut the offline peg and spun to relay the ball only to find Simmons nowhere near the dish, but still 10’ up the baseline. Ramon Hernandez got the win, following Larry Demery and Dave Giusti.

8/2 From 1975: Gott Claimed, Candy & Co Dealt, Vazquez POTW; 26-Out Rallies, Late Magic, Game Tales; Cobra TSN; HBD Daulton & Mark

• 1975 - Dave Parker was featured on the cover of The Sporting News for the story “Lethal Punch.” In his third season, the 24-year-old Cobra put up a .308/25/101 slash during his breakout season for the division-winning Pirates, beginning a streak of five straight .300+ campaigns. 
• 1977 - The Pirates scored twice in the ninth inning to tie the score, 3-3, against Houston at the Astrodome, keeping the blood pumping long enough for Bill Robinson’s two-out, three-run homer off Dan Larson in the top of the 10th to win it. Robinson had tied the game thanks to a misplayed single with Dave Parker aboard the frame before; the throw to third to try to get The Cobra went through third baseman Enos Cabell and both Parker & Robinson scored on the misplay. Larson threw a complete game in a losing effort, giving up just six hits, with five coming in the final 1-2/3 innings. Grant Jackson spun three one-hit frames for the win. 
• 1982 - It took 17 innings, but the Bucs rode a two-run triple by Johnny Ray to a 4-2 victory over the Cards at Busch Stadium. Rick Rhoden and John Stupor left with the game tied at two, with the Bucco tallies coming on a two-out, two-run homer in the eighth by Jason Thompson. Enrique Romo, who pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the 10th, was credited with the win after Rod Scurry and Kent Tekulve put up zeroes. There was plenty going on - the game was the longest of the year to date, the Cards stranded 24! runners, going 2-for-23 w/RISP, and Chuck Tanner was tossed, then put on a skipper show by raging, stomping, posing and finally flinging his cap into the ground in disgust. 
• 1985 - The last-place Pirates dumped a trio of players, trading pitchers John Candelaria and Al Holland along with OF George Hendrick to the Angels for OF Mike Brown and pitchers Pat Clements & Bob Kipper. The deal was triggered to add some youth to the roster while moving two veterans who were described by the media as “disgruntled” with the other in his walk year. 

Jim Gott - 1988 Donruss

• 1987 - One day before his birthday, the Bucs picked up RH reliever Jim Gott off waivers from the SF Giants. In a season plus, he saved 47 games for the Pirates, but an elbow injury in 1989 limited him to one outing, and Pittsburgh let him go in the off season as a free agent. Gott then pitched from 1990-94 for the LA Dodgers, ending his career back in Pittsburgh in 1995. He coached for both the Angels and Phillies but has been out of baseball since 2021. 
• 1990 - The middle four of the Pittsburgh order (Jay Bell, Andy Van Slyke, Bobby Bonilla and Barry Bonds) went 10-for-19 with a double, triple, and four homers, while driving in and scoring all eight of the Pirates runs to lead the Bucs to an 8-5 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Jon Smiley started and got the win despite some shaky relief work behind him; Bob Walk finally calmed Chicago down over the last two frames to stop the bleeding and pick up the save. 
• 1992 - The Bucs were down, 1-0, with two outs in the ninth frame to St. Louis at Three Rivers Stadium with Lee Smith on the hill and Andy Van Slyke on second before rallying for a 2-1 win. Jeff King singled AVS home to tie it and went to second on the play at the plate, then Don Slaught’s knock chased King around for the walkoff win. Randy Tomlin went eight six-hit innings, but Bob Walk notched the victory for putting up a final-frame zero. It also marked the beginning of John Wehner’s 99-game errorless streak at third base. The Rock wouldn’t make another error until October 1st, 2000, in a 10-9 loss to the Cubs, to share the MLB flawless fielding mark at the hot corner with Jeff Cirillo. It was deja vu all over again; his error in 1992 was a bad throw against the Cubs; his streak ended with another errant toss against Chicago nine years later. 
• 1993 - The Cubs beat the Pirates, 12-10, at Wrigley Field in a game marked by seven long balls, six ejections, three brushbacks and a brawl. Carlos Garcia had a pair of homers for the Bucs‚ and was beaned in his next at-bat by Bob Scanlon, eventually triggering a melee when Pirates pitcher Blas Minor took aim at Mark Grace as pay-back (Minor threw behind him; old-school Grace later said he expected to get drilled; if Minor had just hit him, he would jogged to first and there would have been no problems). Sammy Sosa led the Chi-town charge off the bench and several loud debates broke out until Kevin Young found Scanlan and gave him a love tap; Ryne Sandberg came to his defense and the dancing began in earnest. Lloyd McClendon and Al Martin also went long for Pittsburgh in the come-from-ahead loss. Paul Wagner had an 8-2 lead but tried to pitch through a hammy he injured fielding a bunt, allowing the Cubs to come back. 

Mark Mathias - 2023 photo Julio Aguilar/Getty

• 1994 - UT Mark Mathias was born in Santa Clara, California. He was traded to the Bucs by Texas in March, 2023 for a PTBNL (minor league RHP Ricky DeVito). The 28-year old had played for the Brewers and Rangers and was a depth pick-up who fit into the Pirates utility role model by being able to play both corner infield and outfield. Mathias started the season at Indy, but was called up to the big team twice during the ‘23 campaign, waived in July and taken by Seattle. 
• 1995 - The Pirates had won once in the past 11 games and were looking for some help and the Cubs gave them a hand in a 4-3, 10-inning Bucco victory at TRS. Down 3-1 in the eighth, Jacob Brumfield doubled and scored on a Jay Bell single. Bell’s knock got through Sammy Sosa’s wickets and Jay rolled into third, plating on a sac fly. In the 10th, Chicago stranded a runner at third with one away thanks to a couple of smoked but at-’em outs. The first two Bucs went down quietly in their half before John Wehner singled. Cub reliever Anthony Young then caught the Rock leaning, but instead of picking him off, he chucked the throw into right with Wehner scampering to third. Jeff King then hit a ball to the wall in left and Luis Gonzalez leapt to make the catch. But the ball wouldn’t cooperate and popped out of his mitt; Gonzalez tried to recapture it with a baseball tip drill, keeping the ball alive for three taps before it fell to the track for the walk-off dub. Dan Miceli, the third Pittsburgh twirler to follow starter Esteban Loaiza, was credited with the win. 
• 1995 - RHP Daulton Jeffries was born in Merced, California. Jefferies pitched for the California Golden Bears, and was named All-PAC & to the US National team before being picked by the A’s at #37th overall in the 2016 draft. He went through TJ surgery twice, bookending a thoracic outlet problem. Daulton went from Oakland to the Giants as a FA for 2023, making 16 career outings (11 starts) between the clubs with a line of 2-10/6.64. On May 10, 2024, he was traded here by San Francisco for OF Rodolfo Nolasco and was later brought up from Indy as the 27th man in a twin bill, though he didn’t get a call to the hill. He later worked four games before going on the IL (elbow). 
• 2002 - The Bucs walked off with a 6-5 win over the San Francisco Giants at PNC Park. Down a run with two outs in the ninth inning, Jason Kendall lined a single and Jack Wilson followed with a bloop. Brian Giles then drilled Rob Nenn’s 1-2 pitch into left center for a double to plate them both for the win. The trio were down to their, and the game’s, last swing; all three hits came with two strikes. Adam Hyzdu and Rob Mackowiak homered while Brian Boehringer got the win. 

Brian Giles - 2002 Finest

• 2003 - The Pirates beat the Colorado Rockies at PNC in front of 37,820 fireworks night fans by a 1-0 count. The shutout was spun by the unlikely trio of Brian Meadows, Brian Boehringer and Mike Lincoln. Meadows scattered five hits over seven innings and Bo followed with a clean eighth, but left in the ninth frame with an out and Rox on the corners. Lincoln’s first pitch to Jay Payton was tapped to short for a game-ending 6-4-3 that was hotly disputed by the Colorado manager Clint Hurdle (he was still a few years away from making PNC Park his home office), along with the first base coach and Peyton. The Bucco run was scored by Randall Simon in the second inning after a Jose Hernandez double and an RBI bounce out followed Simon’s leadoff walk. 
• 2018 - Pirates closer Felipe Vazquez was named National League Reliever of the Month for July while setup men Kyle Crick and Edgar Santana were also recognized by receiving votes. All-Star Vazquez had a win, eight saves, a 1.46 ERA and 22K in 12-1/3 IP. The Nightmare was the first Pirates RoM since Jason Grilli took the honors in both April and May of 2013.

8/1: Falter, Oviedo, Nova, Bastardo Deals, Benjy Contract; Mr. Lee, Cutch Cannonballs, 6-Run 9th, Willie Rocks, Endless Duels, 20+ Runs, Game Tales; Giles Delayed, Sewell Streak; HBD Freddy, Pete, Milt, Pep & Roy

• 1892 - RHP Roy Sanders was born in Stafford, Kansas. Roy yo-yoed between the Cincy Reds and the minor league American Association Kansas City Blues in 1917, then landed in Pittsburgh in 1918 as the PTBNL in a deal with KC for Fritz Mollwitz. Roy had a decent year, getting in 28 games (14 starts) with a 7-9/2.60 slash, but it would be his last in MLB as he lost his job to the flood of ball players returning from WW1. He went by the monikers of “Butch” and “Pepe.” 
• 1893 - Pittsburgh crushed St. Louis, 25-2, in game one of a twinbill, then won the second contest, 6-1, while cranking out 17 hits at Robison Field. Frank “Lefty” Killen won both games against the Browns (he started both contests, but got a blow from reliever Tom Colcolough in the first game) en route to a 36-win season and even belted a homer. Jake Beckley banged out six hits during the day while Jack Glasscock and Denny Lyons added five more apiece. 
• 1904 - Charlie Case gave up 11 hits but still shut out the Cubs, 4-0, at Expo Park. The difference was in the fielding; Chicago made four errors, all contributing to Pittsburgh scores, while the Pirates played the field flawlessly and occasionally brilliantly. Ginger Beaumont had three hits for the Bucs, while Tommy Leach and Honus Wagner each chipped in a pair of knocks. 
• 1906 - After pitching 10-2/3 innings of no-hit ball at Washington Park, Brooklyn’s Harry McIntyre was finally touched for a single by Pirates 2B Claude Ritchey. Only 31 Bucs faced McIntyre in the first 10 frames, but Pittsburgh finally wore Mac down to beat the Superbas in the 13th when Bob Ganley singled, went to third on Honus Wagner’s double and scored on Joe Nealon’s knock to take a 1-0 decision behind Lefty Leifield, who went the distance while tossing a nine-hitter. 
• 1916 - RHP Elmer “Pep” Rambert was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Pep’s MLB career consisted of two cups of joe with the Bucs from 1939-40, working 12 innings with a line of 0-1/8.25. He did have a long shelf life in the minors where he both hurled and played outfield, winning 68 games and putting up a career .307 BA, then managed in the bushes after retiring.

Wilbur Cooper - 1919 W514 Strip Card

• 1918 - Pittsburgh and Boston played a record 20 scoreless innings, a benchmark for futility that lasted until 1967, before the Pirates won in the 21st frame by a 2-0 score at Braves Field. Art Nehf went all the way for Boston, while Erskine Mayer worked the opening 15 frames for Pittsburgh, followed on the slab by Wilbur Cooper. Cooper scored on Max Carey’s two-out knock and Billy Southworth doubled Carey home with an insurance tally for the overtime victory. 
• 1943 - Rip Sewell won his 11th straight start (he did drop a decision as a reliever during that streak) by a 7-1 count over the Boston Braves at Forbes Field, tossing a three-hitter. Every outing during Sewell’s skein was a complete game victory. Rip was an All Star that year (his first of four straight appearances) and posted his career-best season with a slash of 21-9/2.54. He dropped his next outing to the Cardinals and faded after that loss, finishing 4-5 for the remainder of the year, although he did post three saves (he worked 265-1/3 innings) to keep busy. 
• 1950 - C Milt May was born in Gary, Indiana. May began (1970-73) and ended (1983-84) his career as a Pirate, batting .261 as a reserve catcher. He was a member of the 1971 World Series club and 1972 pennant winners, and hit .400 (2-for-5) as a pinch hitter in the postseason. Milt also made the record books when he drove in the one millionth run in MLB history on May 4th, 1975, with a three-run home run as a Houston Astro. May became the hitting coach for 10 seasons in Pittsburgh (1987–96) with stints with the Florida Marlins, Tampa Bay Devil Rays and as pitching coach for the Colorado Rockies. May was a scout for the Rockies in 2000, then spent the 2001 season as a Pirates minor-league hitting coordinator and is now Orioles minor league coach. 
• 1951 - Pete Mackanin was born in Chicago. He never suited up for the Bucs as a player, but spent several seasons with the club as skipper and coach. After managing the Hickory Crawdads and Lynchburg Hillcats in 2001 and 2002, he became the Bucco bench coach in 2003. After Lloyd McClendon was fired, Mackanin served as the Pirates' interim manager for the last month of 2005, leading the team to a 12–14 record. He spent the next season managing in the Pirates' minor league system at Bradenton before moving on to work for other clubs. He was the Phils manager until 2017, when he was pulled from the dugout and moved to a front office job. 
• 1951 - The Dodgers took a 7-2 lead after three innings against Murry Dickson at Forbes Field, but it wasn’t enough padding as Brooklyn was eventually overwhelmed and lost to the Bucs, 12-9. The Pirates scored four in the fourth inning and four more in the eighth frame, sparked by Ralph Kiner's 27th homer, and snapped da Bums’ winning streak at 10 games. George Strickland drove home three runs and homered. The win went to Bill Werle, save to Ted Wilks. 

George Strickland - 1952 Topps

• 1970 - Willie Stargell smoked three doubles and two home runs against the Braves at Atlanta - Fulton County Stadium. Captain Willie posted six RBI and tied a MLB record with five extra base knocks as the Bucs rolled over the Bravos by a 20-10 tally. Pittsburgh set a club record with 14 extra-base hits and 47 total bases during the match. Bob Robertson added five more knocks to the pot, making Pops and Big Red the first Bucco duo to collect five hits in a game. 
• 1972 - 3B/LF Freddy Garcia (not to be mistaken for the veteran American League pitcher) was born in La Romana, Dominican Republic. He played for the Bucs in 1995 and then from 1997-99 as a bench depth guy, hitting .221 over that span. He was then traded to the Atlanta Braves for a minor league pitcher and finished his MLB career the following season. 
• 1982 - They say that the best way to not hit a home run is to swing for one, but Bill Madlock laid that to rest with a 10th inning game winner against the Mets at Shea Stadium. Mad Dog told the Pittsburgh Press’ Russ Franke that “...I was definitely looking for a home run with two out and nobody on. It was either be a hero or a bum...I just stepped in the bucket and swung.” His blast into the left field bleachers against Terry Leach gave the Bucs a 4-3 victory over New York. Pittsburgh battled back from a 3-1 deficit with a pair of scores in the seventh strung together by Lee Lacy, Dale Berra (he had two RBI on the night) and Willie Stargell. They almost won it in the ninth, but a potential rally was squashed by some happy feet by Berra. Tony Pena blooped a hit into right, but was picked off going to second when a hesitant Berra rounded second late (“I thought the right fielder caught the ball”) and fell down trying to get back to the bag, leaving Pena hung out to dry. But all’s well that ends well; Kent Tekulve got the win and Rod Scurry the save. 
• 1998 - Per Paul Meyer of the Post Gazette, the Pirates had a conditional deal with Seattle set up that would have landed Brian Giles in Pittsburgh, but it was inadvertently blown up by the Houston Astros. The Mariners were set to deal Randy Johnson to the Indians, and part of the return would have been Giles, who was then supposed to be flipped to the Bucs (GM Cam Bonifay tactfully refused to name the Pirate player who was part of the foiled trade). But the Tribe lost the bidding war five minutes before the midnight deadline to the ‘Stros, and there was no time for them and the Pirates to reach a side deal. It would wait until the offseason when Ricardo Rincon went to Cleveland for Giles, who patrolled the Bucco outfield for the next 4-1/2 years. To add a little salt to the wound, the Big Unit pitched the next night against the Buccos and whipped them, 6-2. 

Mike Benjamin - 2002 Upper Deck

• 2000 - The Pirates announced that they had signed IF Mike Benjamin to a two-year contract extension with $1.85M guaranteed and another $600K available in bonus bucks. The 34-year-old Benjamin hit .270 for the Pirates in 2000, then missed all of the 2001 season with a bad elbow. He came back in 2002 , but hit just .150 in 108 games before retiring. 
• 2003 - Trailing the Rockies, 11-6, with one out and nobody on in the bottom of the ninth, the Pirates rallied for the win at PNC Park. Craig Wilson, Reggie Sanders and Jose Hernandez packed the sacks. Jack Wilson’s single scored one run and a grounder brought home another Bucco. With two down, a passed ball made it 11-9 before pinch hitter Jeff Reboulet walked. Tike Redman, who had just been called up, tripled home a pair to tie the game, and Jason Kendall lined a single to left for the win. Duaner Sanchez, the Pirates fourth pitcher, got the victory. 
• 2009 - Andrew McCutchen tied a club record by homering three times in Pittsburgh’s 11-6 victory over the Washington Nats at PNC Park. Cutch became the 10th player in club history to go long three times in the same game, the first since Aramis Ramirez launched a trio on April 8th, 2001, and the first Buc rookie to swat three bombs in a single game. His blasts accounted for six RBI as Andrew hit a solo home run in the first inning to lead off the game against starter Craig Stammen, a two-run shot in the fourth frame off Tyler Clippard and then a three-run tater in the sixth inning off Logan Kensing, falling a grand slam short of hitting for a natural home run cycle. 
• 2011 - At 54-53, the Pirates were making a run to at least break the .500 mark, something they hadn’t accomplished in 18 years. They strengthened the roster and brought in 1B Derek Lee, who debuted on this date. He did his part, banging two homers and driving in all three Bucco runs in a 5-3 loss to his old club, the Chicago Cubs, at PNC Park. Pittsburgh’s luck continued to run cold though, as the veteran 1B broke his wrist two days later after being hit by a pitch, and the Pirates went 8-20 in the weeks that he missed. He did get into 28 games overall, batting .337 with seven homers and 18 RBI, and then, not finding a deal he liked, retired at age 36. 
• 2014 - Behind 4-0 in the fifth inning, the Pirates went on a late rampage to bury the Arizona Diamondbacks, 9-4, at Chase Field. Pittsburgh scored three runs in the eighth frame, keyed by Pedro Alvarez’s two-run pinch hit double. The Bucs exploded for five more tallies in the ninth. Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer led off with doubles, Andrew McCutchen was intentionally walked and four of the next five Pirates bopped singles. Harrison, Mercer and Cutch batted 1-2-3 and had six hits, two walks and seven runs scored in the win. Tony Watson was the winner. 

Ivan Nova - 2016 Topps Update

• 2016 - Given an extra 24 hours to wheel and deal because the usual 7/31 deadline fell on a Sunday, the Bucs FO burned the phone lines. First, they got rental RHP Ivan Nova from the NY Yankees for two PTBNL (OF Tito Polo and LHP Stephen Tarpley). After going 5-2/3.06, they made the relationship more permanent by signing Nova to a three-year contract. They returned Jon Niese to the Mets (he was traded to Pittsburgh before the season for Neil Walker) for lefty reliever Antonio Bastardo (who was a Pirate in 2015 and left as a FA), and finally sent LHP Francisco Liriano, along with prospects OF Harold Ramirez and C Reese McGuire, to Toronto for RHP Drew Hutchison; Francisco returned to the Bucco fold in 2019. The Blue Jays picked up the approximately $17M left on Frankie’s contract for 2016-17, and that cost the Pirates the big prospect package. 
• 2022 - In a deadline deal, extended as 7/31 fell on a Sunday, the Pirates sent RHPs Jose Quintana, 33, and Chris Stratton, 31, to the St. Louis Cardinals for RHP Johan Oviedo and 1B/3B Malcom Nunez, a power-hitting AA prospect. Q, signed as a free agent in the offseason, went 3-5/3.50 in 20 starts as the Pirates most effective starter while Stratton, who joined the Bucs in 2019 and posted a Pittsburgh line of 15-7-10/3.98. Oviedo, 24, was 2-9/4.65 with 19 of his 33 MLB outings as a starter. The 21-year-old Nunez had 17 HRs and was converted from 3B to 1B when he arrived. Oviedo was optioned to Indy and Nunez to Altoona as RHPs Chase De Jong came off the IL and Colin Holderman was called up from Indy to replenish the active roster. Oviedo became part of the Pirates starting rotation in '23, but had TJ surgery this year while Nunez was injured and has spent the last three years in AAA. 
• 2023 - 1B Ji Man Choi (.205/6/11) and LHP Rich Hill (7-10/4.76) were shipped to the San Diego Padres for prospects LHP Jackson Wolf, 1B/OF Alfonso Rivas and OF Estuar Suero in a deadline deal. Choi became a Buc via trade and Hill as a FA during the off season. Wolf, 24, was a 4th round pick in 2021 after tossing for WVU and was flipped back to San Diego. Rivas, 26, was a good-glove guy with not much power currently playing in the Cards system. 17-year-old switch hitter Suero is a lotto ticket playing in the Florida Rookie League. Later in the day, Pittsburgh sent C Austin Hedges to Texas for international bonus pool space; he is currently with Cleveland. In a final minor swap, Pittsburgh traded IF Rodolfo Castro, 24, to the Philadelphia Phillies for LHP Bailey Falter, 26. Rudy has spent 2024 in AAA while Bailey has claimed a spot in the rotation.