Sunday: Francisco Liriano v Robbie Ray; Lineup, Notes

Today: The Bucs close it out in Arizona at 4:10 in the decisive game of the series. The game will be on Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.

Pitchers: Frankie Liriano (1-1, 4.11) meets Robbie Ray (1-0, 1.96). With Francisco, it's a matter of command. He's been walking a man per inning and running up his pitch count; he hasn't made it into the sixth in his last two starts. Liriano was 1-0/3.38 against the D-Backs in two starts last year, holding them to a .178 BA but issuing nine walks in 13 IP. He's pitched well at Chase Field, where he owns a 1.96 ERA in three starts.

Batters are waiting Frankie out (just a 38% swing rate, compared to 45% last year), and with good reason. He has a 19% walk rate, and that's largely because his first strike rate is down to 49% this year; it was 58% in 2015.  Instead of Liriano getting guys in the hole and putting his swing-and-miss slider in play, he's the one working behind. Easy enough cure - throw a dang strike to start these guys off.

Ray, who won the Snakes fifth spot in camp, tossed six shutout innings in his last start against the Giants. The southpaw is 0-2/5.73 in two starts against the Pirates.

Frankie's been taking a walk on the wild side this year (photo USA Today)

Lineup: Jordy Mercer SS, Cutch CF, David Freese 3B, Starling Marte LF, Jason Rogers 1B, S-Rod 2B, Gregory Polanco RF, Stew C, Liriano P. These lefty lineups are always interesting. Fran and Josh are getting maintenance days, and Rogers gets another call at first (though hitless in his first start, he did make solid contact and drew a walk). We also like that El Coffee is getting thrown into the fire; the Bucs didn't sign him to be a platoon guy.

• Frankie has been on fire with his stick. He's 4 for 6 with three RBIs at the plate this season and hitting .361 with a home run and 10 RBIs over his past 16 starts.
• The D-Backs are in a hot stretch. They've won 6-of-7 thanks to some strong mound work; in the past five games, Arizona starters have pitched to a 2.70 ERA.
• Old Buccos - Charlie Morton landed on the DL with a bad hammy , while Neil Walker hit his seventh HR and has bumped his BA up to .288, with a -0.3 defensive WAR.

4/24: Allen's No-Hitter, Maholm's Gem, First Expo Park HR, Jaku & More

• 1891 - Fred Carroll hit the first home run by a Pirate in Exposition Park (they played the year prior in nearby Recreation Park as the Alleghenys) as the Bucs defeated the Chicago Colts 11-8 for their first victory ever in Pittsburgh. They had become the Pirates in the off season, when they “pirated” Lou Bierbauer from the Philadelphia A’s. 

Fred Carroll 1887 Buchner Gold Coin

• 1903 - Honus Wagner was having a bad day in the field, booting three balls that helped the Cardinals head into the ninth with a 7-6 lead at Exposition Park, but his bat helped erase the deficit. He tripled in the ninth and scored the tying run on a Kitty Bransfield single. Then with two away in the eleventh, the Flying Dutchman walked, stole second and came around with the game winner on another Bransfield knock. Wagner collected four hits including two triples along with two runs scored, four RBI‚ and three stolen bases.
• 1915 - Pittsburgh Rebel southpaw Frank Allen tossed a 2-0 no-hitter against the St. Louis Terriers at Handlan Park in the last year of the Federal League, the short-lived (1913-15) major league “outlaw” option to the National and American Leagues. Allen went on to pitch a couple more seasons for the NL Boston Braves. The Federal League was absorbed by the NL & AL, and a suit the FL filed eventually led to the still existent ruling that exempted baseball from antitrust laws.
• 1934 - The Bucs rallied to defeat the Gashouse Gang from St. Louis 5-4 at Forbes Field in their home opener. Behind 4-2 going into the ninth, Freddie Lindstrom homered over the LF wall with two aboard, and his walk-off gave the Pirates the win over the future NL champs.

Freddie Lindstrom 1933 DeLong

• 2007 - Paul Maholm tossed his first major league complete game after allowing three hits and throwing 99 pitches in the 3-0 shutout victory over the Astros at PNC Park. The game took just 1 hour and 57 minutes to complete. Jason Bay had three hits and drove in a pair while Ronny paulino added a solo shot.
• 2010 - Chris Jakubauskas, in the first inning of his first appearance of the year, was struck in the head by a liner off the bat of Houston's Lance Berkman. The 31-year old right-hander left the field on a stretcher, but was later diagnosed with just a concussion and not a fracture as first feared. Jaku wouldn’t pitch for the Bucs any more that year, but tossed for Baltimore the following season. The Pirates lost the game 5-2.

Bats & Pen Go Cold; D-Backs Run Away Late 7-1

JJ wasted no time; he led off with a two-bagger against Rubby De La Rosa, and Cutch was plunked. A tapper moved them up, but they died on the bases; Starling had an especially brutal at bat. S-Rod at short laid back on a roller, costing a leg hit. But no harm; Juan did walk a guy, but no one got past second. The next frame, S-Rod atoned when he drilled a two out, 3-2 fastball over the RF wall to make it 1-0. In a quirk of bad umping, Rubby had lost Rodriguez the pitch before but blue blew the call. A leadoff walk (Nicasio was up 0-2 but lost him after nine pitches) hurt when a double sent him home to make it 1-1.

The Bucs were quiet in the third, leaving a beaned Freese at first. David Peralto gave the Snakes the lead when he sent a two-out, 3-2 meat ball into the seats. The roof opened for the fourth as the sun set. The Pirates stranded an opening walk; the D-Backs left a two out free pass aboard with Nicasio at 83 pitches and near the end of his leash. 1-2-3 for Pittsburgh in the fifth; Juan gave up another two out walk, this one on an iffy check swing call that brought Clint out of the dugout. It almost hurt, but a long fly ended it. Nicasio went five, giving up two runs on three hits with four walks and four whiffs on 101 tosses.

Cutch may be due for a blow; he's hitting just .217 (photo Pgh Pirates)

De La Rosa changed up from a slider-heavy diet to fastballs away, and worked a clean inning. Arquimedes Caminero gave up yet another walk but no other damage. Gregory opened with a single off Tyler Clippert in the seventh and was tossed out stealing; he slipped a bit as he took his break. Josh followed with a bunt hit. Clippert's bacon was saved by a great grab of a S-Rod liner in left by Yasmany Tomas. That was followed by a walk and a passed ball moved them, but JJ couldn't chase them home, flying out to the track. A lot of sparks that inning but no fire. AJ Schugel faced his former mates and tucked them away.

Daniel Hudson did the same to the Bucs in the eighth. AJ didn't have any such luck; the first four Snakes went after the first pitch, and three of them singled, making it 3-1. The next batter hit a ball right at David Freese; it went through him for an error, and Marte's throw home hit the runner to make it 4-1 while giving the D-Back's an extra base. Herrmann homered (he was hitting .160 coming into the game, but has a HR & 2B with four RBI), and the fat lady was stage right. In came Rob Scahill to get the last two outs.

Enrique Burgos took the ball and tucked the Bucs into bed. Final score: 7-1 Arizona.

Juan had command issues, but a promising change up tonight. (photo Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

The Buc bats finally went dead; four hits won't win ya many games. Rubby owns them. In two starts, he's gone 13 IP with two runs allowed on six hits, and generally made the Pirate hitters look as if they've never seen a slider before. The bullpen again threw gas on a fire, but in justice, if Freese turns two instead of pulling an ole, they did OK. It doesn't take an Einstein to figure out that a string of five inning starts will frazzle and overexpose any relief corp, even an eight-man unit.

As for Juan, he did OK too, and later began using his change. If he trusts it and shows it in games, he may stick as a starter although the staff overall might be stronger if he was in the pen. The team has way too many holes pitching; we'd expect a quick call to get Hughes back, and wonder if the Bucs will pull the trigger on Jameson Taillon before Super 2 time in June. As for now, let's see if Frankie can throw a couple of strikes and take the series for the Bucs tomorrow afternoon.

• John Jaso's hitting streak is now at 12 games. 
• The only Pirate to reach base twice tonight was S-Rod, with a long fly and a walk.
• It ain't easy catching. Fran took a foul ball off his right thigh in the fifth and went down like a shot, but stayed in. He was also spotted flexing his hand that had taken an earlier foul.
• Charlie Morton injured his hammy and had to be helped off the field; no telling how much time Ground Chuck (1-1, 4.15) will miss for the Phils.

Saturday - Juan Nicasio v Rubby De La Rosa, Lineup, Notes

Tonight: It's an 8:10 start at Arizona. The game will be on Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.

Pitchers: Juan Nicasio (2-1, 4.80) toes the rubber against Rubby De La Rosa (1-3, 8.44). Juan has been erratic since returning to the rotation; he may still be feeling his way around after spending 2015 in the Dodger bullpen. He's seen the Snakes plenty as a Western Division hurler, and not put up great numbers. Nicasio is 3-2/6.44 in 17 outings lifetime, with seven starts. De La Rosa, used as a swing man by Arizona this season, can pile up the whiffs but gets deep in counts and will give up the long tater. He's only faced Pittsburgh once. That was last year, and he gave up just one run in seven innings, limiting the Pirates to four hits while fanning eight.

Juan tries to find some consistency (photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

Lineup: John Jaso 1B,Cutch CF, David Freese 3B, Starling Marte LF, Fran Cervelli C, Gregory Polanco RF, Josh Harrison 2B, S-Rod SS, Nicasio P. Not surprising that Clint is trying to take advantage of Rodriguez's hot bat, but Jordy's been smoking the ball lately too. Don't believe he's hurt; prob just due for a maintenance day.

• An old friend is in the stands - Steady Freddy Sanchez is at tonight's game.
• Jared Hughes is scheduled to pitch two innings Sunday and will be evaluated after that. He's just about ready.
• Doesn't get much better: Indy's Jameson Taillon threw a six inning goose egg, giving up a hit, a beaned batter and whiffing six on 88 pitches, of which 62 were strikes. Lotta talk about Tyler Glasnow, but unless Taillon hits a bump, he looks like the next man up come June.
• Pirates Prospects reports that OF Austin Meadows, who was at Pirate City rehabbing from an orbital fracture, has been cleared to play and will be at Altoona tomorrow.

Pirates Hang On For 8-7 Win, Game & Indy Notes

It wasn't easy and it wasn't pretty, but the Bucs outlasted Arizona to take an 8-7 victory at Chase Field last night. Pittsburgh had leads of 5-1 and 8-4, but the Snakes kept slithering back. It was a wild one from start to finish, with the two squads banging six home runs, five doubles and a triple among the 28 hits.

It started quietly enough. Patrick Corbin and Jonathan Niese both gave up lead off singles, and both got DP balls. In the second, everything the Bucs hit was hard. Josh doubled and with two outs, S-Rod and Gregory went deep back-to-back, with both blasts being monumental shots (Rodriguez went 458' & Polanco 461'). It was Polanco's first homer of the year, and off a lefty for bonus points. David Peralta also played long ball  for the D-Backs in their half to make it 3-1.

Bombs away for Serpico (photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

Jordy led off the third frame with a ball that outdistanced the other drives at 466'. Starling doubled with two out, breaking into a home run trot prematurely, but still made it to third on an error. He came in on Josh's knock. Arizona answered with three straight singles to make it 5-2. Pittsburgh went quietly in the fourth. Welington Castillo led off with a homer, and with two gone, a triple and double by the 8-9 hitters made it interesting again at 5-4.

The Bucs had a 1-2-3 inning in the fifth; Niese used another DP ball to keep the D-backs off the board. Pittsburgh laid a goose egg in the sixth, and Jon was yanked after a single and walk with one out. Neftali Feliz came in to get a strikeout and comebacker. David Freese and Jordy reached with one gone in the seventh; Cutch and Fran singles cashed them in. Tony Watson took the ball, and used 10 pitches to toss a clean frame.

The Pirates added on in the eighth on a Josh double, bunt and S-Rod knock to make it 8-4, and the game looked like it was money in the bank as Tony came out for a second inning (he hadn't worked since Saturday).

But nooooooooo....  Castillo homered to lead off. A double came around on Jordy's two-out boot. Mark Melancon got the call at that point, with Tony's pitch count up to 26. Melancon was looking for a multi-inning (OK, four out) save, but three straight singles made the score 8-7. Two of the hits should have been outs, but The Shark bobbled a flip to first and Jordy lobbed a throw (appeared to be a bad grip on the ball) that was beat out, though it took a review. MM finally got a properly fielded bouncer to end the damage with the score 8-7.

The Shark, bloodied but unbowed, notched his 4th save (photo Daniel Kubus/Pirates)

A DP ended the Bucs ninth; The Shark came back with a 1-2-3 effort, though Castillo didn't miss his third long ball by much and the second out was a liner smoked to Freese before a routine grounder put it to bed.

Can't whine about RISP, LOB or power outages tonight. Pittsburgh was 5-for-8 w/RISP, stranded just four runners (three DPs kept that total down) and had three doubles to go with three homers. But geez, that pitching. We assume Jared Hughes is going to have a short rehab period; the bullpen needs all hands on deck about now.

• Per ESPN Stats, El Coffee and  S-Rod have the longest back-to-back homers in MLB history, surpassing the 2011 mark of 912' by Ryan Braun & Prince Fielder of the Brew Crew. ESPN had the distance at 925' and Statcast at 919', and either way, that's some long taters. Statcast measured Jordy's homer at 466', the longest of the year to date.
• Josh and Jordy each had three hits; once again, every starting position player reached base at least once.
• Mark Melancon earned his first four-out save since 2011 as a Houston Astro. Tony Watson got into the act, too, batting for the first time since 2014.
• Jon Niese is 3-0 to start a season for the first time in his career. 
• Pretty good start for S-Rod, too. In 20 PA, he's gotten six hits (2B & two HR), drawn six walks, scored five times, driven in eight runs and slashed .429/.600/.929. His OPS+ is 309.
• Indy's Josh Bell hit for the cycle last night with a grand slam and five RBI.  Bell is slashing .292/.414/.583 with four doubles, three homers, and 14 RBI in 13 games. Stephen Brault (1-1, 2.63) tossed five innings of strong ball - he gave up an unearned run on two hits, with four walks and nine whiffs as the Indians romped 13-1.

4/23: Losing Bet, HBD Genie, Happy Jack & Rube HoF, More Runs Than Fans & More

• 1890 - The Pittsburgh Alleghenys beat the Cleveland Spiders 20-12 at Recreation Park in front of a crowd of 17 (with six paid) in a yard that held 17,000. Smart fans - the team finished last in the NL with a record of 23–113, 66-1/2 games behind the first place Brooklyn Bridegrooms. According to Wikipedia, Recreation Park was also known as Union Park and later, the Allegheny Athletic Association Grounds. It was tucked between Allegheny Ave, Pennsylvania Ave, Galveston Ave and Behan St in Allegheny West. No pictures of it as a baseball field are known to exist, though there are a couple of newspaper shots of Pitt playing football there. The baseball team left for Exposition Park in 1891 and Pitt followed suit in 1904.

Recreation Park in the 1880s during a carnival (photo via the Post Gazette)

• 1902 - St. Louis Cardinals owner Frank Robison put up a $10‚000 challenge that the Pirates wouldn’t repeat as NL champions. Pittsburgh players pooled their money to meet the bet, and then collected easily as they won the pennant by 27-1/2 games. St Louis finished sixth, 44-1/2 games off the Pirates’ pace.
• 1917 - RHP Gene “Genie” Smith was born in Ashley, Louisiana. He pitched for the the Homestead Grays between 1946–1947. During his career, he threw three no-hitters, played in the East-West All Star game and in the Negro World Series, although not with Homestead. He joined them after spending three years in the service and never had another big season afterward, retiring after the 1951 campaign.
• 1922 - Second baseman Cotton Tierney collected a career-high five hits, doubled three times and knocked in a game-high four runs in Pittsburgh’s 14-3 rout of the Cubs in Chicago. The Bucs broke the game open with an eight run second inning and then added two more runs an inning later to make it 10-0. It was Pittsburgh’s sixth straight win after beginning the season with losses in each of the first three games. Hal Carlson took the win at Wrigley.

Cotton Tierney 1921 (photo Bob Dorman)

• 1946 - RHP “Happy Jack” Chesbro was elected to the Hall of Fame. A spitballer who won 41 games in 1904 for the NY Highlanders, he tossed for the Pirates at the beginning of his career from 1899-1902, with a line of 70-38/2.89. Also selected was Rube Waddell, a colorful hurler who began his career with Pittsburgh in 1900-01. They were inducted on June 12th.
• 1946 - The Bucs sold 1B Ellsworth “Babe” Dahlgren to the St. Louis Browns. Dahlgren hit .271 with 176 RBI in his two year stint with the Bucs, but faded badly with the Browns as a 34-year old, and ‘46 was his last season in the show. He’s famous as the man who replaced Lou Gehrig in 1939 while with the Yankees.
• 1947 - The Bucs were out of the gate in a hurry, winning their sixth of the first seven games of the season by an 8-5 count over the Cards at Sportsman’s Park. Billy Cox and Eddie Basinski each homered and combined for seven RBI. Ed Bahr tossed 6-1/3 shutout innings, giving up just three hits, to win in relief.

Billy Cox 1947 (photo Associated Press)

• 1962 - The Bucs record setting ten game, season-opening winning streak was derailed by the Mets and Jay Hook at Forbes Field. It was the first regular season victory ever for NY as they won 9-1, and it started the Pirates on a spiral of losing 13-of-17 games.
• 1966 - The Pirates scored three times in the ninth inning to pull out a 5-4 win against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Pittsburgh trailed 4-2 heading into the ninth before Bob Bailey, Jim Pagliaroni and Jose Pagan each hit solo homers off Dennis Aust and Hal Woodeshick to power the Bucs past the Cards.

Friday - Jon Niese v Patrick Corbin, Lineup, Rogers for Figgy, Notes

Tonight: The Pirates travel to Arizona's Chase Field, with first pitch at 9:40 PM. The game will be carried on Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.

Pitchers: Jon Niese (2-0, 3.50) opens the set against Patrick Corbin (1-1, 2.75) in a southpaw throwdown. Niese is coming off a strong start Saturday, with his ground ball mojo working. He's not had much luck in this ballyard, though, going 1-2 /6.26 lifetime. Corbin tossed 100 pitches in his last outing, signaling that he may be all the way back physically from TJ surgery that cost him all of the 2014 campaign and part of last year. The D-Back lefty hasn't climbed the hill against Pittsburgh since 2012.

Jon Niese takes the ball tonight (phtot Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

Lineup: Jordy Mercer SS, Cutch CF, Fran Cervelli C, Starling Marte LF, Josh Harrison 2B, Jason Rodgers 1B, S-Rod 3B, Gregory Polanco RF, Niese P.  Lefty lineup shakeup; Jason Rogers (who has seen lots of MLB time with the Brewers) is thrown right into the fire and Gregory, who has been battling lefties this year, stays in while David Freese gets a blow.

It'll be an interesting series for Clint to work his match ups; the Snakes will bookend a pair of lefties against the Buccos. Pittsburgh misses Shelby Miller and Zack Greinke on this visit. The D-backs are returning home on a roll after sweeping the Giants in a four game set and winning 2-of-3 at San Diego prior to that. The Pirates have won all three of Jon Niese's starts, and were 5-1 against Arizona last year, making for a head-on collision of trends.

• With two lefties coming up, the Bucs called up Jason Rogers and optioned Cole Figeroa to Indy. Rogers is slashing .366/.435/.683 with three homers and 10 RBI in 11 games at Indy, and  a hot-hitting RH-1B would come in handy. That makes jack-of-all trades S-Rod as the sole middle infield option off the bench, and shows how much faith the Pirates have in their pitchers to still leave the pine a man short. There should be movement soon with the pitching; Jared Hughes could be recalled in a heartbeat.

The Bucs brought up hot bat Jason Rogers and thossed him right into the lineup.
(photo Tiffany Tompkins/Bradento Herald)

• Jason Rogers will wear #15, last sported by Andrew Lambo and Ike Davis. 
• Marc Hulet of Fangraphs has a post "Here Come the Prospects" with Jameson Taillon, Austin Meadows and Ke'Bryan Hayes featured.
• A story that will have some legs: due to concerns over the Zika virus, the Pirates players are questioning whether their May 30-31st set against the Marlins in Puerto Rico shouldn't be cancelled. The union, MLB and even the CDC are all involved in the discussion. Adam Berry of MLB.com examines the issues.

Bucs Rock Friars 11-1; Off to Arizona

The Cole Train gave the Bucs what they needed - six excellent innings. And they were excellent; he shut out the Padres on four hits with seven whiffs and nary a walk while tossing 97 pitches. One runner reached third against him. It was the break the beleaguered long guys needed. After multi-inning outings the past couple of days, Ryan Vogelsong, AJ Schugel and Kyle Lobstein weren't available, and Gerrit didn't need their help.

Cole Train rollin'... (photo Ronald Martinez/USA Today)

The Bucs, thanks to J-Hay, had built up a 3-0 pad off James Shields by that point. With two gone in the second and no one aboard, Starling doubled and Josh's knock brought him home for the game's first run. In the fourth, the same pair teamed up on the Padres again. Marte opened with an infield knock, moved to third on a pair of bouncers and scored on Harrison's dink to right. Josh then stole second and came around on two wild pitches.

The next couple of frames went by quietly before the Pirates broke it open. Josh reached on first on a wild pitch K; Padre pitchers issued three walks and beaned two batters. The Buccos on their own rattled off five hits, three of them two baggers. They scored eight times, and the bases were loaded when they made the third out. Pittsburgh sent up 13 batters; pinch hitter Matt Joyce was the only one that didn't reach base.

Cole actually batted twice that frame, and was one of the guys bopped; that was the only downside of the inning. He was likely slated to go another inning, but between the length of the frame and the bruise, Clint opted, wisely enough, to send him to the hot water. After he left, the bullpen cruised to the finish line; Neftali Feliz, Rob Scahill (he gave up the run on what was maybe a payback HBP, grounder & single) and The Shark, getting in some work, took it home.

J-Hay all day... (photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

It was good to see the Bucs break out of their scoring doldrums (6-for-12 w/RISP, yay), albeit against a AAA guy who just got called up. Josh did his Energizer Bunny thing today, sparking the club's attack. Gerrit showed a good change again; with his high 90s heater and slider, that third pitch is becoming a devastating tool.

The Pirates are off to open a three game set against Arizona tonight with Jon Niese facing Patrick Corbin in the opener.

• JJ, Starling, Fran, El Coffee, and J-Hay collected two hits. Marte, Polanco and Harrison scored twice; David Freese, Cervelli and Harrison had a pair of RBI.
• John Jaso has the longest hitting streak of his career, stretching the string to 11 games in a row. 
• Five of Pittsburgh's starters are hitting at a .300 or better clip - JJ (.368), Fran (.340), Starling (.328), Gregory (.302) and Josh (.302). David Freese (.283) and Jordy (.273) are both more than holding up their ends; imagine the attack if Cutch (.230) wasn't having another slow star.
• The eight run inning was a season high for the Pirates and 11 runs the season high for a game.
• After back-to-back games, Jung Ho Kang sat out last night's Indy contest out. Cory Luebke (hamstring) began his rehab stint with two scoreless frames, and Jared Hughes worked a perfect inning on the back end of consecutive appearances.

4/22: HBD Terrible Ted, 1st PNC Walkoff, Expo Park Opens, 10 In A Row, Much More...

• 1891 - The Pirates played their first game at Exposition Park, located on the North Shore of the Allegheny River across from downtown Pittsburgh, not far from where PNC Park sits. Pittsburgh lost to the Chicago Cubs 7-6. The Pittsburg Press printed a special “Sporting Edition” that included a game story and illustrations. The 16,000 seat yard featured 400-foot foul lines and a 450-foot center field fence. It was their home field until 1909, when Forbes Field opened in Oakland.
• 1892 - The Pirates set a franchise record when they scored twelve times in the first inning against St. Louis at Expo Park, beating the Browns 14-3. The game provided this footnote: Pittsburgh OF Elmer Smith worked a pair of free passes in that opening frame, the first time a player was walked twice in one inning.
• 1898 - Cincinnati's Ted Breitenstein tossed a no-hitter against the Pirates, winning easily by an 11-0 count at League Field. He struck out two, walked one, and another runner reached via error. All in all, the Pittsburg Press saw fit to call it “...a wonderful feat.”
• 1902 - The Pirates and their opponents, the Cincinnati Reds, marched in a raucous parade from the Monongahela House hotel to Exposition Park for the Home Opener that was seen by thousands, the Pittsburg Press wrote on the front page. The Bucs raised their 1901 pennant flag over the ballyard in front of a record 15,000 fans and then edged the Reds 4-3, overcoming an early three run deficit. Tommy Leach scored the winning run in the eighth, singling and then advancing from first-to-third on a bunt. He scored on starting (and winning) pitcher Sam Leever’s sac fly.

1902 - Parade before, parade after...

• 1903 - Theodore Roosevelt “Terrible Ted” Page was born in Glasgow, Kentucky. The speedy and gritty OF’er played for the Homestead Grays (1931-32) and Pittsburgh Crawfords (1932-34). He grew up in Youngstown, and turned down a football scholarship offered by Ohio State to focus on baseball. The lefty Page batted .335 for his career, but injured his knee in 1934, leading eventually to his retirement in 1937. He stayed in Pittsburgh, and his sports focus switched. After baseball, Page ran bowling alleys, including Meadow Lanes (he was hired to work there by former teammate Jack Marshall), and wrote a bowling column for the Pittsburgh Courier. He met a tragic end, beaten to death at home during a robbery, and is buried at Allegheny Cemetery.
• 1913 - Manager Fred Clarke was suspended for five days after a “run in” with umpire Brick Owens, who rang up a Red at Forbes Field for the final out of a Bucco win on 4/19, only to change his mind and decide it was a ball, after all. The Pirates had started to trot off the field, allowing a runner to scoot to third while the club was in disarray. It became a moot point when the Bucs held on for a 6-5 win over Cincinnati. Afterward, Clarke admitted that he had used “forceful language” in arguing his case, but given the circumstances, was upset with the time off. First-place Pittsburgh was already missing injured stars SS Hans Wagner and C George Gibson, and would shortly start a slide that dropped them out of contention.
• 1937 - Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Truijillo signed several players from the Crawfords including Cool Papa Bell, Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige, to his Dragones of Ciudad Trujillo squad. It was the blow that eventually brought down the Pittsburgh team as a powerhouse Negro League club. The Crawfords were sold in 1939 and moved to Toledo.
• 1941 - Pitcher Mace Brown was sold to the Brooklyn Dodgers. Mace had spent seven years as a Pirate, doing everything from starting to closing, but with Brooklyn was converted to one of the first full-time relievers. He was fairly effective over the next three years, but lost 1944-45 to the war while serving in the Navy, and 1946 was his last MLB campaign.

Mace Brown 1941 Double Play

• 1949 - The Pirates won their home opener‚ beating the Reds‚ 5-4. Ralph Kiner's 3rd-inning grand slam was the key blow. The Bucs had fallen behind 4-0 in the first, but Bill Werle tossed 7-2/3 frames of scoreless relief to claim the win.
• 1951 - Led by Gus Bell‚ who belted a homer‚ three doubles and a single while scoring three times‚ the Pirates defeated the Reds 7-5 at Crosley Field. Bill Werle tossed 2-1/3 scoreless relief frames to claim the win.
• 1957 - Hank Foiles hit a 425’ triple and a 258’ homer off the RF foul pole in a 3-1 loss to the Giants at the weirdly configured Polo Grounds. Willie Mays hit a two-out, three-run homer in the third off Luis Arroyo to carry NY to victory.
• 1962 - The Pirates won their tenth straight game since Opening Day, 4-3, equaling the major league record to start a season. Bob Veale beat the Mets at Forbes Field; the NY nine tied a NL record going in the opposite direction by opening the year 0-9. The Pirates won it in the bottom of the eighth when Bill Mazeroski’s double scored Roberto Clemente.
• 1993 - Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield won his second consecutive start while walking nine batters when he ended a five game Bucco skid with a 5-4 decision over the Cincinnati Reds at Three Rivers Stadium. He only allowed four hits while going the distance. Wakefield made it a nail biter by walking the bases loaded on 14 pitches after two outs in the ninth, but Barry Larkin inexplicably offered at the first pitch following that third free pass and tapped into a game-ending comebacker. Lonnie Smith led a balanced attack with two RBI and a run scored, while Carrick’s John Wehner made his first pro start in center field, replacing Andy Van Slyke. 

Tim Wakefield 1993 Leaf

• 1997 - The Pirates signed OF Turner Ward to a $300K deal after he had was released by the Brewers. He had two solid years for the Bucs, including an all-time TV moment when he crashed through the TRS wall. But he hit under the Mendoza line in 1999 and was released in August.
• 2001 - Jason Kendall gave the Bucs their first walkoff win at PNC Park with a two-run homer off Chicago’s Jeff Fassero in the 10th inning. The Cubs took a 3-2 lead in the top of the 10th on a leadoff homer by Gary Matthews. But in the home half, Kevin Young delivered a pinch-hit single and Kendall followed with his blast to give the Bucs and Mike Williams the win.
• 2010 - The Pirates were humiliated by the Brewers at PNC Park 20-0 for their worst loss ever. Six Bucco pitchers surrendered 25 hits. The victory completed a three-game sweep of the Bucs in which the Brew Crew outscored Pittsburgh, 36-1.

Thursday: Cole v Shields, Lineup, Notes

Today: The first pitch is at 9:10 and will be on MLB Network and 93.7 The Fan.

Pitchers: Gerrit Cole (0-2, 4.22) closes the series against James Shields (0-2, 4.05). The Cole Train looked more comfortable last outing after his short training camp. The key for him is to try to avoid that one dragged out inning that always seems to bite him. Big Game James is a veteran workhorse, eating innings and keeping the club in the hunt, tho he has been bitten by the home run bug this year. He's only faced the Pirates twice, both last season and coming without a decision, but with a shiny 1.38 ERA.

Cole Train chugs up the hill (photo Ed Absalon/USA Today)

Lineup: John Jaso 1B, Cutch CF, David Freese 3B, starling Marte LF, Fran Cervelli C, Gregory Polanco RF, Josh Harrison 2B, Jordy SS, Cole P. Back to the usual gang with another righty on the hill.

• Anthony Castrovince of Sports on Earth has 10 off-season signings that are paying dividends; the Bucs are involved in two. One was a guy they got, John Jaso, and the other was a guy they let get away, JA Happ. 
• Michael Morse cleared waivers and was released by the Pirates. The Pirates are on the hook for $4.67M of his remaining salary.
• Chris Mitchell of Fangraphs went through the minors to pick deep sleepers, players who are considered organizational guys buy may despite that tag get a taste of the bigs. He found two Pirates in his projections, both catchers - Altoona's Jin-De Jhang and West Virginia's Taylor Gushue.