Weekly Notes: Meh Week, Bats Warm Up A Bit, Cruz On Tear, Fraze On Fire, Mighty Mitch, Jones Has UCL Surgery Mlodzinski Sent Down

Limpin' home... 

Pirates Stuff:

• And yes, RHP Jared Jones did end up with UCL surgery. He's out for an estimated 10-12 months, as the procedure was not the usual TJ surgery but an internal brace fix. He wasn't alone; IF Enmanuel Valdez had surgery to repair a shoulder tear and he's expected to miss the next six months. RHP Justin Lawrence got a plasma-rich platelet injection in his injured elbow with three weeks of no throwing. 

Jared Jones - 2025 Sportsnet Pgh image

• Pittsburgh recalled RHP Mike Burrows from Indy and optioned RHP Carmen Mlodzinski to AAA. When you decide to try and fix something that wasn't broke...
• The Pirates placed RHP Colin Holderman on the 15-day IL (right thumb inflammation). Indy RHP Isaac Mattson (2-0-4/2.50 in 16  outings) got the call. Mattson, a Pitt grad, got a brief intro here last year when he got into three games (5.06 ERA, 6 K in 5-1/3 IP). To open a 40-man spot, 2B Nick Gonzales was flipped from the 10-day to the 60-day IL. He was rehabbing  at Indy with an expected return date of May 27, now in the air after being hit in the hand by a pitch. 
• A bullet dodged: LHP Hunter Barco, who was pulled from his last start with arm soreness with a mild muscle strain in his left shoulder, has resumed throwing. He's day-to-day and expected back by the end of the month.
• The Rangers claimed UT Michael Helman, who the Bucs DFA'ed a couple of days after they inexplicably claimed him from the Cards.
• The Pirates went 26 straight games scoring four or fewer runs, tying a MLB record before putting up a five-spot on Thursday. They join the 1969 California Angels, 1918-19 & 1931 Boston Braves and 1906 Boston Nationals as futility kings. Pittsburgh scored five or more runs three times v the Brewers - and lost twice. Ya gotta pitch, too. 

Game Stuff:

• The Bucs sent Mitch Keller out Monday v the Reds to open a seven game home stand. Kells did his part, going six frames and giving up two runs (one earned). He left down, 2-1, before David Bednar and Colin Holderman were lit up as the Reds took the opener, 7-1.

Mitch Keller - 2025 Pirates image

• The weather was shaky, but Bailey Falter wasn't. He spun seven shutout innings under threatening and sometimes drizzly clouds and had a 1-0 lead thx to Bryan Reynolds single that plated Oneil Cruz in the sixth following a walk and swiped sack. Dennis Santana tossed a clean eighth, and after a leadoff rap in the ninth, Bednar came back with a 4-6-3 DP and fly that Alexander Canario corralled with a nice sliding catch to Raise the Roger.
• The getaway day was again dismal outside, but Andrew Heaney kept the strong starting work going and the Bucs took the series, 3-1. Bryan Reynolds, Henry Davis and Adam Frazier had the RBI, The bottom of the order - Fraze, Davis and Tommy Pham - has six hits and Dennis Santana got the save, his fifth. 
• Mike Burrows got his first MLB start, replacing Carmen Mlodzinski in the rotation, and Christian Yelich introduced himself by banging a three-run first-inning bomb off the righty. The Brew Crew lead held up through a two-hour rain delay as they took an 8-5 victory on a day the Bucs finally broke through the four-run ceiling only to watch the pitching fizzle. Spencer Horwitz swatted his first Bucco bomb.  
• Paul Skenes went six innings, giving up a run on four hits with eight Ks and up, 2-1. And yah, Tanner Rainey blew the lead an inning later. Pittsburgh tied in the eighth thx to Cutch and B-Rey, then the teams exchanged homers in the ninth, with Oneil Cruz swatting his second bomb, his first career multi-HR game, to negate William Contreras' blast off David Bednar. Milwaukee's ghost runner scored in the 10th. So did the Pirates when Alexander Canario's single tied it. With two away and Fraze on third, a wild pitch gave the Buccos had a 6-5 dub.

Oneil Cruz - 2025 Pirates image

• Kell gave the Pirate yet another strong start, and it was enough to eke out a 2-1 win. Chase Shugart got the dub and The Renegade took the save; offensively, Horwitz drove in the first run and who else but smokin' hot Oneil chased home the seventh-inning game winner?
• It was a series split for the Bucs. Falter gave up three runs in the first frame thanks to a pair of walks and an overthrow. But he settled in, Cruz hit another bomb (a river-shot 122.9 MPH missile, the highest velo on a HR of the Statcast era) and Fraze had a three hit/three RBI day. Ryan Borucki was given a two-run lead in the eighth but lost it and the game, 6-5.

MLB Stuff:

• C Ali Sanchez was called up by Toronto for what is expected to be a short stay while Tyler Heineman is on the IL. The Bucs DFA'ed him out of camp in 2024, and he elected free agency rather than an assignment to Indy.
•  IF Diego Castillo, who spent 2022 with the Pirates (.206 BA), had his contract sold by the Mets to KC and will report to AAA. 
• C Luke Maile, who spent 2020 as a Bucco in name (he was signed as a FA, broke his finger in camp, had surgery and sat out the season) was DFA'ed by KC. 
• OF Billy McKinney, who was strong at Indy last year after coming over from the Yankees but was never given much love in Pgh (10 games, 5-for-25) was granted free agency by the Mets.

5/26: Game Tales - Kitten Purrs, Seven Swats, 9-In-8, Frankie Sharp, Blass K's 11, Dale Sets Mark, Brawlin', Josh Jolt, Ward & Brown Cycles, Max-imum, HBD Endy, Dann, Chuck & Jack

• 1874 - RHP Jack Cronin was born in West New Brighton, New York. He tossed four games for the Pirates as a 24-year-old, slashing 2-2/3.54 after being purchased from Fall River of the New England League in July of 1898. He was released and ended up with the Reds the following year. Jack had a long pro career lasting from 1895 until he tossed his last inning for Reading of the United States Baseball League in 1912, including seven years in MLB, although he was only part of a regular big-league rotation twice in that span and appeared a dozen or fewer times in the other five campaigns. 
• 1890 - Rumors regarding the sale of the Pirates (or in this case, the Alleghenys) are as old as the franchise. The Press published an article regarding the possible sale of the franchise, or at least William Nimick’s 25% share, to an unnamed New York interest. Nimick was noncommittal regarding the report, but hung on until the end of the 1891 season, when he sold his share to William Chase Temple, who remained an owner until 1894. The ownership didn’t stabilize until 1899 when Barney Dreyfuss maneuvered himself into a controlling interest of the club. 
• 1894 - The Pirates were thumping Cleveland, 12-3, in the top of the ninth inning when the crowd of 6,200 at League Park began to run amok after being taunted by the 500 rooters who had made the trip from Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Press wrote “A more disgraceful affair never occurred upon a ball field...when the disappointed Forest City fans, unable to endure the disgrace of defeat, attacked the Pittsburg club, the rivalry at white heat...In a second, cushions and pop bottles were flying in all directions...the crowd swarmed out of the stands...” and the frustrated hometown fans rushed the field. The two teams had traded accusations of dirty play the day before and after today’s donnybrook, 50 ready-to-rumble ‘Burghers escorted the Pittsburgh club to its train as some added Steel City muscle. Red Ehret got the win, backed by an 18-hit Bucco attack. 
• 1908 - The Pirates beat the Boston Doves, 8-1, at Forbes Field behind Vic Willis, who scattered seven hits, and a balanced 10-hit attack. But all was not well in Pittsburgh; the Bucs were sputtering at 15-12, and 34-year-old team rock Hans Wagner, who had held out and missed all of spring training, was hitting just .268. Fortunately, the Dutchman was about to turn it around and carried the club with him. Honus batted .369 over the remaining 127 games of the season with 10 homers, 89 runs, 83 RBI and 47 swiped sacks; the Pirates piled up an 83-44 mark with Wagner back in the swing. The Buccos finished a game out of first, but Honus ended up on top once again - after the smoke had cleared, he won his third straight batting crown with a .354 BA. 

Vic Willis - Helmar Cabinet II

• 1925 - Max Carey walked and then swiped second, third, and home (he had 46 swipes for the campaign and led the league in steals 10 times; Max stole home 33 times in his career) during the Bucs 7-2 win over the Chicago Cubs. Kiki Cuyler added a two-run homer and Al Neihaus drove in two more scores as Ray Kremer coasted to the win at Forbes Field. 
• 1933 - The Homestead Grays right fielder Ray Brown hit for the cycle vs. House of David in a 19-4 win. Brown had five hits on the day while Homestead posted 24 knocks (eight of the nine Grays had multiple hits against HoD) in a barnstorming match played in Clarion. They met again two days later at Greenlee Field and that match was a barnburner, with Homestead squeaking by, 2-1, with the game-winner being Terrible Ted Page’s eighth-inning solo homer. 
• 1942 - RHP Chuck Hartenstein was born in Seguin, Texas. After three years with the Cubs, he came to Pittsburgh in a minor deal and worked from the pen in 1969, slashing 5-4-10/3.95. He got off to a rough start in 1970 and was released, playing for the Cards and later the Red Sox during the campaign. Chuck spent from 1971-76 in AAA before making a brief comeback in 1977 with the expansion Blue Jays. He coached and scouted afterward, finally leaving the game in 1995. The 5’ 11”, 150 lb. Hartenstein went by the nickname “Twiggy” for fairly obvious reasons, with the moniker bestowed on him by the Cubs’ Billy Williams. 
• 1946 - Josh Gibson launched another long blast, this one 440’ into the Yankee Stadium bleachers, as the Homestead Grays whipped the NY Black Yankees, 11-8. It was the Grays’ fourth straight win and propelled them into first place in the Negro National League. It was familiar territory as the Grays won the league title nine times, although this season the Newark Eagles took the crown. 

Josh Gibson - Helmar T206

• 1952 - The Pirates were a pretty poor excuse for a baseball team this season, but they were feisty. Bucco pitcher Ron Kline whizzed one over Cincy catcher Andy Seminick’s noodle in the second inning of the game at Forbes Field, which led to words between the backstop and Pirates coach Bill Posedel. They were close to blows and a crowd gathered, but peace was restored. Kline batted in the second and escaped without wearing a baseball, but Seminick and Posedel kept at it, started brawling, and both gangs joined the love-in. George “Catfish” Metkovich was exchanging love taps with various Reds when he was wrestled to the ground by Cincinnati trainer Dr. Wayne Anderson (it ends up they were old buds and the doc was trying to keep his friend out of harm’s way, per Catfish). The doc, Metkovich, Seminick and Posedel were all shown to the door. The Bucs won, 6-3, with the win going to Bob Friend, in relief of Kline. Ralph Kiner paid a price, getting ticked by pitches twice after the melee, but he had the last laugh with a homer. 
• 1956 - Dale Long became the first player to go deep in seven straight games when he took the Phillies' Ben Flowers deep in the eighth inning during his final at-bat as the Bucs dropped Philadelphia, 6-2, at Connie Mack Stadium. Frank Thomas and Hank Foiles also homered to give Vern Law the complete game win. Dale also doubled, and still wasn’t quite done with his historic home run streak. 
• 1959 - In baseball's ultimate pitching performance, Harvey Haddix threw 12 perfect innings against the Braves in Milwaukee’s County Stadium, only to lose the game, 1-0, in the 13th on a Dick Hoak error, sacrifice bunt, intentional walk and double that was a homer. (NL prez Warren Giles ruled that the final score should be 1-0, as runners Henry Aaron and Joe Adcock were ruled out, Aaron for leaving the field‚ and Adcock for passing him on the basepath. Adcock was credited with a double and not a HR.) In 1993‚ Bob Buhl admitted that the Braves pitchers were stealing the signs from C Smoky Burgess‚ who could not crouch down all the way because of his achy knees, and signaled the coming pitch, making Haddix's effort even more remarkable. The only player who wasn’t impressed was Haddix, who told the Post Gazette afterward "My main aim all night long was to win. The perfect game would have meant something to me then. It's just another loss.” Lew Burdette went the distance for the win, giving up twelve singles. The Pirates hit into three double plays with only two runners advancing past first, both after two outs. 

Dann Bilardello - 1990 Topps

• 1959 - C Dann Bilardello was born in Santa Cruz, California. He spent most of his Pirates time at AAA Buffalo, hitting just .171 for Pittsburgh in 52 games between 1989-90. Dann got some MLB time at San Diego in 1991-92 and played out his time in pro ball at indie Winnipeg in 1994. 
• 1971 - Steve Blass carried the Pirates to 2-0 victory over Cincinnati at Three Rivers Stadium, recording a career-high 11 strikeouts while tossing a five-hitter for his second shutout of the season. Willie Stargell hit a two-run homer off Reds starter Tony Cloninger in the sixth inning that proved to be the game winner. Blass went on to post a 15-8/2.85 line for the year, matching his career high with 12 complete games and spinning five shutouts in 240 frames. 
• 1978 - Montreal’s Steve Rogers spun a four-hitter at TRS, but two of them were back-to-back in the seventh frame when Rennie Stennett’s single was followed by Manny Sanguillen’s homer off a hung curve, and that was enough to carry John Candelaria and the Buccos to a 2-1 victory. Candy Man dodged plenty of raindrops, stranding 11, with the only blemish being Larry Parrish’s solo shot. Sangy, who was playing off the bench, manned first base (he got into 40 games at the spot in ‘78), replacing Willie Stargell, who had a sore back. 
• 1980 - There were lots of baseball fireworks as the Phils rallied to beat the Bucs, 7-6, at Veterans Stadium. Bert Blyleven brushed back a couple of Phillies early on; Philadelphia reliever Kevin Saucier later plunked Pops to even the score. Then he went one better, bopping Blyleven, who charged the mound, bat in hand. A donnybrook ensued, and as it was breaking up, Phil’s coach Mike Ryan reignited things to start round two. Philly had the last laugh, scoring twice in the ninth off Kent Tekulve, who gave up four straight hits, to claim the victory. 

Tony Womack - 1997 Circa

• 1997 - For the first time in twenty years, two inside-the-park home runs were hit in the same inning when Sammy Sosa of the Cubs and Tony Womack both circled the bases five minutes apart in the sixth frame of Chicago’s 2-1 victory at Three Rivers Stadium. Womack’s homer was a legit gapper with a copacetic bounce; Sosa made his circuit after Jose Guillen crashed into Adrian Brown, who had briefly gloved the ball. After the collision, it rolled away into right field and by the time the horsehide was chased down, Sosa won a bang-bang call at the plate. Francisco Cordova took the loss. 
• 2000 - C Endy Rodriguez was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic. He came to Pittsburgh in 2021 from the Mets as part of the three-way Joe Musgrove deal and zoomed through the system with a .296 minor league average and the versatility to also play 1B and OF. Endy has shuffled through the Top 50 MLB Prospects lists, and after a slow start at Indy, his stick caught fire and he was called up to the Pirates in July, 2023 as part of a long-time-coming youth movement. He hit .220 and was in the mix for serious PT next season, but he hurt his elbow in winter ball and required surgery, missing the entire year. Endy was back in ‘25, playing C and some 1B before a deep hand laceration knocked him out of action through mid-April and deep into May. 
• 2000 - Behind Francisco Cordova’s four-hitter and a double steal gone awry, the Pirates bested the Colorado Rockies at Coors Stadium, 2-1, in the second lowest scoring game played to date at the mile-high field. In a 1-1 game, the Rox tried a double steal; the lead runner, Tom Goodwin, stopped between second and third, and the back runner, Mike Lansing, turned and retreated to first as catcher Jason Kendall ran the ball toward him. The nimble backstop tagged Lansing and then threw to third to catch the slow-reacting Goodwin. Cordova celebrated by singling home Mike Benjamin with the game winner in the seventh. He was supposed to bunt, but the third baseman crept in too close, and Francisco took advantage by swinging away. Luis Sojo made a nice pair of plays at third in the final two frames to seal the deal as the Pirates ended a five-game losing streak. 
• 2003 - The Bucs scored nine times in the eighth inning after Kerry Wood handed the ball off to the Cubbie bullpen, breaking open a 1-0 duel and romping to a 10-0 win at Wrigley Field. Kenny Lofton’s hitting streak reached 24 games while Jeff Reboulet and Brian Giles banged out two hits apiece. Josh Fogg, just activated from the DL, held the Cubs to three hits over seven innings without allowing a runner past first base before Julian Tavares mopped up. The nine-run frame was Pittsburgh’s biggest inning since June 12, 2001 v Detroit at Comerica Park. 

Kenny Lofton - 2003 Topps Gallery

• 2004 - Daryle Ward hit for the cycle with a career single-game high of six RBI against St. Louis at Busch Stadium as the Bucs won, 11-8. Ward and his dad Gary (1980) became the first MLB father-son duo to hit for the cycle, with Craig (2002) and Cavan Biggio (2019) later joining the club. The Pirates used six pitchers, with the win going to starter Kris Benson. 
• 2012 - The Cubs lost their 11th straight game, 3-2, to the Pirates, Chi-town’s longest losing streak since opening the 1997 season with 14 consecutive losses. The teams were tied in the bottom of the ninth at PNC Park when Jose Tabata led off with a single off Rafael Dolis. Two walks and two outs later, the aptly named “Hit Man” Matt Hague took a pitch in the ribs for a walk-off plunk. Joel Hanrahan earned the win in a game started by Kevin Correia. 
• 2023 - Andrew McCutchen led off the game against Seattle at T-Mobile Park with a homer, and the Bucs followed his lead, tying the franchise mark with seven long taters (the other record swatfests were in 1894, 1947 and 2003) on the way to an 11-6 win. The team had hit a total of nine dingers during the first 25 days of the month, so go figure. The Pirates bombers were Jack Suwinski (2), Cutch, Carlos Santana, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Tucupita Marcano and Bryan Reynolds. Suwinski and Reynolds each had three hits and combined for seven RBI/four runs scored It was an unexpected outburst as Mariners’ hurler George Kirby and Corsair moundsman Mitch Keller were the early aces of their respective staffs, with 10 wins between them entering the game.

5/25 Through the 1950s: Cal-Littlefield, Game Tales: Ralph & Babe Milestones, Cuckoo Casey, Pink Hero, Ump-Roar; HBD Jim, Chet, Jimmie, Martin & John

• 1863 - RHP John Hofford was born in Philadelphia. His MLB career consisted of two short stays with the Alleghenys in 1885-86, posting a 3-9/4.16 line in 12 starts. Though he didn’t play the field, John was pretty handy with a stick, hitting .262 with five runs, five RBI, four extra-base hits and even stealing a couple of sacks in his dozen outings. Hofford was a touted minor league hotshot; the Alleghenys got him from the Southern League’s title team, Augusta, after the season ended in 1885 where he had slashed 38-13/0.59 with 389 strikeouts, and he tossed for several more seasons after leaving Pittsburgh for a smorgasbord of minor league clubs. 
• 1877 - The International Association Pittsburgh Allegheny hosted the League Alliance Athletics of Philadelphia in a minor league match at Union (later Recreation) Park in Allegheny City. It was an exciting, back-and-forth contest for the 700 fans, with the local nine scoring twice in the final frame to claim a 9-8 win, but a thing of beauty it wasn’t. Banging out 24 hits wasn’t enough action; the two teams combined to commit 29 errors (13 by the Alleghenys), and as the Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette wrote “The spectators at Union Park certainly got a very strong dose of poor playing yesterday afternoon...It was an exhibition of miserable muffing by both sides.” 
• 1895 - The fans carried pitcher Pink Hawley off the field on their shoulders after the Pirates defeated the Boston Beaneaters and their ace, Kid Nichols, by a 1-0 tally in a contest witnessed by 6,000 rooters at Exposition Park. Hawley spun a four-hitter (he didn’t give up a hit until the seventh) with seven strikeouts in outdueling Nichols, who only surrendered five knocks to the Pirates. The Bucco run came in the sixth when Jake Stenzel walked, stole second, and came around on Lou Bierbauer’s single to center. Boston made a game of it in the ninth, putting runners at second and third before a grounder to short closed the book. The two twirlers were among the league’s top guns - Pink won 31 games that season while Hall-of-Famer Nichols claimed 27 victories. 
• 1897 - The City gendarmes had to safeguard umpire Tim Hurst to his hotel after a missed call cost the Alleghenys a 6-2 loss at Recreation Park to the Baltimore Orioles. Mugsy McGraw, the Birds third baseman, was clearly thrown out at second, but in the days of one ump, Hurst missed the call and the O’s went on to score five two-out runs off Lefty Killen to claim the game. 500 fans waited for Hurst to come out of the locker room (tempers were high as the Baltimore and Pittsburgh clubs were the top two teams in the standings) and a melee ensued when he did; his bacon was saved when the Allegheny players managed to escort him into the dugout, safe from the outraged rooters. It took a 10-man police posse to hustle Hurst back to his hotel in one piece. 

Martin Dihigo - National Pastime Museum

• 1906 - Martin Dihigo was born in Matanzas, Cuba. Best known for his play in the Mexican League, he spent time in the Negro Leagues and in 1927-28, he played third and pitched for the Homestead Grays. Dihigo was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1977. The multi-talented Dihigo played all nine positions as a pro, usually as a pitcher or second baseman. He’s the only player ever to be inducted to the American, Cuban, Dominican, Mexican and Venezuelan Halls of Fame. 
• 1906 - IF Chester “Chet” Williams was born in Beaumont, Texas. Chester’s beginnings are misty; he also has Lake Charles, New Orleans and rural Mississippi cited as birthplaces. But his Negro League career is certain when the infielder played from 1931-39 for the Pittsburgh Crawfords. It was tough at first to make a name for himself (and that was literally true - when he joined the team, other infielders on the roster were Bobby Williams, Harry Williams and Bucky Williams! He, Harry and Buck stayed together throughout his Crawford years.) He overcame that, earning several All-Star spots with the Crawfords and was a starter for the 1935 championship club, considered by many to be the best Negro League team ever assembled. Chet turned down an offer to skip to the Dominican in 1937 (though many of his teammates did take the money), but he jumped ship in 1940 to play in the Cuban League. He returned locally in 1941-42 to play for the Homestead Grays and retired after the 1943 campaign. Known as a free spirit, he opened a Lake Charles night spot, where tragically, on Christmas Day, 1952, he was shot to death in the club. 
• 1910 - OF Jimmie Crutchfield was born in Ardmore, Missouri. He played for the Pittsburgh Crawfords from 1931-36 (with a brief stop with the Homestead Grays in 1932), jumping when the Crawfords offered him $150 per month, after he was pulling down just $90 per month with the Indianapolis ABCs. The lil’ guy (he was 5’7”) combined speed, defense and clubhouse leadership, and according to the StateMaster Encyclopedia “Teamed with Ted Strong and Cool Papa Bell, they formed what is considered the best outfield in the Negro Leagues. During this time, his performance earned him three appearances in the East-West All-Star game.” He played until he was 45 years old before taking a job with the Post Office. 
• 1919 - Casey Stengel, who had been traded to Pittsburgh by the Brooklyn Dodgers, returned to Ebbets Field and his old fans gave him the raspberries for sporting a different uniform. Bowing to the grandstand in a seventh-inning at bat, he doffed his cap to the crowd, and out flew a sparrow (described as "irate but much relieved") that he had somehow corralled. That prank delighted the crowd, and was the highlight of Stengel’s day as he went 0-for-4 in a 5-0 loss. 

Casey Stengel - 1919 Strip Card

• 1931 - 1B Jim Marshall was born in Danville, Illinois. Jim spent five years in MLB as a bench 1B/OF, closing out his career in 1962 as a Pirate with a .220 BA. He played in Japan for three years before returning stateside to manage farm clubs for the Chicago Cubs, Montreal Expos, Oakland A’s, New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox. He also grabbed the brass ring by earning a couple of big league managing gigs with the Cubs (1974-76) and Oakland (1979) in between the minor league jobs. He’s now a senior advisor for the Arizona Diamondbacks. 
• 1935 - Babe Ruth hit his 714th and final home run off Guy Bush at Forbes Field in an 11-7 Boston Braves loss to the Pirates, a career record that would stand for almost 40 years before Hammerin' Hank claimed the crown. The Bambino went 4-for-4, hitting three home runs (the first off Red Lucas, the next pair off Bush) and driving in six runs. The final drive, launched in the seventh inning, cleared the right field roof, the first time that feat was ever done. Per local lore, the Babe’s ball landed on Joncaire Street and from there, its fate is debated although it did eventually make its way to the Hall of Fame for display. But the one-man swatfest by the Bambino couldn’t outpace Tommy Thevenow and Pep Young, who combined to chase eight runs home. 
• 1940 - The Bucs broke an 18-for-21 losing spell with a 12-7 win over the Chicago Cubs at Forbes Field. Arky Vaughan had a homer, triple, four runs scored and three RBI to lead the Pirate charge, and although he was roughed up, Joe Bowman lasted for all nine frames to take the win. Despite that early dismal streak, the Pirates ended up with a 79-74 record at season’s end. 
• 1947 - Pittsburgh got two very different pitching performances in splitting a twin bill against St Louis at Sportsman Park. Hank Behrman, who the Bucs had recently obtained from Brooklyn, gave up two homers in a 10-5 loss, making for a total of five gopher balls yielded in the 12-1/3 IP he tossed as a Pirate. He gave up one more in his next 12-1/3 frames before he was sold back to Brooklyn in June with a 0-2/9.12 line (he was 5-3-8/5.30 for da Bums). The Pirates then snapped a three-game losing streak with a 2-1 win in the nightcap as 39-year-old lefty Fritz Ostermueller fired a three-hitter against the Redbirds, backed by an Eddie Basinski homer and Frankie Gustine RBI knock. 

Fritz Ostermueller - 1947 Tip-Top

• 1953 - Ralph Kiner became the 12th MLB player to hit 300 homers with a three-run, fifth-inning blast off the New York Giants Al Corwin in a 6-3 loss at Forbes Field. The Hall of Famer would swat one more long ball for the Bucs before being traded to the Cubs in early June. 
• 1954 - Pittsburgh traded 30-year-old outfielder Cal Abrams to the Baltimore Orioles for LHP Dick Littlefield. Abrams was a good-hitting ball chaser, batting .273 for Pittsburgh in a year and some change; he hit .272 in his two-season stay with the Birds before hanging up the spikes a year later. In two years with Pittsburgh, Littlefield went 15-23/4.26 before becoming part of the Bill Virdon deal in 1956. 
• 1956 - Dale Long tied the longest HR streak in MLB history at six games by homering, going 3-for-5 and driving in three runs in an 8-5 win over the Phils at Connie Mack Stadium. His fourth-inning blast helped make a winner of Nellie King, with George Munger closing it out. He wasn’t done; he would go on to set the record at eight straight games. 
• 1958 - One of the largest bench clearing brawls in Bucco history erupted when manager Danny Murtaugh charged after Giants hurler Ruben Gomez, who was the flash point of a 15-minute brawl after he beaned Maz earlier. Gomez grabbed a bat, but coach Herman Franks stepped in. Then Orlando Cepeda, the Baby Bull, joined the melee, also waving a bat, before he was tackled by teammate Willie Mays, helping to quiet the war drums. Murtaugh was ejected and Mays got an ovation. The bad blood started the year before when Gomez drilled Vern Law, rupturing his eardrum, and the animosity carried over, most recently during a Candlestick Park up-and-in duel between pitchers Curt Raydon and Marv Grissom. It apparently fired up the G-Men more than Pirates as they swept the doubleheader at Forbes Field, 5-2 and 6-1. It also began the discussion that eventually gave umpires the power to eject pitchers they believe are headhunting.

5/25 From 1960: Game Tales - Freddy-Fest, Rallies, RR's #100, Jim's #200, Quail MO HoF; HBD Brad, Randall & Will

• 1968 - OF Will Pennyfeather was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Pennyfeather turned down a football scholarship with Syracuse to play baseball for the Orangemen, and after his sophomore year signed with the Pirates in 1988. Will played in short stints for the Bucs in 1992-94, getting into 40 games and batting .196. Afterward he played in the minors, in Taiwan & Mexico, and notably in the indie leagues, where he carved out a long local career before retiring after the 2006 season. He runs the Sweet Spot in his native New Jersey. 
• 1969 - Jim Bunning won his 200th game, scattering five hits and striking out eight in a 2-1 victory over Gaylord Perry and the Giants at Candlestick Park. It was a good day for the Bucs as they also took the twin bill's nightcap by a 6-2 score behind Bob Moose. Matty Alou was the catalyst in both games. He scored the winning run in the eighth inning of the opener, chased home by a Willie Stargell double, and had three hits, including a double and triple, while scoring twice in the nightcap. Carl Taylor added a two-run long fly and Bill Mazeroski poked a solo shot in the second game to give Moose breathing room. 
• 1975 - 1B Randall Simon was born in Willemstad, Curaçao. He played for six teams in eight big league seasons, including stops in Pittsburgh in 2003 and 2004. He hit .245 as a Bucco and received more acclaim for his sausage-swatting episode in Milwaukee than he did on the field. He played briefly for the Tampa Bay Rays and Philadelphia Phillies after his Pirates days, finishing his career with stops in the minors, Mexico, Japan and the indie leagues. 
• 1979 - Due to fog, the Buc-Met match ended in a 3-3 tie after 11 innings and a 73-minute delay. The umps gave up when Bill Robinson lost a routine fly ball in the Shea Stadium mist. The runner ended up on third, Robinson chewed out second base umpire Billy Williams over the playing conditions, and the boys in blue called everyone in. After trying to outlast the mist unsuccessfully, the arbiters declared the game a tie (player stats counted) that was to be replayed in its entirety. 

Bill Robinson - 1979 Topps

• 1983 - In the third inning of an eventual 6-0 loss to the Braves at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Pirates' starter Jim Bibby (4) and reliever Jim Winn (3) combined to walk seven consecutive batters to tie a major league mark set back in 1909 by Washington’s William Gray and establish the NL high water mark. The free passes all came after two were out and accounted for four of the Bravos’ six tallies, all chased home by bases-loaded free passes. 
• 1985 - Rick Rhoden won his 100th career game and SS Bill Almon hit his first grand slam while driving in five runs as the Pirates thumped the Braves, 8-2, at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Rick tossed a seven-hitter with three whiffs, earning his fourth victory of the year and lowering his ERA to 3.12. As for the Pirates eighth hitter’s big day, Almon was probably due for a breakout match: Bill had entered the game with no homers and seven RBI in 108 bats. 
• 1985 - RHP Brad Lincoln was born in Lake Arthur, Texas. A first round (fourth overall - $2.75M bonus) draft pick of the Bucs in 2006 with Clayton Kershaw, Tim Lincecum and Max Sherzer selected behind him, his career was detoured by TJ surgery in 2007. He came back to toss for the Pirates from 2010-12, slashing 7-9-1/4.62 for Pittsburgh in 51 outings before being traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for Travis Snider, both highly rated but underachieving prospects (he was also a 2006 #1 pick) in need of a change of scenery. It didn’t help Brad much, and in the next three years he made 48 appearances before his MLB career ended in 2014. He tried to come back with the Bucs and spent 2015 at Indy where he had pedestrian numbers and hasn’t tossed professionally since. 
• 1993 - Steve Cooke threw the first shutout of his big league career, only giving up four hits, in the Pirates 2-0 victory over the Florida Marlins at TRS. It was truly Cooke’s day as he also hit a two-run double, his first hit since August of ‘92, to provide his own victory margin. 

Steve Cooke - 1993 stadium Club

• 1993 - A bronze bust in memory of Carl Barger was unveiled at TRS’ Allegheny Club during Florida’s visit to the ‘Burgh. Barger helped keep the Pirates in Pittsburgh as John Galbreath’s attorney and served as Bucco prez from 1987-91, when he left to join long-time friend and Marlin owner Wayne Huizenga as their first president. Barger died of an aneurysm at the GM meetings in December. 
• 1997 - The Pirates used a five-run eighth inning to rally past the Montreal Expos, 8-6, at Olympic Stadium. The frame’s big blast was Kevin Young’s first career grand slam, and it gave Ricardo Rincon enough pad to survive giving two runs back to the Expos in their half. Marc Wilkins earned his fourth win on the season after tossing a scoreless inning of work and Salomon Torres earned the save with a 1-2-3 ninth. Dale Sveum added a homer and three RBI to keep Pittsburgh in it until KY’s launch. Fun fact: As Young’s grand slam left the yard, announcer Greg Brown coined the call “It’s a freak show!” and that moniker became the team catchphrase as they overachieved in 1997, staying alive into September and finishing second to the ‘Stros in the Central Division with a 79-83 record. 
• 2003 - Aramis Ramirez drove in three runs and St. Louis committed a bases-loaded error which led to a four-run sixth inning and an 8-7 comeback win for Pittsburgh in front of nearly 26,000 at PNC Park. Jason Kendall appeared in the 1,000th game of his career and banged out a pair of hits. Kenny Lofton’s double in the seventh inning plated the game winner while extending his hitting streak to 23 games. Birthday boy Randall Simon had three hits, including two doubles, to help Brian Boehringer earn the win, saved by Mike Williams. 
• 2007 - The Pirates, mired in a hitting slump and losers of five straight games, used some small ball, soft raps and Cincy gifts to score eight runs in the 10th inning as they collected six hits and took advantage of a hit batter, walk and error to sent twelve players to the plate in a 10-4 victory over the Reds at Great American Ballpark. Ronny Paulino and Xavier Nady each had a pair of RBI in the extra frame, while Nady and Jay Bay added regulation homers. Jonah Bayliss, the fourth of five Pirates pitchers, picked up the win after facing two batters in the ninth.

Xavier Nady - 2007 Bowman Tradition

• 2008 - The Bucs came from behind to take a 6-5 win from the Cubs at PNC Park, scoring with two outs in the ninth to knot the score when Nate McLouth’s two-bagger plated Brian Bixler, and then again in the 11th on Jason Bay’s two-out knock scoring Chris Gomez with the winner. To add insult to injury, the Cubs intentionally walked McLouth to get to Bay for a righty matchup. There were lots of hitting heroes - McLouth had three hits, Bay two, Luis Rivas homered twice, Adam LaRoche had two doubles, Jose Bautista added two more raps and Xavier Nady went deep, although with 11 stranded, the Pirates left a lot of ducks on the pond. Damaso Marte got the win; Frankie Osorio and Paul Maholm worked ahead of him. It was the Bucs second straight walk-off win against the Cubs; both times the Baby Bears were done in by Bay after a McLouth intentional walk. 
• 2009 - The Pirates beat the Cubs, 10-8, at Wrigley Field. Freddy Sanchez went 6-for-6 with four runs, three RBI, a double and a homer to become the first Pirate in 19 years, since Wally Backman in 1990, to have six hits in a game. The Bucs had just finished an interleague set against the White Sox, and became the first team in major league history to play back-to-back series against the Cubs and White Sox in Chicago (they lost 2-of-3 to both clubs). 
• 2013 - The Bucs hit four homers, two by Pedro Alvarez, and Jeff Locke ran his scoreless streak to 14 frames in a 5-2 win at Milwaukee’s Miller Field. For Locke, it was his sixth start out of the last seven giving up three or fewer hits. The 25-year-old finished the first half of the campaign with a slash of 8-2/2.15, an opponent BA of .202 and earned his only All-Star appearance. 
• 2016 - David Freese’s two-run homer capped a four-run fifth inning and proved the game-winner as the Pirates squeaked past the Arizona Diamondbacks, 5-4, at PNC Park, overcoming an early 3-0 deficit in front of 20,696 fans. Clint Hurdle earned his 475th win as manager of the Pirates, tying him with skipper (and Hall of Fame 3B) Pie Traynor for the sixth-most victories in franchise history. Gregory Polanco had three hits and Sean Rodriguez also homered for the Pirates, while Mark Melancon earned his 16th save to ice Jeff Locke’s win. 
• 2017 - The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame unveiled a statue of the 1955 National League Rookie of the Year, 1960 World Series Champion and West Plains native CF’er Bill Virdon on its Legends Walkway. The Springfield HoF statue was created by St. Louis artist Harry Weber, depicting Virdon as a Bucco making a catch of a Yogi Berra drive during the 1960 Fall Classic.

5/24 Through the 1960s: Game Tales - Arriba B-2-B, Walkoff Sweep, Connie Gets 3, Very Hot Corner, TSN Pin-Up; HBD Jeff, Giant Killer & Sam

• 1859 - 2B Sam Barkley was born in Wheeling. After a contract kerfuffle (he signed with Baltimore, but had been sold by his club, the St. Louis Browns, to the Alleghenys), he was awarded to Pittsburgh and in 1886, he hit .266 with 31 doubles and stole 22 bases while playing in 122 games. His performance slipped in ‘87, playing in 89 games and hitting .224. After the season, Pittsburgh sold him to the Kansas City Cowboys of the American Association. Sam retired back home after the 1889 campaign to become a cigar maker. 
• 1878 - LHP Jack “The Giant Killer” Pfiester was born in Cincinnati. Jack spent eight years in the show with his first two seasons (1903-04) as a seldom-used Bucco arm. In six games, he slashed 1-4/6.69 and then spent 1905 in Omaha before he took off as a Cub from 1906-09, winning 63 games in four years before arm woes ended his career two seasons later; the curve-baller ended his days with a 2.02 ERA. He got his nickname for his success against the NY Giants, going 11-5 against them (he was only 1-5 against his old mates in Pittsburgh). 
• 1884 – Al Atkinson of the Philadelphia Athletics retired the final 27 batters in pitching a no-hitter over the Pittsburgh Alleghenys at the Jefferson Street Grounds. Atkinson hit leadoff batter Ed Swartwood, who stole second, moved to third on a grounder and scored on a wild pitch, providing the only fly in the ointment of the Athletics’ 10–1 victory over the Allies. 
• 1889 - Bill Kuehne converted 13 chances at the hot corner, handling three putouts and 10 assists without an error (“...a remarkable game” per the Pittsburgh Press) for a MLB record to help Harry Staley and the Alleghenys to a 9-7 win over Washington at Swampoodle Grounds. It was an outlier; Kuehne committed 34 errors that season and finished with a .908 fielding average, making his feat doubly remarkable. Jake Beckley drilled three knocks, including a pair of doubles, while Billy Sunday and Pop Smith, who homered, collected a pair of hits each. 

Connie Mack - 2012 Topps Archives

• 1893 - Before the days of the infield fly rule, C Connie Mack intentionally allowed a popup in front of home plate to fall and then started a triple play against the Browns. The play was one of several around the league that eventually led to an infield fly rule in 1895, with the current version adopted in 1901. He later drove in the winning run in the bottom of the eighth to lead Pittsburgh to an 8-7 win over St. Louis at Expo Park. Mack was a backup catcher who hit .286 for the Pirates that year, and later entered the Hall of Fame as a manager, notably of the Philadelphia Athletics, although his first player/manager gig was with the Bucs. 
• 1894 - The Pirates rallied to beat the Cleveland Spiders and Cy Young, 6-5, at League Park. Down 4-0 early and 5-2 late, the Bucs scored twice in the seventh and twice more in the eighth for the win. Red Ehret (“Ehret never pitched better ball in all his life” gushed the Pittsburgh Press) went eight innings for the victory in relief of Lefty Killen, who was rocked for four first-inning runs. Jake Stenzel had two hits and scored three runs while Jake Beckley added three knocks. 
• 1918 - Ol’ vet Jimmy Archer set a record with seven assists from the catcher’s spot against the Boston Braves, but it didn’t help as the Pirates went down, 6-3, at Forbes Field. Boston hit the ball on the ground all day; the Pirates ended up with 27 assists as a team, with 1B Fritz Mollwitz registering 17 putouts. 
• 1955 - The Bucs broke an 11-game losing streak in style by pounding the Brooklyn Dodgers, 15-1, at Forbes Field. Jack Shepard had four hits, Preston Ward had a single, triple and homer while Gene Freese added three raps to lead the attack. Ward, Freese and Roberto Clemente each had three RBI with Bob Friend getting the win in relief of Vern Law after tossing 4-1/3 innings of no-hit ball. One of the Dodger relievers the Corsairs tortured was future manager Tommy Lasorda, who gave up five runs in two innings of work. The Pirates had 19 hits and batted around three times. However, the good times were fleeting; the club lost six of its next seven games. The game also had a noteworthy debut: it was the first time Roberto Clemente wore #21; he had been sporting #13 but claimed OF Earl Smith’s old number after Smith was sent down. 

Jack Shepard - 1955 Topps

• 1959 - The Bucs swept a pair of white-knucklers from the Reds at Forbes Field by 2-1 and 5-4 scores; both games were won by walkoff, pinch hit doubles. Danny Kravitz drove home Don Hoak to give Ron Kline, who went the distance, the win in the opener. Pittsburgh had tied the game a batter before when Bill Mazeroski beat Johnny Temple’s throw home to knot the score. The Pirates were losing, 4-2, in the nightcap and down to their last out when Rocky Nelson tied the game with a two-run homer. Pittsburgh won it in the 10th when Smoky Burgess doubled home Roman Mejias to give Ron Blackburn the dub. The Bucs took the four game series from Cincinnati, winning each game by a run. 
• 1961 - Roberto Clemente homered in back-to-back at bats against Dick Ellsworth and drove in four runs to lead the Pirates to a 7-3 win over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Dick Stuart also went long and added a triple to help Vinegar Bend Mizell to the victory, closed by a Clem Labine save. The Bucs needed Clemente’s big day; they were their own worst enemy as they hit into three twin killings and committed a pair of errors during the afternoon. 
• 1966 - Coach Jeff Livesey was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. Livesey was a catcher in the Yankees system for eight years, retiring in 1995 and spending two years with Montreal as a minor league coach. He joined the Pirates as an organizational hitting coach, becoming the skipper of the GCL club in 2005. After that, he went to Japan for five years as a bench coach, returning to the Pirates in 2011. After three seasons as the Minor League Hitting Coordinator, he was called up to the big team as an assistant hitting coach in 2013 until he was replaced after the 2018 campaign. He’s with Miami now. 
• 1969 - Richie Hebner was featured on the cover of The Sporting News for the story “Pirates Pin-Up Prize.” In his first full season as a Pirate, he hit .301 after inheriting the hot corner from Maury Wills. The Gravedigger would play through 1976 for Pittsburgh, then return again in 1982-83 during an 18-year career that ended after the 1985 campaign with the Chicago Cubs.

5/24 From 1970: Game Tales - Johan Immaculate, El Coffee Hot, Frankie Fans 12, Do It All Brian, Workin' OT, Put 'Em Up, Roberto Funder

• 1978 - The Mets banged out 13 hits and held the lead three times, but the New Yorkers couldn’t hold off the Pirates at TRS. Pittsburgh scored twice in the 10th inning to flip Kent Tekulve from a loser after giving up a dinger to a winner in a 6-5 victory. Rennie Stennett’s bases-loaded bloop into right was the game winner; Frank Taveras scored the final run uncontested as RF’er Bruce Boisclair inexplicably threw the ball to second instead of home; coach Joe Lonnett and Taveras were both expecting a close play at the dish. Stennett plated three Pirates on the day and Dave Parker added two doubles to chase home a pair of runs, offsetting two homers by NY’s Willie Montanez. 
• 1981 - A lot of little oddities occurred in the Bucs 7-1 win over the Phils at Three Rivers Stadium: the Pirates drew four intentional walks, stole five bases in six tries and got a two-run homer from pitcher Jim Bibby. And even with all that, they didn’t put the game away until the eighth when one of the intentional walks backfired. They went into the frame up, 2-1, on the strength of Bibby’s bomb and then added an insurance tally on Phil Garner’s one-out triple and a Dale Berra single. With runners on second and third and two gone, Philadelphia put Lee Lacy aboard to get to Omar Moreno. The Antelope singled home a pair off Sparky Lyle and Bill Madlock followed with a two-run two-bagger to ice the game. Bibby got the win and Victor Cruz earned a two inning save in front of 21,771 fans. 
• 1983 - The Bucs built a 6-0 lead on the strength of Larry McWilliams arm and two-run shots by Lee Mazzilli and Jason Thompson (Lee’s left the yard; Jason’s was a two-bagger), then hung on as the Braves scored five times in eighth after blowing earlier chances when they left the bases loaded with an out in the second and fourth frames. Kent Tekulve nailed it down in the ninth, thanks more to the fates than good stuff; Atlanta ripped three bullets off him, but two of them found gloves and the other was a two-out single that delayed the inevitable, sending the 17,447 fans at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium home frustrated by the baseball gods. 

Teke - 1983 Fleer

• 1987 - Brian Fisher did it all at Riverfront Stadium in the Bucs 7-2 win over the Reds. He tossed a complete game five-hitter against Cincy and belted a three-run homer (it was his first hit of the year), the first of two dingers he hit during his career, with the other coming a month later v the Expos. Bobby Bonilla banged a pair of solo shots and Barry Bonds doubled home a pair of runs with Mike LaValliere adding three knocks and John Cangelosi chipping in at leadoff by swiping three sacks. It was the Pirates fifth straight win and got them within five games of the top spot, but they mostly sputtered afterward and finished at 80-82, 15 games behind the East titleists, the Cards. 
• 1988 - People remember Barry Bonds’ big bat as part of the Killer B’s, but it wasn't until 1990 that he moved off the leadoff spot in the lineup. Today was a prime example of why. Opening the ninth with the Bucs down, 4-3, to the Astros at TRS, Bonds laid down a drag bunt for a small ball single. Base hits by Andy Van Slyke and Bobby Bonilla plated him to knot the match, and Sid Bream’s sac fly chased home the game winner. AVS had four hits, including a homer and three runs scored while Bobby Bo had a pair of hits and two RBI. The final frame heroics turned Jim Gott from a loser to victor after he had given up the go-ahead tally. 
• 1991 - WPPT, in conjunction with San Francisco and New York stations hooked up by satellite, held a Roberto Clemente Sports City telethon with Vera Clemente, Bob Prince, Bill Mazeroski, Manny Sanguillen, Nellie King, Steve Blass, Bob Friend, Dick Groat, Jerry Lynch, Jim Rooker, Nellie Briles, Dave Giusti and Willie Stargell, with the active Pirates popping in after the game at TRS. 
• 1998 - Relievers Marc Wilkins (who was on the DL) and Jeff Tabaka, road roomies, allegedly got into an argument over a card game while tippling postgame at Milwaukee’s Pfister Hotel. The discussion grew heated, and Wilkins punched Tabaka. He broke his jaw, sending him to the DL until early July. The two were buds who shared an apartment in Pittsburgh during the season, and made up shortly after the brawl. GM Cam Bonifay brushed it off, telling the Associated Press that “Each other took a stance, as manly gentlemen sometimes do.” 

Mark Wilkins - 1998 Pacific Invincible Gem

• 2006 - When Craig Wilson flew out to the fence with Freddy Sanchez on first base in the ninth, it was the frustrating end to an 8-7 Pirates loss to Arizona at Chase Field as Pittsburgh finished two months of being baseball’s sacrificial lamb on the road - although a competitive 10-11 at PNC Park, the Bucs were 4-22 away from the banks of the Allegheny. They later played more respectably as visitors, but still compiled a 24-57 mark away from the North Shore and finished the year 67-95, despite a winning home (43-38) mark. 
• 2008 - The Pirates blew a late lead, rallied to tie the contest in the ninth and eventually claimed the win after 14 innings by a 5-4 tally at PNC Park. Phil Dumatrait and two relievers had left Tyler Yates a two-run lead in the eighth, but he was rattled for three scores by the Cubs. Pittsburgh tied it in the last frame when Doug Mientkiewicz led off by being bopped, worked his way to third and scored on Luis Rivas’ sac fly. Matt Capps and John Grabow, the ultimate winner, took over and each tossed three scoreless frames before the Pirates finally plated in the 14th. Freddy Sanchez reached when a soft roller was thrown away; a wild pitch and grounder moved him to third. Nate McLouth was intentionally walked and Jason Bay’s gapper chased Steady Freddy home with the game winner. That duo came up big; the Buccos’ early lead was largely the result of a Bay homer that scored Nate the Great ahead of him. 
• 2015 - Francisco Liriano capped a sweep of the Mets by K’ing 12 batters in six innings on the way to a 9-1 win at PNC Park, aided by homers off the bats of Andrew McCutchen and Starling Marte. It was historic work at the franchise level, as Liriano followed Gerrit Cole and AJ Burnett, who both fanned 10 in the series first two games, to become the first trio of Pirate starters to notch three straight double-digit strikeout games since September 11-12th, 1969, when Bob Veale, Bob Moose and Dock Ellis put together three K-fests. It's only the third time since 1900 that Pittsburgh put together such a stretch. The swing-and-miss fest also set an MLB record, per Elias Sports: "It is the only time in modern major league history (from 1900 to date) that a team's starting pitchers won three straight games within one series while recording a double digit strikeout total in each game." 

Arqy - 2015 Topps

• 2016 - The Pirates romped over the Diamondbacks, 12-1, at PNC Park as Gregory Polanco homered, doubled, scored twice, and had five RBI. The first 11 Bucs in the lineup that got at bats had hits, with the streak ending after Arquimedes Caminero, in his first MLB at-bat, grounded out in the seventh inning. Frankie Liriano got the win, but was a wild child, giving up just four hits but walking five. He wasn’t as wild as Caminero, who hit two Snakes in the head as a reliever, not as a matter of bad blood but of bad control. After the game, Arizona manager Chip Hale questioned if Arquimedes should even be in the league with command that poor. 
• 2017 - It looks like a runaway score, but the Bucs 12-5 win at SunTrust Park came down to the last out of the ninth. The Pirates jumped ahead, 3-0, on Adam Frazier’s second-inning homer, but Atlanta rallied for four runs in the sixth and carried a 5-3 lead into the ninth. With two outs and the bases filled, rookie Jose Osuna laced a two-run knock into left to knot the game. In the 10th, Josh Collmenter had a nightmare frame as the Buccos rang up a seven-spot on the Bravos, with the cherry on top being back-to-back-to-back homers by David Freese, Osuna and Jordy Mercer. Adam Frazier reached base six times on two hits and four walks. He became the first Pirates leadoff man with at least three walks and two hits that included a homer since Barry Bonds on May 28, 1988, against the Reds at Riverfront Stadium. Fraze also was the first Buc to reach base six times in a game via hit/walks since Neil Walker (5-for-5, walk) on August 12, 2012, versus the San Diego Padres at PNC Park. 
• 2023 - RHP Johan Oviedo tossed an immaculate inning against the Texas Rangers at PNC Park, joining Colin Holderman in achieving the rare feat during the ‘23 season. He K’ed Jonah Heim, Robbie Grossman and Josh Smith in the fourth inning on nine pitches, part of a streak of 12 straight batters that he retired. Unfortunately, he also got off to a slow start, giving up three runs on three hits in the opening frame, and that fast start propelled Texas to a 3-2 victory. Holderman’s immaculate inning also came during a 3-2 loss earlier in the month to the Tampa Bay Rays. Prior to Holderman and Oviedo, Jeff Robinson, Ross Ohlendorf and Juan Nicasio had tossed immaculate innings for the Bucs.

5/23 Through 1964: Skinner-Lynch, Cotton-Specs, Game Tales - Lucky 13, 1-Hit Win, Swipe City, Mac Signed, Sid Goes; HBD Nelson, Clyde, Hugh, Bill & Deacon

• 1872 - RHP Charles “Deacon” Phillippe was born in Rural Retreat, Virginia. The Deacon spent 12 years with Pittsburgh (1900-11), posting a line of 189-109/2.59. He went 3-2 in the 1903 World Series with a 3.07 ERA and closed out two games in the 1909 World Series, pitching six scoreless innings. Phillippe was perhaps the top control pitcher of the modern era, won 20 games six times, and was voted by Buc fans as the greatest right-handed pitcher in Pirates history. He came about his nickname honestly, being a devout Lutheran and clean living guy in an era noted for its rowdy ballplayers. He also went by “The Great Phillippi” due to his pitching prowess. Trivia: The outlaw league Pittsburg Filipinos of 1912 took their name from their manager - Deacon Phillippe. 
• 1879 - OF Bill Miller was born in Bad Schwalbach, Germany. 23-year-old Miller was called up in 1902 to help bolster a thin roster on the recommendation of Tommy Leach. He played right field on August 23rd against the Brooklyn Superbas at Exposition Park. He went 1-for-5 with two RBI, and played a fair right field, although he misplayed the first ball hit to him (“He ran in for it when he should have hiked in the other direction...Being a newcomer, his mistake gave the crowd a bad impression from the start” per the Pittsburgh Press). It was his only MLB game. 
• 1885 - 1B Hugh Bradley was born in Grafton, Massachusetts. After three years with Boston (he was the first player to homer at Fenway Park), he spent a season in the minors and then signed with the Pittsburgh Rebels. He was the starting 1B in 1914, hitting .307, but was bumped to reserve duty when Ed Konetchy joined the team the next season. Spending time in the pasture and not happy about it, he was released and moved on to the Brooklyn Tip-Tops. They likewise let him go and he became a member of a third Federal League club, the Newark Peppers. Brad spent from 1916-23 in the minors and umpired before getting on with his life. Fun factoid: for a while, Bradley spent the off seasons with a vaudeville act of Boston players called the “Red Sox Quartette,” a barbershop quartet. 
• 1890 - During a 17-10 New York victory at the Polo Grounds, the Giants swiped a record 17 sacks against the battery of rookie LHP Fred “Crazy” Schmit and veteran C George “Doggie” Miller. The Alleghenys added three steals of their own to set a game record of 20. Crazy was thought nuts by the other players because he was the first pitcher to keep a book on hitters, warmed up at 75' rather than 60’ by tossing a water-soaked ball to make it heavier and used other quirky personal tricks of the trade to get ready for a game. He also answered to “Germany” for more obvious reasons. The 1890 Alleghenys, it should be noted, may have been baseball’s worst team ever, winning just 23 games and allowing 447 stolen bases, nearly four per game - and the catchers had a 31% toss-out rate! 

Doggie Miller - Ars Longa

• 1892 - The Pirates ended the Chicago Colts 13-game winning streak with a 5-4 win at Southside Stadium in front of 2,000 Windy City fans. The Pirates overcame an early 4-0 deficit, behind extra base knocks by Jake Beckley, Doggie Miller, Mike Smith and Lou Bierbauer, generating just enough offense to push Mark Baldwin to victory. As recapped by the Pittsburgh Press: “The Pittsburgs defeated the Chicagos in a very close and exciting game. The Pittsburgers were outbatted, but their hits were more timely and counted more than those made by the Colts.” Part of the excitement was the fielding; each side surrendered just one earned run, with the clubs combining to boot five balls. 
• 1923 - Pittsburgh sent 2B Cotton Tierney and RHP Whitey Glazner to the Philadelphia Phillies for 2B Johnny Rawlings and RHP Lee “Specs” Meadows. The bespectacled Meadows posted a line of 87-51-1/3.50 through 1927 as Glazner's rotation replacement, winning 20 games once and 19 twice while Rawlings lasted four Bucco seasons, batting .272. Whitey was out of baseball after slashing 14-30-1/5.29 for Philly through 1924 and Cotton was finished following the 1925 campaign after playing for the Phils, Boston Braves and Brooklyn Dodgers. 
• 1924 - Coach Clyde King was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina. King never played for the Bucs, but after hangin’ up the mitt, he managed the Hollywood Stars in 1957 and the Columbus Jets in 1958, both Pirate farm clubs. After coaching outside the organization, he returned as a member of Harry Walker’s staff from 1965 to 1967. He continued to coach in the minors and the MLB as manager of the SF Giants, Atlanta Braves and NY Yankees, also serving as the Gotham GM. 
• 1943 - The Pirates only had one hit during the match but it was enough. Vince DiMaggio’s fourth-inning double scored Elbie Fletcher, who had walked, for a 1-0 win at Forbes Field against the Chicago Cubs. Bob Klinger went the distance for Pittsburgh, tossing a four-hitter to hand Dick Barrett a tough loss. The Pirates wouldn’t win another game with just one hit again until 2017 when they defeated the Dodgers, 1-0, at PNC Park. In that contest, Josh Harrison’s walk-off homer in the 10th broke up both the no-no and shut-out bids of LA pitcher Rich Hill. 

Bill MacDonald - 1951 Topps

• 1950 - After traveling a twisted trail (he was signed out of high school by the Tigers, granted free agency by the league with a handful of other Detroit farmhands due to some contractual hanky-panky, then signed with the Pirates for $20,000 to become their first “bonus baby” to reach Forbes Field), Bill MacDonald made his first major league start. It was a good one as he shut out the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-0, twirling a complete game three-hitter against the future National League champs. “Whalin’ Willie” (his bread-and-butter was the fastball) went 8-10-1/4.29 for the last-place Bucs, making 32 outings (twenty starts) with two shutouts and six complete games to his credit. His major drawback was a wild streak; he averaged over five walks per nine. MacDonald then missed the 1951–52 seasons when he was in the service during the Korean War years, and when he returned in 1953, he had lost it. Bill pitched poorly in four more games (12.27 ERA), was sent to the Pacific Coast League and retired after the 1954 campaign. 
• 1952 - It took 13 frames, but Johnny Merson’s double scored Gus Bell with a walkoff game winner to end an eight-game losing streak as the Bucs topped the Cubs, 6-5, at Forbes Field. The Pirates scored four times in the opening inning, but Bob Friend couldn’t hold on to the early lead. Ted Wilks spun the last 5-2/3 frames without yielding a run to end the drought. 
• 1955 - 3B Sid Gordon was sold to the New York Giants for “considerably over the $10,000 waiver price,” thought to be in the $25K range. Despite hitting .306 in 1954, the 36-year-old Gordon was a seldom-used backup third baseman (he lost his job to Gene Freese) and pinch hitter, providing not a lot of value as their highest-paid player at $27,500. The Pittsburgh Press said he was “...understandably happy and excited when called into Branch Rickey’s office to get the glad news...” The NY gig didn’t do much to extend his career; he got into 66 games and hit .243, ending his career. 

Sid Gordon - 1955 Bowman

• 1958 - IF Nelson Norman was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic. In six MLB years, Nelson got into 198 games; three were for Pittsburgh in 1982 when he went 0-for-3. But he had some Bucco history. The Pirates originally signed him in 1975 as a 16-year-old. He went to Texas a couple of years later as part of the Bert Blyleven deal. The Rangers acquired Mario Mendoza in 1981, bumping Nelson out of a job, and after the season, the Rangers traded Norman back to the Pirates for Víctor Cruz. He played mostly for Portland (AAA), Lynn (AA) and Hawaii (AAA) through 1984, finishing out his career in the minors for Baltimore and Montreal in ‘87. He’s coached for several organizations since retiring and is now a scout/head of Dominican Operations for the O’s. 
• 1960 - Sandy Koufax was doing Sandy Koufax things all night at Forbes Field, topping the Bucs, 1-0, at Forbes Field. The southpaw gave up one hit, a single to his mound opponent Bennie Daniels, and offset a wild streak of six walks by fanning 10 while going the distance. The second frame was the Pirates' best chance when they loaded the bases with two outs, but couldn’t cash in; only one other Bucco runner reached second. Daniels was pretty sharp himself, giving up four hits and whiffing six in seven frames before Roy Face finished up. It was scoreless into the seventh, when Norm Larkin led off with a two-bagger and scored two outs later on Tommy Davis’ double. It was a frustrating loss, but proved to be a minor bump on the road to the World Series for the Bucs. 
• 1963 - The Bucs sent OF Bob Skinner to the Reds for Jerry Lynch, who started his career in Pittsburgh. Lynch spent his last four years as a Pirate and set the MLB pinch hit home run record of 18 (since surpassed by Matt Stairs) while in a Bucco uniform. Skinner spent nine seasons with Pittsburgh, compiling a .280 BA, and lasted five more years in the show.

5/23 From 1965: Game Tales - Bats Bop, Vogey Beaned, Dewey Dong, Candy's Dozen, Pete Let Go; HBD Tyler, Vic & Gonzo

• 1965 - The Pirates came to Milwaukee in the throes of an eight game losing streak and left with a three-game sweep of the Braves at County Stadium, taking a 10-1 victory in the series finale, with the match iced by an Andre Rodgers grand slam. Roberto Clemente and Bill Mazeroski each had three hits to back Bob Veale’s complete game, four-hit performance. The combo of the sad sack Pirates and some chilly weather didn’t do much to line the owners’ pockets - the set drew just 7,394 fans for the three contests, with the biggest crowd being 2,679 for the Friday night series opener. Of course, the fact that the Braves announced their move to Atlanta just a week or two prior to the series probably didn’t help spin the turnstiles, either. After the relocation, Milwaukee went without MLB ball until 1970 when the Brewers (nee Seattle Pilots) arrived. 
• 1978 - Reliever Mike Gonzalez was born in Corpus Christi. He was drafted by the Pirates and pitched his first four seasons (2003-06; 7-9-28/2.37) in Pittsburgh. Gonzo became a rare LH closer in 2006, earning 24 saves before being sent to Atlanta in the off season as part of the Adam LaRoche deal. He worked for six teams and last pitched in the majors in 2013 for the Brewers. 
• 1984 - Bucco lefty John Candelaria struck out 12 batters in eight innings of work as the Pirates beat Cincinnati, 7-2, at TRS. It was Candy Man’s fourth win of the year. The Pirates took the lead with six runs in the fifth inning and never looked back. Catcher Tony Pena went 3-for-4 with a triple, but lineup balance was the game story - eight Bucs had hits, seven scored, and six drove in runs. 
• 1985 - The Pirates fired GM Pete Peterson and replaced him with former GM Joe Brown; ironically, Peterson had taken Brown’s spot back in 1976. Pittsburgh was in last place in the division and last in attendance, too, prompting owner John Galbraith to pull the trigger. Joe steered the club until November, when Syd Thrift was named GM and Jim Leyland replaced Chuck Tanner. Pete eventually caught on with the Yankees, then joined the Padres and Blue Jays before retiring in 1995. 
• 1988 - RHP Vic Black was born in Amarillo, Texas. The Bucs first round pick in 2009 (49th overall) from Dallas Baptist University, he was called to the show briefly for Pittsburgh in 2013 before being traded to the Mets as part of the Marlon Byrd deal. He looked like a steal for New York with a two-year line of 5-3-1/2.63 in 56 outings, but injuries to his neck and shoulder derailed his career. 2014 was his last MLB season; he retired in 2018 after serving minor/indie league stints, returning as a minor league pitching mechanics coordinator for the Pirates in 2020. 

John Smiley - 1989 Classic

• 1989 - John Smiley struck out nine batters and tossed a complete game in a 5-2 victory over Zane Smith and the Braves in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Glenn Wilson had two hits, including a two-run homer, to lead the attack. The win was Smiley’s fifth in a row en route to winning 12 games for the Bucs that year. The 24-year-old’s 1989 campaign would see him set personal full-time bests in ERA (2.81) and WHIP (1.086) on the road to a 20-win season in 1991. 
• 1993 - RHP Tyler Beede was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. A first round pick of the Giants in 2014 (14th overall) from Vanderbilt, the highly regarded prospect never lived up to his hype at the Bay (5-11/5.39) and was converted from starter to the pen after 2020 TJ surgery. “Beedah” was DFA’ed in 2022 after serious control issues and claimed by the Pirates as a change of scenery candidate. Pittsburgh used him as a spot starter and out of the pen before DFA’ing him in September. Tyler then tossed in Japan and Cleveland; he’s now in the Minnesota system. 
• 1998 - Jason Kendall had a big if somewhat painful day at Pro Players Stadium against Florida in Pittsburgh’s 10-4 victory. After his first inning single knocked in a run, he was rewarded with a pair of HBPs. Kendall responded to the bruise cruise with a double & single to plate two more runs and touched the dish once with his following pair of swings, going 3-for-3 with three RBI. Turner Ward also drove in three runs and Tony Womack scored three times. Jon Lieber went seven frames to earn the win and Ricardo Rincon was credited with the save. 
• 1999 - Jason Schmidt left after two innings, with the Florida Marlins up, 5-0, (he missed the next start with “dead arm”). But the Bucs came all the way back at Pro Player Stadium to win, 6-5, by putting on a nickel and dime clinic against the Fish. They plated their runs on a sac fly, a grounder, an single/error followed by a rap, a wild pitch/missed catch, a double play and then scored the winner in the ninth when Mike Benjamin singled off a glove, went to second on a balk, tagged to third and scored on Al Martin’s blooper that barely cleared short. The comeback victory was made possible by a great bullpen effort: Jeff Wallace took home the win and the save went to Mike Williams following Chris Peters and Brad Clontz. 

Jeff Wallace - 1998 Bowman

• 2010 - Ryan Doumit had himself a day as the Bucs walked off with a 3-2, 10-inning win over Atlanta in front of a Sunday crowd of 23,045 fans at PNC Park. The Pirates left the bases loaded in the seventh (Pittsburgh was 1-for-9 w/RISP), failing to add to a 2-1 lead, before former Bucco Eric Hinske homered off Evan Meek to tie the game in the eighth. The match went on quietly until with two outs in the 10th, Dewey jumped on Takashi Saito’s first pitch and knocked it over the Clemente Wall for the first (and only) walkoff big fly of his career. The blast gave Octavio Dotel the win against the Bravos in a contest started by Zach Duke. Doumit’s three hits led the batting parade while Aki Iwamura and Andrew McCutchen added a pair of knocks apiece. 
• 2016 - In one of PNC Park’s scarier moments, witnessed by 34,529 fans, Pirates pitcher Ryan Vogelsong was hit in the face with an 0-2 fastball by the Rockies (and future Bucco) Jordan Lyles in the second inning and was carted off the field with facial fractures. Ryan was temporarily blinded in one eye, but his vision slowly recovered after surgery, and against the odds he returned to the mound on August 4th and pitched six strong innings. The Bucs, btw, won the match against Colorado by a 6-3 score (Wilfredo Boscan got his first MLB win) and Lyles was introduced to instant karma - he lost the game and then was sent to the minors the next day. 
• 2018 - The Bucs were cruisin’ at GABP behind Chad Kuhl, with a 4-0 lead going into the sixth after Fran Cervelli’s two-run homer and a pair of soft RBI singles. Kuhl Whip worked through the sixth, leaving with a 4-1 lead, but the Reds ganged up on Michael Feliz and Felipe Vazquez in the eighth to knot the score. Pittsburgh didn’t fold; Josh Harrison tripled in the 10th to plate Jordy Mercer, who made a sweet slide-by swish of the dish to beat the rap and regain the lead. Kyle Crick made the finish exciting, putting runners on the corners with nobody away and eventually leaving the sacks loaded, but he finally put it to rest, saving the victory for Steven Brault. Harrison and Corey Dickerson each had four hits to account for eight of the team’s 11 hits during the night. 
• 2019 - Colorado had run away with the first two games of the series at PNC Park and were threatening to sweep, but today the worm turned. The Pirates scored four runs in the first and had an 8-0 lead after four frames with their unlikely early season ace, Jordan Lyles, on the hill. But with two outs in the sixth (he had retired 14 Rox in a row), the wheels came off - the Rocky Mountain gang banged out five hits with a pair of walks against Lyles and Geoff Hartlieb to close the count to 8-6. It made the fans reach for the nitro tabs, but proved to be the Rockies last hurrah as the Pirates swatted three long balls in the seventh (Bryan Reynolds, Josh Bell, Starling Marte) and cruised to a 14-6 win. Lyles got the dub, though his ERA jumped from 1.97 to 2.81. The Pirates collected 15 hits (three each from Colin Moran and Bell) with Gregory Polanco also going deep. It was the biggest offensive output of the season for Pittsburgh and its largest margin of victory.