6/29 From 1990: K-Chapman, B-Rey Six-Pack, Petey+Cutch+Freddy+Matt+Jason=Big Bats, Game Days, Shelty & Jim To ASG, KY Gone, Ollie Out, Smoky City, Run It Up

1990 – Know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em: Gene Collier’s Pgh. Press column said the Pirates and Dodgers had discussed an offseason deal for Barry Bonds with the return being RHP Tim Belcher and 3B Jeff Hamilton. LA countered by offering righty John Wetteland instead of Hamilton; the Pirates then asked about pitcher Ramon Martinez, and the talks died out. In other Bucco news, Jim Leyland made his first All Star game when Roger Craig named him as a coach.

2000 – Jason Kendall put on a show with two hits, including a homer, walk, two stolen bases, three RBI and two runs as the Bucs outlasted the Cubs 5-4 in 10 innings at TRS. He capped the game with a walk-off single to bring home Mike Benjamin for the bonus baseball win. Marc Wilkins, the fourth Pirates pitcher, got the victory in a game started by Jose Silva.

2003 – Matt Stairs drove in four runs with a homer and double while Jason Kendall added four knocks to lead the Bucs to a 9-0 whipping of the Rockies at PNC Park. Jeff Suppan pitched a complete-game, four-hit shutout for the win. In the day’s other big news, veteran first baseman Kevin Young was released. He was hitting just .202 and the writing was on the wall, but it was a bittersweet split as KY was a respected clubhouse guy and mentor for many of the players in the organization as the 34-year-old had spent 11 of his 12 big league years in Pgh.

2005 – LHP Ollie Perez was placed on the DL with a broken toe. He kicked a laundry cart in frustration after being pulled from a game in St. Louis on the 26th (an eventual 10-inning, 5-4 Pirate win) and was out of action for 10 weeks. He was traded to the Mets the following year.

2006 – The Pirates edged the Chicago White Sox at PNC Park 7-6, ending a club-record 13-game losing streak. Freddy Sanchez was the hero with four hits, including a walkoff ninth inning homer. He had help from the tres Jose’s – Bautista, Castillo and Hernandez had two hits – and Jack Wilson, who also rapped out a pair of knocks. Mike Gonzalez got the win.

Freddy Sanchez – 2006 Ovation Center Stage

2012 – The Pirates pounded four homers on the way to a 14-5 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Andrew McCutchen, Garrett Jones, Clint Barmes and Alex Presley all went yard. Cutch had a 4-for-5 day with four runs and three RBI; Pedro Alvarez added four RBI (he was liking Cardinal pitching; Petey hit a grand slam the next day in a 7-3 win). Kevin Correia went five frames for the win; Brad Lincoln and Chris Resop covered the final four innings to bring it home. It was the early leg of a 24-of-35 winning streak that put them 16 games above .500 in early August, but a late free fall left them at 79 wins for their 20th straight losing season.

2013 – A life-size statue of Roberto Clemente was unveiled at the 25-acre Roberto Clemente State Park along the Harlem River in the Bronx. The likeness, sculpted by Maritza Hernandez, was the first in New York to honor a person of Puerto Rican heritage, according to the park’s director. The park opened in 1973 as the Harlem River Park before being renamed after Clemente, and holds an annual Roberto Clemente Week to celebrate its namesake.

2014 – Josh Harrison hit his first career leadoff home run and Francisco Liriano allowed one run in seven innings while striking out 11 as the Bucs beat the SF Giants 3-1 at AT&T Park. J-Hay went deep in his third straight game and was matched by Travis Snider, who added the Buccos final pad with a two-run blast in the second frame for his third game with a bomb.

2021 – The hapless Bucs barely avoided being no-hit when Ka’ai Tom, batting .131 (he was in a 2-for-39 slump), lined a single to right to open the ninth inning against German Marquez at Coors Field for the Pirates sole knock. It was the only highlight of an 8-0 drubbing against Colorado, the second straight night they had been whitewashed by the Rockies.

2022 – Bryan Reynolds set career-highs by banging three homers and driving in six runs to lead Pittsburgh over Washington at Nationals Park by an 8-7 count to end a Pirates five-game losing streak. Daniel Vogelbach also homered and a big run was scored thanks to the rule book. With one out in the fifth inning and the score tied, Hoy Park was on second and Jack Suwinski was on third. Ke’Bryan Hayes’ low liner to 1B Josh Bell was snagged as both runners were off on contact. Bell threw to 3B Ehire Adrianza, who tagged Park and then stepped on the base. He should have stepped on the base first as Suwinski crossed the plate before Park was out, and his run counted. The blue crew invoked the “fourth out” rule because Washington didn’t appeal before leaving the field though Suwinski never retouched third; the two bads added up to a good thing for the Bucs. Both teams burned their pens; the Nats used six pitchers and the Bucs five, with Chase De Jong getting the win and Yerry De Los Santos earning his first MLB save.

Henry Davis – 2023 Panini Crusades

2023 – The Pirates, who had lost 12-of-13, had a bat revival and won the first two games against San Diego at PNC Park. This third match started out ominously; yesterday’s contest was played in wildfire haze from the Canadian forest fires and today was no better, with the start delayed 45 minutes and the players wanting to reschedule. But the Pirates, after talking to MLB and the MLBPA, said play on. It looked at first to be a bad decision on several levels, the main one being an early 4-0 deficit. But Pittsburgh ground it out, scoring on a Nick Gonzales sac fly in the fourth and a Henry Davis single in the sixth. Then in the seventh, the Pirates, with help from the Friars, scored the tying runs when Jack Suwinski’s dribbler up the first base line was tossed into right by the pitcher, who was trying to thread a throw through a crowd approaching the sack. An out later, Davis dropped a flare into right to plate Suwinski and give the Bucs a 5-4 lead. David Bednar came in with two away in the eighth to pick up a four-out save, striking out three to save the win for Dauri Moreta, the third of five Corsair hurlers used during the day. Recently promoted Davis went 3-for-4, chasing home a pair of runs and scoring once to lead the attack. It was the Pirates fifth sweep of the season.

2023 – Pirates field general Derek Shelton got a surprise call – he was the first Buc to be selected to the 2023 All Star team, as long-time bud Rob Thompson, the Phillies manager and AS skipper, added him to the National League staff. It was Shelty’s first All-Star appearance.

2024 – Aroldis Chapman struck out his 1,197th career batter when he fanned Sean Murphy to overtake Billy Wagner for the most career Ks among lefty relievers (and yes, the glove was safely bubble-wrapped and sent off to Cooperstown). Paul Skenes had set the stage by tossing the first six innings, giving up a run – a leadoff homer to start the contest – on six hits with a pair of walks and nine strikeouts. Bryan Reynolds also kept his 25-game hitting streak alive with a two-out, ninth-inning triple, but it was all to no avail as the Bucs dropped a 2-1 decision in 10 innings to Atlanta. The Pirates stranded 12 and went 0-for-10 w/RISP.

2025 – The Pirates were off to a miserable 35-50 start through June, but don’t tell the Mets. The Bucs rolled 12-1 at PNC Park behind two Oneil Cruz homers, with more bombs dropped by Tommy Pham and Bryan Reynolds, three knocks by Ke’Bryan Hayes to run his hitting streak to eight games plus a four-hit afternoon by Henry Davis. Mike Burrows started strong and Carmen Mlodzinski finished the same (combined eight IP, six hits, one run, seven K), earning the win. Pittsburgh had taken the first two games of the set by 9-1 and 9-2 counts. The +26 run differential in this series was the most of any three-game series for the Pirates since September, 1975 against the Cubs (36-7; +29).