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7/26 From 1980: 100 For Renegade, Shelty's 1st, Marte Mash, Meals Call, Game Days, Kendall Contract, '08 NYY Swap, Holmes-Castillo, HBD Tsung-Che, J-Hwan & Ryan

Sunday, July 26, 2026 7:01

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1988 – Doug Drabek carried a two-hit shutout into the ninth inning against the Cards at Busch Stadium, but was banged for a two-out homer by Willie McGee to cut the score to 2-1 and add a little drama to the affair. Jimmy Leyland yanked him for Jim Gott (“I’ve seen too many guys give up a home run like that, lose a little concentration and boom, someone else has got them” the skipper told Bob Hertzel of the Pittsburgh Press after the game). Gott added to the final theatrics by giving up a single, but closed it out by blowing a fastball past Tom Brunansky to book the victory. The Bucs scored twice in the fourth frame on a wild pitch and Sid Bream knock that scored Jose Lind & Andy Van Slyke, to snap a four-game losing streak and stay two games behind the New York Mets in the division race. Another notable feat occurred during the game: C Spanky LaValliere stole his first MLB base, one of a single-season high of three swipes in ‘88. He stole two more sacks in 1991 and those five bags were his total big league.

1992 – The Braves were on a 13-game winning streak and weren’t planning on it ending. Down 4-1 in the eighth inning at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Lonnie Smith banged a three-run homer off Stan Belinda to tie the contest. But the Bucs hitters had an answer. Jeff King opened the ninth frame with a single, was bunted up and beat the throw home on Orlando Merced’s single. Jeff had two hits, two runs scored and an RBI on the day; Orlando, who came in as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning and stayed on at 1B, went 2-for-2 with two runs chased home (King both times with two outs). Belinda sucked it up and locked it down with a 1-2-3 ninth for the win.

1993 – 1B/RF Ryan O’Hearn was born in Dunedin, Florida. He was drafted in the 8th round of the 2014 lottery by KC from Sam Houston State and debuted with the Royals in 2018. Kansas City was the first of three MLB stops for him before signing with Pirates in January of ‘26 for two years/$29M after breaking out in 2024, then having a career year in 2025 while splitting time with the Baltimore Orioles and and San Diego Padres.

1997 – C Jason Kendall signed a four-year/$7.2M contract extension covering his arbitration years that carried him to the 2001 campaign. It was well worth the price; the young backstop hit .317 over the life of the deal, earned two All-Star bids and his play was amply rewarded later with a club record six-year, $60M deal.

Ji-Hwan Bae – 2023 Topps Golden Mirror

1999 – IF/OF Ji-Hwan Bae was born in Daegu, South Korea. Signed by the Bucs as an international FA in 2018 for $1.25M, he caused a storm when he was suspended 30 days for domestic violence committed in 2017. But he toed the line afterwards, worked through the system and debuted in 2022. Ji-Hwin was versatile, playing some outfield and 2B (his usual spot) while batting .333 in a small sample size. He also showed some speed as he was 3-for-3 on steals, aggressive on the basepaths and could cover center. With the Pirates short of leadoff types and OF’s, Bae was called up to the big team for a long look in ’23 and flashed hot-and-cold on the field. He made a couple of other stops in ‘24 and ‘25 at Pittsburgh while spending most of his time in AAA. Ji-Hwan was waived at the end of the 2025 campaign and was claimed by the New York Mets.

2001 – IF Tsung-Che Cheng was born in Pingtung County, Taiwan. He was an international signee in 2019 known for his good wheels and good glove. He lived up to that rep, playing slick middle infield and some third, but hitting just .230 in two seasons with Altoona. “Z” was on Taiwan’s ‘23 WBC team and the Pirates 40-man roster/Top 20 Prospect list by 2025. He had a strong spring camp and was called up in early April, when Jared Triolo, whose profile Cheng fits, went on the IL with back woes. It was a brief stay (three games, 0-for-7) and he was DFA’ed; Tampa Bay claimed him and he’s now with the Red Sox.

2008 – OF Xavier Nady & LHP Damaso Marte were traded to the NY Yankees for OF Jose Tabata and RHPs Jeff Karstens, Daniel McCutchen & Ross Ohlendorf. During their Bucco careers, Karstens tossed for five years (23-35/4.31), McCutchen made 109 appearances in four seasons (8-11/4.77) and Ohlie tossed for four years (13-27/4.61). Tabata was the key prospect; the Pirates locked him up to a long-term deal guaranteed for five years/$14.5M. Although he hit .275 over six years, injuries and lack of power were his undoing and he was shipped to LA. Joey last played in Mexico in 2021.

2011 – This was the black day of the Jerry Meals game in Atlanta, heralding the end of the Bucco’s improbable pennant (and .500+ season) run. The ump blew a call at home in the 19th inning, giving the Braves a 4-3 win and starting a downward spiral of epic proportions for Pittsburgh. At 6 hours and 39 minutes, it was the longest game in club history. The Pirates filed a protest (at 2:30 in the morning) but the judgment call was upheld, even though the League Office admitted it was wrong. To add salt to the wound, Meals was born in nearby Butler.

2012 – In a rookie-on-rookie match, Starling Marte homered to left center against Houston’s Dallas Keuchel, hammering the first MLB pitch he saw. Pittsburgh won the contest 5-3 at Minute Maid Park as Garrett Jones and Clint Barmes also went long while AJ Burnett took home the victory against the ‘Stros behind the big boomers. Marte became the third Bucco to send his first major league pitch over the wall, joining Walter Mueller (1922) and Don Leppert (1961).

Derek Shelton – July 2020 photo/Pirates

2020 – It took three tries, but new Bucco skipper Derek Shelton won his first MLB game by a 5-1 count over the St. Louis Cardinals in Busch Stadium. Mitch Keller went five innings, giving up a run, before JT Brubaker, in his first big league outing, Michael Feliz and Nick Burdi nailed it down. Jose Osuna and Colin Moran homered while Phil Evans collected three hits. In a sidebar, with no fans in attendance due to the Covid 19 crowd ban, pitcher Derek Holland decided to soak up some sun and caught the game from the box seats, from whence he was ejected for jawing at the plate umpire to become the first player given the thumb in 2020. It was an abbreviated initiation for Shelton; he debuted during the Covid-shortened 60-game season that had only begun on July 23.

2021 – The New York Yankees acquired RHP Clay Holmes from the Pirates in exchange for IFs Diego Castillo, 23, and Hoy Jun Park, 25. Park was playing AAA ball, went to Indy briefly and was called up on 7/31, while Castillo was in AA and assigned to Altoona; both played 2B/SS (Park also had some time in the pasture). The pair showed some pop on the farm with the sticks, and both were up-and-down, filling in as utilitymen. Park played in the Oakland system and is now a FA while Castillo is a Kansas City farmhand. Holmes flipped from the Yankees closer to joining the Mets’ rotation.

2023 – The Pirates had lost all six series in July, were minus their skipper, Derek Shelton, for the day (suspension), starting a pitcher, Johan Oviedo, who hadn’t won since mid-May and fully committed to their young blood, starting five players with less that two months MLB experience. But thanks to three solo homers and a steely comeback by David Bednar in the ninth frame, they took two out of three at San Diego’s Petco Park by claiming the finale 3-2 to hand bench coach Don Kelly his first win at the helm. The Bucco blasts were provided by Ji Man Choi, Bryan Reynolds & Carlos Santana and the drama by The Renegade. Bednar came in with a two-run lead and got the first out before two walks (the first one scored; the second forced the run home), a hit batter and single made it 3-2 with the bases jammed. But it ended well as he closed it out with a pop and a whiff, and though it took 37 pitches, he notched his 20th save to clinch Oviedo’s dub. The Pirates last series win was a sweep at PNC Park in late June, also v the Friars.

2025 – Pirate bats remained icy despite the July heat, but the pitching was hotter than…well, you know where. Andrew Heaney spun five shutout innings, giving up two hits, and he along with the bullpen bunch made Oneil Cruz’s two-run, second-inning blast hold up as they beat the D-Backs at PNC Park, 2-0. It was a big night for the Renegade. David Bednar walked off the hill after a MLB-leading 23rd straight appearance without yielding an earned run (22-1/3 IP; 10 hits; five walks; 29 K). It was his 16th straight save, and he joined the Pirates 100 saves club as its sixth member, along with ElRoy Face, Kent Tekulve, Mike Williams, Dave Giusti and Mark Melancon.

Source: https://oldbucs.blogspot.com/2026/07/726-from-1980-100-for-renegade-sheltys.html

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