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10/14 From 1970: Rook & Nellie Stymie O's, Zane Tops Bravos, Bream Game, Cutch MOTY, HBD Miguel, Kris, Duaner, Ryan & Midre

Wednesday, October 14, 2026 7:01

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1971 – Nellie Briles tossed a two-hit, two-walk shutout at the Baltimore Orioles, and the 4-0 win put the Pirates up three games to two in the World Series. The Birds never got a runner to second as two Orioles reached with two outs and the Bucs turned a pair of DP on the other set as Nellie faced just 29 hitters. Every Pirate batter reached base during the game, with Bob Robertson hitting a solo shot at Three Rivers Stadium in front of 51,377 Pittsburgh fans.

1971 – OF Midre Cummings was born in Christiansted, St. Croix, in the US Virgin Islands. A first round pick of the Twins in the 1990 draft, he came to Pittsburgh as part of the John Smiley deal. Between 1993-97, he barely got over 500 at bats for the Bucs, hitting .217. After the Pirates let him go, he played until 2005 and turned his bat around, never hitting under .263, although he remained a bench guy, playing in fewer than 100 games in any given season.

1978 – OF Ryan Church was born in Santa Barbara, California. Church was signed to a one-year/$1.5M FA contract by the Bucs in 2010 in the hope that he would provide at least a platoon, if not starting, bat for the outfield. But Church had suffered a second concussion while playing in 2009 and never recovered his old chops as a hitter, batting .182 and being sent to Arizona at the deadline. He played out the year there, hitting better (.265), but it was his final bow in the show after seven MLB seasons when the D-Backs non-tendered him.

1979 – Staring at elimination, Pittsburgh had Bill Mazeroski throw out the first pitch. That Maz mojo apparently did the trick as Jim Rooker and game-winner Bert Blyleven combined to toss a six-hitter against the Orioles at TRS to keep the Bucs alive with a 7-1 victory. Rook went five frames, leaving with the Birds ahead, 1-0, before Blyleven and the Buc bats took command. Tim Foli tripled and had three RBI, Bill Madlock went 4-for-4, and Dave Parker and Phil Garner had a pair of knocks. Chuck Tanner’s mother died the morning of the game and Tanner told the team before the game that his mother was a big Pirates fan, “and she knew we needed some help, so she went to get us some.” She was Pittsburgh’s angel in the outfield. The Pirates’ win left Baltimore ahead in the World Series win column three games to two. It’s also the last World Series game played in Pittsburgh.

Jim Rooker – 2004 Pitt-Ohio Express/1979 Pirates

1979 – RHP Duaner Sanchez was born in Cotuí, Dominican Republic. The Pirates got him from the D-Backs in July, 2002, for Mike Fetter, and Sanchez was tagged for 15 runs in 8-1/3 IP during his nine outings as a Bucco. He was released in 2003 and the Dodgers claimed him, with Duaner putting together a solid three-year run with LA and the Mets as a set-up man after that. His career took a hard hit in 2006, when a cab he was riding in was sideswiped by a drunk driver, separating his shoulder and pretty much ending his major league days. He put in a full year with the Mets in 2008, albeit with a 4.32 ERA (it was 2.60 before his injury) and after a quick stop at San Diego, he spent 2009-11 in the Dominican, Mexican and indie leagues before retiring from pro ball.

1980 – Charley Feeney of the Post Gazette wrote that the Bucs offered the California Angels SS Tim Foli in exchange for 1B Jason Thompson, and the Halos countered by asking for a SS Dale Berra/RHP Enrique Romo package. No deal was struck, but focus and perseverance sometimes pay off. The Bucs landed Thompson late during the following spring training camp by sending the Halos C Ed Ott and LHP Mickey Mahler. JT proved solid with the stick – in his five Pirate campaigns, he hit .259 with 93 HR and a 125 OPS+. Otter played one more season and was done while Mahler pitched from 1981-83 in the Angels system, but only made 12 MLB outings, working out of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League and serving as a depth option for the Cali club.

1984 – LHP Kris Johnson was born in West Covina, California. Johnson was a #1 pick (40th overall) of the Bosox out of Wichita State in 2006. They released him in 2011 and the Bucs signed him. He got into four Pirates games (one start) in 2013, slashing 0-2/6.10, and was traded to the Twins after the season to get Duke Welker back. He carved out a solid six-year run beginning in 2015 (60-43/2.81) with Hiroshima in the Japanese League before retiring in 2021.

1991 – The Pirates Zane Smith was the victor as the Bucs took a 1-0 win over the Braves at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium and a 3-2 lead in the NLCS. Tom Glavine was the loser, touched up only in the fifth when Chico Lind singled home Steve Buechele. The Braves lost a run when David Justice missed third base while heading home after a two-out, fourth-inning single in a decision that was controversial with its replay inconclusive, allowing the original call to stand.

Zane Smith – 1991 Topps Stadium Club

1992 – Pittsburgh lost the seventh game of the NLCS to the Braves at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, 3-2, when Sid Bream scored in the ninth, barely beating Barry Bond’s off-line throw and Spanky LaValliere’s lunging tag to begin a two-decade long Bucco Dark Age. Pittsburgh carried a two-run lead into the last frame when a Chico Lind error and two walks proved fatal. Francisco Cabrera, whose two-out pinch-hit single tallied Bream, was a backup catcher who had only 11 plate appearances during the regular season. Karma quickly caught up; the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Bravos four games to two in the World Series, taking all four of their victories by one run with three of those wins claimed during their last at bat for their first of back-to-back Fall Classic titles.

1992 – LHP Miguel Del Pozo was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He bounced around and had TJ surgery in 2016, landing with Pirates in 2020 as a minor league FA. Del Pozo had been beaten up some in his rookie year with the Angels, and it continued during his season in Pittsburgh. He was called up in 2020 and still had big problems finding the strike zone. Miguel walked eight in 3-2/3 IP and posted an ERA of 17.18; he declared for FA after the season and signed with the Tigers. He was DFA’ed after the 2022 season and signed with Detroit. The Tigers released him after TJ surgery and MDP joined the Giants organization, last climbing a pro mound in 2023.

1994 – The players may have been on strike, but GM Cam Bonifay was still trying to beef up the edges of the club. LHP Randy Tomlin was DFA’ed (he declared for free agency but never landed another MLB gig) to make room for IF Nelson Liriano, who was claimed from the Colorado Rockies. Earlier in the week, Cam picked up C Mark Parent on waivers from the Chicago Cubs and added a pair of outfielders, Jacob Brumfield and Micah Franklin, in deals with the Cincinnati Reds.

2015 – Andrew McCutchen was selected as Pittsburgh’s Male Athlete of the Year in a voter’s poll for the City Paper’s “Best Of” issue. Charlie Deitch wrote a feature on Cutch, saying “…the reason (for the award) seems like a simple one: He’s really good at playing baseball. But it’s more than that…this guy really loves the game; he says it with his words and his actions.”

Source: https://oldbucs.blogspot.com/2026/10/1014-from-1970-rook-nellie-stymie-os.html

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