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8/20 From 1970: LL Champs, Reggie Rocks, KY Day, Mitch, Kris & Jose Gems, Omar's 70th, 1,000 For Danny, Milner-Martinez; HBD Matt

Wednesday, August 20, 2025 7:01

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1975 – Manager Danny Murtaugh’s 1,000th win (he finished with 1,115, all with the Buccos) went in the books after a 3-1 victory over the Giants at TRS. He became the second Pittsburgh skipper to reach that milestone, after Fred Clarke and his 1,422 dubs. The Pirates scored their runs in the bottom of the eighth inning on Craig Reynold’s double and a two-run knock by Rennie Stennett. Winner Jim Rooker pitched eight innings of three-hit ball with Dave Giusti closing.
1978 – The Pirates defeated the Astros in a TRS twin bill by 7-6 and 3-1 scores. The two wins gave the Bucs a six game sweep of the ‘Stros, followed by a three-game brooming of the Braves that would take them from 9-1/2 games back in the division race to 3-1/2. The opener was sloppy; the Pirates committed three errors, opening the gates for three unearned runs, but homers by Willie Stargell and Dale Berra (his first MLB long ball) along with 14 hits (Frank Taveras had four raps and Stargell three) carried the day. Jim Rooker got the win with a Kent Tekulve save. Jerry Reuss went the distance in the second game, backed by a pair of Ed Ott homers. It was Reuss’ first win of the year in his ninth start; he had been largely ineffective and given a bullpen role for much of the summer. It was also the first time a team had swept a six game series (or even played one, per the Pittsburgh Press) in the modern era. The Bucs sizzled during the dog days, going 39-21 over the last two months of the season, but got it together too late. They fell 1-1/2 games short of the Phils in ‘78 and would have to wait for next year.
1980 – Omar Moreno stole his 70th base of the year in a 5-1 loss at the Astrodome, becoming the first player in the 20th century with three consecutive 70-steal seasons. The Antelope swiped 71 in 1978, 77 in 1979 and finished 1980 with a career-high 96 successful larcenies. He swiped 412 sacks in an eight-year Bucco stay, behind only Max Carey (688) and Hans Wagner (639) in the franchise record book, with 487 bases stolen during his career.
1981 – Pittsburgh traded John Milner to the Expos for Willie Montanez in a flip of reserve first basemen. Neither did much for their new teams, and Montanez was released after the 1982 season. ironically so that the Pirates could bring free agent Milner back for his final MLB campaign.

Willie Montanez – 1982 Topps

1983 – Jose DeLeon took a no-hitter into the seventh inning for the third time during the season, but Cincinnati’s Dan Driessen doubled with two outs to spoil the no-no. DeLeon finished with 13 strikeouts and a 4-0 two-hit victory at TRS. Jason Thompson and Tony Pena had two hits, a run and an RBI each. DeLeon went 7-3/2.83 in his rookie season, and although he never became an ace, he lasted 13 years in the show while pitching for five different clubs.
1985 – 1B Matt “The Hit Collector” Hague was born in Bellevue, Washington. The Pirates selected Hague in the ninth round of the 2008 draft out of Oklahoma State as a third baseman; he was switched to first because of Pedro Alvarez. He got his nickname because in the minors it was said all he did was hit, but in two Pittsburgh stays (2012 & 2014), he stroked just .222 and was waived to Toronto, where he played in 2015. He spent a year in Japan, then signed with the Twins organization. Matt’s now the Pirates hitting coach.
1988 – John Smiley and Jim Gott held the Astros to seven hits as the Bucs defeated Houston and Nolan Ryan by a 2-1 count at Three Rivers Stadium with the contest aired as the NBC Game of the Week. The Pirates used a two-out rally in the sixth to put up their runs. Smiley walked on five pitches and Barry Bonds singled after falling behind 1-2. In a key play, the ‘Stros Gerald Young took a shot at Smiley going to third and missed by a hair, allowing Bonds to reach second. Jose Lind’s liner to center plated them both. The win pulled the Buccos to within 3-1/2 games of the lead, but they dropped 9-of-13 matches after the victory, eventually finishing second but 15 games off the pace.
1990 – Neal Heaton went six shutout innings, giving up just three hits, as the Pirates rolled over the Astros, 7-1, at Three Rivers Stadium. Neal’s reward: his 11th victory and a flip from the rotation to the bullpen, though not due to performance. Jim Leyland was trying to cut back on his innings as Heaton had a sore arm he was pitching through, and the move also added a third lefty to the relief corps. The hitting hero was Gary Redus with a homer and three RBI, the first tallies he had sent home in two weeks, plus a pair of runs scored. Bobby Bonilla and John Cangelosi added a pair of knocks, with Bo plating a pair of Pirates and Cangy crossing the dish twice. It was Pittsburgh’s sixth straight win as they were on a mid-August tear of taking 10-of-12 games.

Neal Heaton – 1990 Fleer

1995 – It was Kevin Young 3, Florida 2, at TRS as KY banged out three hits, including a homer, and drove in all three runs. His big night came about to some Bucco groupthink involving Young, Jim Leyland, batting coach Milt May and Bob Walk, who tossed BP for Young, after Young went through a four-strikeout game earlier in the week. They had him get closer to the plate and to set the bat on his shoulder rather than in the air. Viola – he went 7-for-13 with three homers after the chat. Spoiler alert – it was a temporary patch; he hit .232 over the year and didn’t break out until 1997. But it worked well enough to carry Steve Parris, with bullpen help, to victory.
2002 – Pirate pitching held the Cardinals hitless after a one-out single in the first at Busch Stadium in an 8-0 win. Kris Benson started and went seven frames, with an inning each from Brian Boehringer and Al Reyes. Jason Kendall had three RBI, and five Bucs chipped in with a handful of solo shots – Brian Giles, Aramis Ramirez, Rob Mackowiak, Craig Wilson and Adam Hyzdu.
2003 – Reggie Sanders joined Jeff King (who did it twice) and Jake Stenzel (1894) as the only Bucs to homer twice in one inning when he belted big flies off Jason Pearson and Esteban Yan of the Cards during a 10-run fifth inning at Busch Stadium, with his second dinger being a grand slam. His first tater was the team’s third in a row, behind Jason Kendall and Brian Gile blasts, and the four bombs in one inning was a Pirates record. It was a home run derby for the Pirates, who hit seven big boppers to tie the franchise’s single-game high water mark. Also going long were Rob Mackowiak with a pair of four-baggers and pitcher Jeff D’Amico, who dropped one in the seats while tossing a complete game three-hitter as the Bucs fired on all cylinders in a 14-0 romp.
2014 – Down 2-0 in the bottom of the eighth and in the throes of a seven-game losing streak, the Bucs rallied to overtake the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park by a 3-2 score. A leadoff walk to Gaby Sanchez in the eighth was followed by a ground rule double off Travis Snider’s bat. A grounder and wild pitch brought them home to tie the game. Jordy Mercer opened the ninth with a single and went to third an out later when Starling Marte’s fly dropped in. Sanchez again was the man of the hour, lofting one just deep enough to plate Mercer. Tony Watson got the win and Mark Melancon the save. The Pirates went on to finish the year on a 24-12 run to earn a wild card, falling two games short of catching the Cards for the Central title. The SF Giants, who went on to win the WS, made it a short postseason when they topped the Bucs, 8-0, behind Madison Bumgarner in the win-or-go-home playoff game.

Tony Watson – 2014 Topps Update

2017 – The Pirates, at the behest of MLB, flipped their game from PNC Park to Bowman Field, a minor-league park in Williamsport, to play the St. Louis Cardinals in the “Little League Classic” during the Little League World Series tournament. 2,596 tweener ball players and their parents watched as the Buccos won a 6-3 decision from the Redbirds. Ivan Nova had a rocky outing but kept the run count down for the win, supported by some nice work from the bullpen. The first four Pirates hitters (Starling Marte, Josh Harrison, Andrew McCutchen & Josh Bell) went 8-for-15, scored all six runs and drove in five. It marked the sixth straight multi-hit game for Marte while J-Bell’s four RBIs (two-run homer, two-run single) tied his career single-game high.
2024 – The Bucs were badly in need of a stopper; they had just broken out of a 10-game losing streak and were still carrying a nine-game road stretch without a win. Mitch Keller stepped up; he went seven shutout innings against the Rangers at Globe Life Field, giving up three hits, nary a walk and whiffing nine to earn his 11th win. Kells hadn’t pocketed a victory since July 8, but was on top of his game, not allowing a Texas runner to reach second. The offense was keyed by a fourth-inning, two-out rally when Bryan De La Cruz singled in a pair of runs and Oneil Cruz brought him home with a triple. Jared Triolo drove in an insurance marker in the eighth frame.

Source: https://oldbucs.blogspot.com/2025/08/820-from-1970-ll-champs-reggie-rocks-ky.html

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