5/26 From 1970: 7 Bombs, Ward Cycle, 9-Run Frame, Francisco & Steve Gems, A-Ram Debut, Fireworks, Game Days, HBD Endy
- 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 at Veterans Stadium, 7-6. 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.
- 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.
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| A-Ram – 1998 Bowman Scouts Choice |
- 1998 – Aramis Ramirez made his MLB debut at the age of 19 – he was the last teen to play for the Pirates until Konnor Griffin in 2026 – and went hitless v Milwaukee during a 3-2 loss at County Stadium, but that line wasn’t indicative of A-Ram’s 18-year stay in the show. He started with the Bucs, went to the Chicago Cubs in a contract dump, and nine years later returned to end his career as a Bucco in 2015, with a seven-year Pittsburgh line of .261/82 HR. Aramis hit .283 with 386 HR/1,407 RBI during his major league run, earning three All-Star outings and a Silver Slugger award.
- 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. He was back and then gone again in early June, lost to elbow surgery this time, rejoining the big club in mid-May, 2026.
- 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.
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| Josh Fogg – 2003 Upper Deck Pirates MVP |
- 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.
- 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 burned six pitchers, with the win going to starter Kris Benson.
- 2012 – The Cubs lost their 11th straight game to the Pirates 3-2, 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 walkoff 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.
Source: https://oldbucs.blogspot.com/2026/05/526-from-1970-7-bombs-ward-cycle-9-run.html
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