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6/26 From 1980: Game Tales - Cutch Bangs, Turnin' Two, Lloyd Steals First, Gems Galore, Bell Rings, JT Joltin'; HBD Justin

Thursday, June 26, 2025 7:01

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1984 – 1B Jason Thompson hit two homers in each game (a pair off Dennis Eckersley and then two more off Rich Bordi) during a doubleheader split with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, winning the first match, 9-0, behind a Rick Rhoden four-hitter and dropping the nitecap, 9-8. Thompson tied the club record (set by Ralph Kiner on 9/11/47) by hitting four home runs in a doubleheader. In the opener, the Pirates jumped to a quick 8-0 lead after three innings, with the only drama being Johnny Ray’s effort for a cycle (he fell a homer short). Doug Frobel joined the HR parade in the second match by adding a pair of long flies, but the four homers were all solo shots and not quite enough to rally the Bucs from a six-run opening frame by the Cubbies against Larry McWilliams.
1987 – Before the game, the Bucs honored Ralph Kiner and Bill Mazeroski, announcing that they were retiring #4 and #9 in August for Maz and September for Mr. Swat, when the Mets were in town (Kiner was a broadcaster for NY). Maz’s number was unused, but Kiner’s #4 was sported by Make LaValliere, who switched to #12. The Bucs then took care of the Cubs at TRS by a 5-2 score behind Andy Van Slyke’s three hits, including a homer, and three RBI and a Barry Bonds longball. Barry Jones was credited with the win and Don Robinson earned the save of a game started by Doug Drabek.
1987 – OF Terry Harper was traded to the Pirates by the Detroit Tigers for Pete Rice and Shawn Holman. Harper hit .288 for the Bucs, splitting his 36 games as the fifth outfielder between the corner outfield and pinch hitting, then took his services to Japan in 1988. RHP Holman got into five games for Motown (good ERA but 11 walks in 10 IP) while Rice, an intriguing athlete who played as an outfielder, first baseman and pitcher during his career, never cracked the show.
1988 – It took 10 innings before anyone could push a run across the dish, but the Bucs outlasted the Expos, 3-0, at Stade Olympique. Doug Drabek gave up two hits over eight innings and Jeff Robinson cruised home, giving up a rap and fanning four in 1-2/3 IP for the win. In the final frame, a Montreal error and two walks set up a sac fly by Sid Bream and the coup d’ grace was applied by Mike LaValliere, who doubled in a pair; all three runs were unearned. The Bucs made it hard on themselves by stranding 12 and going 1-for-11 w/RISP.

Jeff Robinson – 1988 Score

1990 – Bob Patterson and Bruce Ruffin put on a pitching show for the 25,807 fans at TRS as they carried shutouts into the eighth, with one runner between the two teams reaching third. The Bucs brought in Scott Ruskin to work the eighth frame, and he gave up back-to-back two-out infield raps, but a K put an end to the drama. Ruffin gave up a leadoff single to Chico Lind, who advanced to second with two away. Jay Bell fell behind 1-2, then shot a ball through the left side to plate Chico. Stan Belinda made that run stand up in the ninth to earn a victory for Ruskin after the heavy lifting had been done by Patterson. It was the second straight shutout of Philly; Rick Reed spun a four-hit, 5-0 victory the night before. That outing was the first Pirates whitewash of the season and today’s blanking was the first back-to-back Bucco zippos since 1984.
1991 – The Pirates scored five times in the third inning and then hung on to defeat the Cubs at TRS in front of 41,389 fans by a final count of 7-6. Jose Lind had a three-run homer, Barry Bonds a two-run shot, and Jay Bell went 5-for-5 to prime the attack against Chicago. Bob Walk lasted long enough for the win with Bill Landrum finishing up for the save.
1996 – The Bucs beat the Montreal Expos, 3-1, at Olympic Stadium as 40-year-old Danny Darwin spun seven shutout innings for the win, dropping his ERA to 2.64. That June he allowed just four runs in five starts, slashing 4-1/1.06. His reward was a trade to the Houston Astros in late July for Rich Loiselle. Danny hung ‘em up after the 1998 campaign after 21 years and 171 wins in the show and finished as a Reds pitching coach through 2019.
1997 – LHP Justin Bruihl was born in Petaluma, California. The Bucs signed the lefty after he opted out of a minor-league deal with the Reds (he was 4-0/2.31 in 19 appearances at AAA Louisville) in June, 2024. He’s put in three years of MLB time with LA and Colorado, posting a 2-2-1/4.22 career line in 72 outings, pitching most effectively as a lefty-on-lefty specialist and l joined Aroldis Chapman as lefties in the pen. The move triggered some more shufflin’ to create roster spot openings – the Pirates moved LHP Ryan Borucki from the 15- to 60-day IL. RHP Quinn Priester (right lat) was placed on 15-day IL with a right lat muscle injury. He went 0-0-1/9.53 in seven outings and was optioned back to Indy on his 27th birthday. He became a FA after the season and is now with Toronto.

Pat Meares – 1999 Pacific Revolution

1999 – SS Pat Meares, on the DL recovering from surgery on his left hand but traveling with the team, ran in a mascot race at Milwaukee’s County Stadium. Meares, dressed as a bratwurst, won the race by defeating a hot dog and a polish sausage. Two days prior, Meares had been videotaped sunbathing in the upper deck of Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium. He missed all but the first 21 games of the ‘99 season after signing a contract that carried him until 2003. He played in 2000-01 for the team, then spent the next two years on the DL; the Pirates wanted further surgery on his hand and he didn’t agree. Needless to say, the relationship became contentious, involving the union, league office and random attorneys. They eventually reached an uneasy truce that resulted in Meares being paid, but he never played another game in the majors.
2001 – On his 27th B-Day, Jason Kendall was ruled out on a bang-bang decision at first, prompting the most famous steal in Pirate history. Manager Lloyd McClendon stormed out, put on a show for the 24,120 fans at PNC Park, and finally pulled the sack off its stanchion and carried it into the dugout in protest (he’d be hit with a $1,000 fine for his antics; MLB Lineup in 2025 called it the second most memorable manager-ump meltdown ever.) As for the game, the Bucs came back to beat the Brewers, 7-6, in 12 frames. They dodged a late bullet when Aramis Ramirez smacked a two-run, two-out eleventh inning homer to keep the game alive after the Brew Crew had taken the lead on back-to-back homers in their half off Mike Williams. Rob Mackowiak singled through a drawn-in infield for the game winner, plating Kevin Young, who had opened the 12th with a double and moved to third on a ground out, to seal the deal for Omar Olivares and Pittsburgh. Aramis Ramirez and Young each had three hits, three RBI and two runs scored.
2004 – Randall Simon’s home run in the ninth frame was all the offense the Pirates could muster but proved enough as they edged the Cincinnati Reds, 1-0, at Great American Ball Park. Ollie Perez gave up three hits while firing 13 whiffs over seven frames but wasn’t part of the decision – Mark Corey got the win and Jose Mesa earned his 17th save. Simon and Jose Castillo each had a pair of hits.

Randall Simon – 2004 MLB Showdown

2005 – The Pirates turned six double plays and beat the Cardinals in St. Louis, 5-4, in 10 innings. The six twin killings were a club record and each was scored differently (2-4; 5-4-3; 9-4; 4-6-3; 5-2-3; and 6-4-3). Jason Bay hit a three-run HR in the third and a game-tying blast in the top of the ninth. Jose Castillo’s solo shot in the 10th iced the victory. Starter Ollie Perez broke his toe when he kicked a laundry cart in the clubhouse, frustrated that he had been pulled in the seventh inning. More frustratingly, he wouldn’t pitch again until September.
2013 – The Pirates won their sixth straight game (they were in the midst of a nine-game winning streak) on the road by a 4-2 count over the Seattle Mariners. The contest went to the wire, with Jordy Mercer’s two-out, two-run single giving Vin Mazzaro the win, iced by a Mark Melancon save. The Bucs tied the St. Louis Cardinals for the lead in the National League Central with the victory, a spot they’d hold for the next 10 days and off-and-on through mid-September before ending the year with 94 wins, three games behind the Redbirds, and a wild card spot.
2014 – Gregory Polanco went 2-for-3 with a walk and stolen base, hit his first PNC Park homer and posted four RBI to lead the Pirates to a 5-2 win over the New York Mets, with Pedro Alvarez adding three hits to the pot. Vance Worley worked seven innings to earn the win, Mark Melancon claimed the save and Tony Watson provided the bridge between the pair.
2016 – Andrew McCutchen homered twice to spark the Pirates to a 6-1 win against the Dodgers at PNC Park. McCutchen hit his two taters off Dodgers starter Kenta Maeda, driving in four runs and breaking up a 1-1 duel with a three-run blast in the sixth. Jordy Mercer finished off the frame with a two-run, two-out blast off ex-Buc Joe Blanton to carry Jeff Locke to the win.

Source: https://oldbucs.blogspot.com/2025/06/626-from-1980-game-tales-cutch-bangs.html

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