To pass some time during this seemingly never-ending quarantine, I decided it would be fun to compile a list of the ten best Pittsburgh Pirates victories I have witnessed at PNC Park.
This was not an easy list to compile. Since my first Major League Baseball game in 2002 (a 6-1 Astros win over the Pirates), I have attended 345 MLB contests. 304 of those 345 have come within the confines of PNC Park.
Unfortunately, this list contains no victories from the 2019 season and just one from the 2018 season. Hopefully, the upcoming seasons bring many more memorable victories at PNC Park, but here are the 10 best to this point:
10) August 25, 2009 (Pirates defeat Phillies, 6-4) This one serves as my first great memory of an all-time favorite, Andrew McCutchen. In an in-state rivalry game, the young Pirates take a 3-2 lead into the top of the 9th inning against the eventual National League champions. Matt Capps enters the game for Pittsburgh, giving up two runs to blow the lead. In the bottom of the inning, a Luis Cruz single and a Brad Lidge wild pitch allows Cruz to get into scoring position. Brandon Moss singles to right field and moves to second on an error by right fielder Jayson Werth, while pinch-runner Brian Bixler comes around to tie the game. McCutchen follows Moss' game-tying at-bat by slashing a walkoff two-run homerun to right-center field, just rows from where I was sitting. Safe to say that nine-year old me was going nuts.
9) April 27, 2018 (Pirates defeat Cardinals, 6-5, in 11 innings)
I watched this game from many seats within the stadium. A chilly Friday evening game with bleacher seats never usually bodes well. Neither does a 5-0 Cardinals lead in the 6th inning. However, neither of those lasted. I left the bleachers in the sixth inning to grab a hot dog, coincidentally around the same time that Gregory Polanco hits a solo homerun to get the Pirates on the board. I watched the 7th-9th innings from the left field rotunda. The Pirates enter the bottom of the 9th trailing by a 5-2 score. I never witnessed a rally quite like this one. A Corey Dickerson double and a Francisco Cervelli single give the Pirates runners on the corners with no outs. Colin Moran knocks a ball right to first baseman Jose Martinez, but the flawed fielder sees the ball go right under his glove in Bill Buckner fashion and Dickerson scores. With runners on the corners again, Jordy Mercer laces a ball to center fielder Tommy Pham, who misplays the ball and allows it to go all the way to the wall. Cervelli and pinch-runner Chad Kuhl score, while Mercer gets himself to third base and sets the Pirates up for a walkoff win. Three of the following four batters fail to get the job done, and the game goes into extra innings. For the 10th and 11th innings, I sat with my parents in their seats down the third base line. In the 11th inning, Starling Marte singles in David Freese to wrap-up an unforgettable comeback victory.
8) August 6, 2017 (Pirates defeat Padres, 5-4, in 12 innings)
You could not write a better script for the finish of this game. The Pirates enter the top of the 9th with a 4-2 lead, but Felipe Vazquez surrenders a two-run single to Manuel Margot and sends the game to extra innings. A persistent back-and-forth struggle to score the game-winning run falls into the hands of Sean Rodriguez. Rodriguez spent the 2015 and 2016 seasons with the Pirates before inking a 2-year deal with the Atlanta Braves during the 2016 off-season. However, a January 2017 car accident limited Rodriguez to 37 at-bats with Atlanta before he was shipped to Pittsburgh on August 5. Nearly 24 hours later, in the bottom of the 12th, Rodriguez blasts a walkoff solo homerun in his first game back with the Pirates
7) May 17, 2013 (Pirates defeat Astros, 5-4)
The city was just simply abuzz on this Friday evening. Across town, the Penguins are battling the Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. At PNC, the Pirates enter this game as winners of six of their last eight contests. However, in their first meeting with Houston since the Astros' transition to the American League just months earlier, the Pirates enter the bottom of the 8th inning down by a 4-2 score. In the bottom of that inning, Pedro Alvarez blasts a two-run shot into the Allegheny River to tie the game. In the bottom of the 9th, the Pirates load the bases with just one out. Neil Walker is called out on strikes, and Russell Martin pops a lazy fly ball to right field, which will seemingly send the game to extra innings. In an unprecedented turn of events, Astros right fielder Jimmy Paredes and second baseman Jake Elmore (now with Pittsburgh) both converge on the pop-up, running into each other and allowing the ball to drop. The Pirates secure a wild comeback victory.
6) June 27, 2014 (Pirates defeat Mets, 3-2, in 11 innings)
This game did not draw my attention until its later innings. However, this is the game where Josh Harrison definitively made a name for himself. Near the start of the contest, the biggest sports news in town was coming from the Penguins. At the NHL Draft, newly appointed general manager Jim Rutherford struck a trade with the Nashville Predators, acquiring Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling in exchange for James Neal. A lackluster 2-2 game carried itself all the way to extra innings, while still lacking that "signature" moment. In the bottom of the 10th inning, Gregory Polanco knocks the ball right back to Mets reliever Jenrry Mejia, who catches the Pirates' Josh Harrison in a rundown between second and third base. Miraculously, Harrison avoids multiple tag attempts and advances to third base, while Polanco makes it to second. Sitting just feet from where Harrison caused this rundown, I can personally say that I have never seen such a display of pure speed and athleticism. The Pirates fail to score in the inning, but Harrison, the eventual National League All-Star and runner-up to ex-Pirate Justin Morneau in the National League batting title race, doubles in Clint Barmes in the bottom of the 11th inning, while continuing to make a name for himself during the 2014 season.
5) August 9, 2015 (Pirates defeat Dodgers, 13-6)
For just the third time in its history, PNC Park is playing host to ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball, as the Pirates are seeking to sweep Los Angeles out of town. A two-run homerun by Andrew McCutchen has kept the Pirates close, as they enter the bottom of the 7th trailing by a 5-3 score. What ensues in this inning was chaotic and breathtaking. The Pirates rock Dodgers relievers Jim Johnson and Joel Peralta for a combined 10 runs, punctuated by an opposite field 3-run homerun from Jung-Ho Kang and a solo blast from Francisco Cervelli in the 8th inning. Pittsburgh completes the sweep and continues their dominance during the 2015 season.
4) August 29, 2014 (Pirates defeat Reds, 3-2)
In all of the games I have ever been to, this is the closest I have come to seeing a Pirates no-hitter. Edinson Volquez takes a no-hitter into the top of the 7th inning before surrendering a lead-off single to Cincinnati catcher Devin Mesoraco. In the top of the 8th, Mesoraco singles in the go-ahead run, but Brandon Phillips is thrown out at home to stop the Reds' damage at one run. In the bottom of the 8th, Andrew Lambo knocks a one-out single, and Josh Harrison brings him home with a triple off of the right field wall. I do not know if I have ever screamed louder than I did when Harrison brought the tying run in. On the next at-bat, Jose Tabata slashes a single to left to bring home Harrison and give the Pirates the lead. Mark Melancon shuts the door in the top of the 9th to give the Pirates another come-from-behind victory.
3) August 23, 2017 (Pirates defeat Dodgers, 1-0, in 10 innings)
On what would be my last night at PNC Park before my brother departed for his college move in-day at Robert Morris University the next day, we were treated to a thrill of a ballgame. The Pirates were well out of contention at this point, but were going head-to-head with the Dodgers, who entered the game with the league's best record at 89-35. Los Angeles southpaw Rich Hill absolutely dominates the Pirates, pitching eight perfect innings with 10 strikeouts in the process. In the bottom of the ninth, the Pirates break-up Hill's perfect game bid when shortstop Jordy Mercer reaches on an error by Dodgers third baseman Logan Forsythe. Pittsburgh fails to score, and Hill protects his no-hit bid into extra innings. However, Josh Harrison, the first batter in the bottom of the 10th, blasts a solo shot over the left field wall to deliver a dramatic walkoff for Pittsburgh, breaking up Hill's no-hitter in the process.
2) August 22, 2015 (Pirates defeat Giants, 3-2)
Speaking from relative inexperience, it is hard to imagine a postseason vibe during a regular-season game. I have been alive for almost 20 years and have only attended three Pirates postseason games. I have been to many Penguins and Steelers regular-season games that gave off a postseason vibe, but not many Pirates ones. However, this date was an exception. A 4:05 start time on a crisp summer afternoon saw PNC Park's stands filled with spectators. Packed like sardines. Gerrit Cole mows down San Francisco, with eight strikeouts across seven innings of work. Jung-Ho Kang hits a solo homerun in the bottom of the 5th inning to tie the game, while adding another solo blast in the bottom of the 7th to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead. Ex-Pirate Marlon Byrd scores on a wild pitch in the top of the 8th to tie the game. In the bottom of the 9th, Starling Marte cracks the first pitch he sees from future Pirate George Kontos to the left-center notch and over the wall, securing another crazy victory for Pittsburgh during their 98-win season.
1) October 1, 2013 (Pirates defeat Reds, 6-2, in the National League Wild Card Game)
Until the Pirates win the World Series, no game will ever top this. Ever. When I came home from school the day before to see my dad in tears while saying "You guys are gonna be there too," I knew it was going to be an unforgettable night. I did not need my dad's tears to tell me that. Pittsburgh had not seen a playoff game since 1992. I had waited my whole life for a night like this. I have seen the Steelers claim two Super Bowls and the Penguins win three Stanley Cups, but those wins come nowhere close to what happened at PNC on this 70-degree Tuesday night. The "CUE-TO" chants heard around the country on TBS do not do the chant justice. My head was ringing with that chant for a handful of days after the fact, and I was just one of 40,000+ spectators. I can only imagine what Johnny Cueto was going through on the mound. In the bottom of the second inning, Marlon Byrd hits a solo homerun to left field to give the Pirates an early 1-0 lead, and what followed was utter pandemonium. On the first pitch following Cueto's dropped ball, Russell Martin deposits a solo shot to left center to pad the lead. I have been very uncertain at many games I have attended, but I knew full well that there was nothing stopping Pittsburgh on this night. Russell Martin slammed another blast to left field in the bottom of the 7th to up the Pirates lead to 6-1. I spent the first seven and a half innings in my seats in the first base grandstand, with my brother. My parents were sitting in baseline box seats along the third base line. Two seats in their row opened up, and we got to witness the final three outs with them. They deserved that moment much more than my brother and I did. My parents started dating in 1992, and I have heard the stories about them crying in my mom's apartment in Oakland following Sid Bream's game-winning run in Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS. As Pirates fans, they had been put through 21 consecutive years of misery. I had only lived for 12 years of futility, and I only really remembered maybe the last four or five years leading into that night. I am certain that their story is just one of many across Pittsburgh, of those who watched all of their never-ending pain finally being relieved on that night. In the top of the 9th, Jason Grilli forces Zack Cozart to ground out to second base to end the game and give Pittsburgh their first postseason victory in over two decades. The day of your first date and your wedding day are certain to be milestones in the journey of life. For me, this night serves as another milestone. Simply put, no sporting event will ever likely live up to this night.
I hope you enjoyed this list. Hopefully, we are all back at PNC Park very soon, enjoying many signature victories similar to or greater than these ones.
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