Top 10 unforgettable moments at PNC Park

Pittsburgh’s PNC Park is a jewel on the north shore of the Allegheny River, widely regarded as one of the finest ballparks in America. You can appreciate the scenery, structure and attention to detail without anything taking place on the field -- just sit behind home plate and marvel at the river, the Roberto Clemente Bridge and the downtown skyline in the distance.

But what makes every ballpark truly special are the moments that take place within, and PNC Park is no different. Here are 10 of the top moments in PNC Park history, plus several more that merit a mention.

1. The blackout game
Date: Oct. 1, 2013
How much of an explanation does this one still need? This was the 2013 National League Wild Card Game, the Pirates’ return to the postseason after a 20-year drought and the moment the city had been waiting for since the ballpark opened – and longer, in fact. All that frustration and excitement came out at once when Reds starter Johnny Cueto dropped the ball, the black-clad crowd took its roar to another level and Russell Martin swatted the first of his two homers. In the end: Pirates 6, Reds 2.

2. Primetime extra-inning walk-offs
Date: July 11-12, 2015
This was not a moment, technically, as we’re counting two games here. But they shared a lot of similarities -- national broadcasts, intense action, extra-inning walk-off hits, 6-5 scores -- and ultimately formed one message: The 2015 Pirates were to be taken seriously. The Cardinals wound up winning the division with 100 victories, but Pittsburgh showed on back-to-back nights that its club wouldn’t be pushed around by St. Louis. This was the emotional high point of that 98-win season, and nothing represents that better than the walk-off celebrations narrated by broadcaster Greg Brown on those memorable Saturday (“You can raise the Jolly Roger and call it maybe the best, all-time, in Pittsburgh!”) and Sunday (“They’ve done it again! The place is a mob scene!”) nights at PNC Park.

3. Epic comeback ends with grand walk-off
Date: July 28, 2001
The Pirates didn’t have much to celebrate during the debut season of PNC Park. They lost 100 games, allowed the second-most runs in the National League and scored the second-fewest runs in the Majors. But this was a day to remember. Brian Giles finished an unbelievable win with a grand slam off Astros closer Billy Wagner, helping the Pirates erase a six-run deficit with two outs in the ninth inning and nobody on base and capping a 9-8 victory. With two outs in the ninth, the Pirates’ win expectancy was 0.0 percent. They won anyway, a remarkably unlikely victory.

4. A star is born
Date: Aug. 25, 2009
Even before the Pirates’ first winning season at PNC Park, Andrew McCutchen made them worth watching. He provided a glimpse of everything that made him a superstar in Pittsburgh, launching a walk-off homer to center field off Brad Lidge to give the Pirates a 6-4 win, rounding the bases with his fist raised then leaping toward his teammates gathered around home plate, helmet in hand, to celebrate. McCutchen is the Pirates’ defining star of the PNC Park era, and this was his first face-of-the-franchise moment.

5. Welcome home
Date: April 9, 2001
This was simultaneously a tragic day in franchise history, as Hall of Famer and Pirates icon Willie Stargell passed away before the first pitch was thrown at PNC Park. Pittsburgh also lost this game, 8-2, against Cincinnati. But it was the official, regular-season unveiling of this immaculate ballpark, a move away from the multipurpose concrete doughnut of Three Rivers to a ballpark perfect for Pittsburgh.

6. Cole Train leaves the station
Date: June 11, 2013
Put simply, this was an event. Gerrit Cole, the former No. 1 overall pick, took the mound at PNC Park to make his highly anticipated Major League debut for a Pirates team that was on its way to ending a 20-year postseason drought and getting back to the postseason for the first time since Barry Bonds was in a Pittsburgh uniform. The anticipation led to 30,614 fans showing up on a Tuesday night to watch Cole and the Pirates beat the Giants, 8-2. And Cole kept showing up, posting a 1.69 ERA in September.

7. A special birthday
Date: May 28, 2004
This was a day Rob Mackowiak will remember forever for so many reasons. Mackowiak hit a walk-off grand slam in the first half of the Pirates’ doubleheader against the Cubs (a 9-5 win) then knocked a game-tying shot in the second game at PNC Park (an eventual 5-4 win) hours after his wife gave birth to their first child, Garrett. “It was a weekend that you’ll never forget,” Mackowiak said 16 years later. “Everything that could happen went right.”

8. The Pittsburgh Kid walks off on Opening Day
Date: March 31, 2014
Former Pirates manager Clint Hurdle often said that the home opener should be a holiday in Pittsburgh. What better way to celebrate than this? After nine scoreless innings, Neil Walker -- a local kid playing for his hometown team -- swatted a walk-off homer off Carlos Villanueva to give the Bucs a 1-0 win over the Cubs that began their second straight winning season.

9. The Bucs’ first big splash
Date: June 2, 2013
PNC Park’s proximity to the Allegheny River created a tantalizing target for left-handed hitters from the moment the ballpark opened, just like McCovey Cove in San Francisco or Eutaw Street/the warehouse in Baltimore. The first Pirates hitter to reach the river on the fly was Garrett Jones, who took Jonathan Broxton deep and into the water in the eighth inning of a 5-4 victory over the Reds. It had been 11 years since Daryle Ward became the first hitter for any team to reach the river on the fly, so the Pirates were due.

10. An All-Star turn
Date: July 11, 2006
The fifth All-Star Game hosted in Pittsburgh was really the first chance to show off PNC Park on the national stage. And what a display it was, with the American League scoring two runs in the ninth to win, 3-2. Chuck Tanner threw out the ceremonial first pitch, and Pirates fans warmly greeted Jason Bay and Freddy Sanchez when they were introduced before the game.

Honorable mention
• The “Rich Hill Game” on Aug. 23, 2017: The Dodgers lefty was perfect for eight innings, hitless through nine then the losing pitcher in the 10th because Josh Harrison became the first player to ever break up a no-hitter with an extra-inning, walk-off homer.

• Josh Bell’s three-homer game on July 1, 2019: A dominant performance by the soon-to-be All-Star amid an incredible offensive display by the entire Pirates lineup.

• Jack Wilson’s inside-the-park homer on July 2, 2004: Wilson became the first Pirates player to accomplish that feat at PNC Park.

• Jason Bay’s sixth straight game with a home run on May 28, 2006: That was the longest such streak by a Pirate since Dale Long homered in eight straight in 1956.

• John Jaso hits for PNC Park’s first cycle on Sept. 28, 2016: When this one’s a little less fresh in everyone’s memory, Jaso will be a heck of a trivia answer around Pittsburgh.

• Sanchez clinches the NL batting title on Oct. 1, 2006: Sanchez became the Bucs’ first batting champ since Bill Madlock on the final day of the season, ending the year with a .344 average.

• Lloyd McClendon steals first base on June 26, 2001: Look, sometimes manager meltdowns make for great theater. There have been few better than this.