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8/27 From 1965: Sweep 7, Lee Zee-ro, Dock Rock, Game Days, SI Willie, Mark Goes, Byrd's the Word, HBD Nick & Jordy

Thursday, August 27, 2026 7:01

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1965 – The Bucs scored six times in the ninth at Forbes Field to take the Astros into extra frames, eventually winning their seventh game in a row in 11 innings, 10-9. Andre Rodger’s one-out knock was the game-winning blow; Harry Walker sent him up to pinch hit for Willie Stargell against lefty Danny Coombs. Al McBean, the Pirates sixth pitcher, was credited with the victory and also crossed the plate with the winning run. In the eighth inning, Roberto Clemente threw out a runner going from first to third the hard way. The Pirates ran a wheel play with runners on first and second, and Bob Lillis rolled the ball through the vacant infield. Bill Mazeroski described what followed to Les Biederman of the Pittsburgh Press “Roberto raced in from right field, dove for the ball, and with his face in the dirt threw out the (back) runner going to third base!” Harry the Hat doubled the emotion, telling Biederman that “Clemente made the doggondest (sic) play I ever saw.” It kept the ‘Stros from running away (they still held a 7-3 lead despite the heroics) and allowed the Bucs to come back.

1974 – Dock Ellis went gate-to-gate pitching and swung a mean stick, going 1-for-3 with two RBI and three runs scored, in Pittsburgh’s 13-2 win over San Francisco at Candlestick Park. The Giants scored two runs in the first inning before the Bucs put the game away with nine runs (on three hits – the rest of the Bucco runners were aboard via five free passes, two HBP and a pair of boots; Giant hurler Ed Halicki walked two guys with the bases loaded) in the third. Al Oliver went 3-for-5 with five RBI and Ed Kirkpatrick added three knocks and two walks, plating three times. Richie Hebner had three RBI without a hit, walking twice with the bases packed and lifting a sac fly. The Bucs had 12 hits (10 were singles) but were helped greatly by 13 gift runners.

1979 – Willie Stargell shared the cover of Sports Illustrated with a gang of grizzled all-stars for the feature “Golden Oldies.” Pops was 39 but still hit .281 with 32 long balls. He won the NLCS & World Series MVP awards, was co-winner of the MVP award with St. Louis’ Keith Hernandez and shared SI’s “Sportsmen of the Year” award with the Steelers’ Terry Bradshaw.

1983 – Lee Tunnell tossed a five-hitter at TRS before 22,811 fans with the Bucs coming out on top of Atlanta 2-0 behind a two-run blast by Bill Madlock in the third inning. Tunnell, who went the distance while serving 131 pitches, faced down his only real threats to his first MLB whitewash in the second when he left the bases loaded with an out by whiffing the pitcher and coaxing a bouncer to escape and then in the ninth, when he had two aboard with two gone before getting a fly to center to seal the deal. Lee tossed three shutouts during the year, the only zippos of his career. Lee Lacy had two hits for Pittsburgh and scored ahead of Mad Dog’s dinger. The two teams were leading their divisions at game time but both finished the race as runnerups behind the Phillies and Dodgers.

Lee Tunnell – 1984 Topps

1986 – SS Jordy Mercer was born in Seiling, Oklahoma. He was a third-round draft choice in 2008, and the Oklahoma State product also played for Team USA. Mercer rode the pine in 2012, saw more playing time in 2013 and won the starting job the next season. He was a dependable if not particularly rangy fielder with a slow-starting bat (he usually ended the year hitting .255-.260) and occasional pop. Jordy signed with Detroit in 2018, moved to the Yankees briefly and later joined the Nats. He retired after the 2021 campaign after a decade in the show.

1990 – RHP Nick Tropeano was born in West Islip, New York. He was a fifth-round draft pick of the Astros in 2011 out of SUNY-Stony Brook and debuted in 2012 with Houston. He was sent to LA in 2014 and tossed for parts of four seasons with the Halos with a line of 11-11/4.51 in 38 outings, then had TJ surgery in 2017. Nick signed with the New York Yankees in 2020, was released in early August and claimed by Pittsburgh, getting a call up on August 23rd and tossing four shutout innings in his Bucco debut. He became a FA after the season and joined the Mets system. He then tossed for four more organizations and hurled in Mexico in 2023 before being released in July. Nick last pitched affiliated ball for Long Island of the Atlantic League in 2025.

1996 – Pittsburgh Pirates president Mark Sauer, eased out of running day-to-day operations following Kevin McClatchy’s takeover in February, resigned. His five-year tenure saw the sell-off of the Pirates star players, the manager’s departure, a strike and the team sale. Under McClatchy’s group, Sauer became the team’s point man with the City while McClatchy took over Sauer’s former duties. He jumped sports to work for the NHL’s St. Louis Blues and after he retired in 2005, Mark headed up non-profit youth projects before passing away in 2025 at age 78 in Delray Beach, Florida.

2008 – Pedro Alvarez was placed on the restricted list after the MLBPA filed a grievance against MLB over draft picks being signed minutes after the August 15th deadline (Petey had made a verbal agreement). On September 22nd, Álvarez and the Bucs signed off on a four-year major league deal worth $6.4M that settled the complaint to the satisfaction of all parties involved.

Pedro Alvarez – 2008 Tristar Prospect Plus

2009 – The first and last Bucco hits left the yard, and that was enough for a 3-2 win against the Phils and future Bucco JA Happ at PNC Park. Cutch opened the game with a long ball, and Garrett Jones ended it with a two-run, two-out game-winning shot in the eighth. Denny Bautista got the win against Philadelphia in relief of Charlie Morton, with Matt Capps earning a save. It capped a rare successful homestand, with the Bucs taking 7-of-9 games. They finished their ‘09 PNC run at 40-41 and 62-99 overall, 28-1/2 games off the Card’s NL Central pace.

2013 – Looking to strengthen the roster down the stretch, the Pirates pulled off a waiver deal with the NY Mets for vets OF Marlon Byrd, C John Buck and $250K for minor league IF Dilson Herrera and a player to be named later (RHP Victor Black). The deal was triggered by Starling Marte’s hand injury, which kept him out of action for three weeks (he returned September 9th) Byrd (.318, three HR, 17 RBI in 30 games) helped the Bucs to a wildcard spot (he last played in 2016 for Cleveland prior to receiving a second PED suspension) while Buck hit well in Pittsburgh (.333 in nine games) before retiring after the 2014 campaign. Dilson bounced around (he last played Latino ball in ‘25) and Black, after a good showing with the Mets in 2013-14, has been injury-bitten and ended his career playing indie ball. He’s now a farm coordinator for the Pirates.

2020 – The Pirates played their first seven-inning doubleheader, sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium for the first time since 1967. The Bucs squeaked out an eight-inning, 4-3 victory in the opener. Chris Stratton got the dub in relief of Chad Kuhl with Rich Rodriguez picking up the save when he stranded Redbirds on the corners in the ninth by fanning the last two batters. Cole Tucker scored twice and drove in a run to lead the attack to victory. Cody Ponce picked up his first (and so far only) MLB win in the nitecap 2-0 behind third-inning RBIs from Eric Gonzalez and Adam Frazier to defeat future passin’-thru Bucco Johan Oviedo. Nik Turley finished up to earn his only MLB save.

2025 – The Bucs were going through another ‘wait til next year” phase and auditioning the young ‘uns. Not many sticks were emerging but the pitching was promising – Carmen Mlodzinski, Bubba Chandler, Isaac Mattson and Dennis Santana were shovin; and the Bucs won a duel from the Cards, 2-1. It was Bubba’s first MLB dub, and Santana, who took over the closers’ role from David Bednar, picked up his 10th save. The gang spun a four-hit gem (with five walks, offset by nine Ks) at Busch Stadium. Tommy Pham’s two-run, bases-juiced single in the sixth was the Bucs winning blow.

Source: https://oldbucs.blogspot.com/2026/08/827-from-1965-sweep-7-lee-zee-ro-dock.html

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