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9/22 From 1960: Pups Pop, One's Enough, Young Gun, 11 Straight, '75 & '71 Clinchers, Game Days, Cito Joins, Kevin Bids, HBD Hunter

Tuesday, September 22, 2026 7:01

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1960 – Pittsburgh, finishing off a six-game winning streak, was an inch away from the flag as the Bucs swept a twin bill from the Cubs at Forbes Field by 3-2 and 6-1 scores. The victories, in front of 19,566 fans, extended their lead to 7-1/2 games with eight contests remaining, and they clinched later in the week. Gene Baker’s single plated Don Hoak in the 11th frame to walk off the opener, with ElRoy Face earning the win in relief of Vern Law. Wilmer “Vinegar Bend” Mizell went the distance in the nightcap. The Tiger pounced on the Cubs, swinging a hot stick during the two games. He banged out four hits, including a double and triple, touched home three times and chased home three runs.

1971 – Pittsburgh clinched the NL East with a 5-1 win over St. Louis at Busch Stadium. Luke Walker and Dave Giusti teamed up to defeat ace Bob Gibson thanks to a big eighth inning. The floodgate opened when SS Ted Kubiak booted Vic Davalillo’s ball, and a walk, two hits and a sac fly later, the Bucs had turned a squeaky 2-1 lead over the Cards into a 5-1 edge. After the flag-raising victory, the Buccos eliminated the San Francisco Giants in the NLCS and dropped the Birds in seven games to claim the World Series crown.

1975 – The Pirates clocked the second place Philadelphia Phillies 11-3 at TRS in front of 13,176 on a Monday night to clinch the NL East title. Bruce Kison and Kent Tekulve did the pitching honors, while three Pirate hitters had three hits each to lead the attack – Willie Stargell (2B, two RBI, four runs, 2 walks), Dave Parker (HR, four RBI) and Richie Zisk (2B, four RBI).

1978 – The Pirates purchased OF’er Cito Gaston from the Atlanta Braves. The 34-year-old went 1-for-2 in the last week of the season, his last MLB appearances in an 11-year MLB career before spending the next couple of campaigns in the Mexican League and later enjoying a long run as the Toronto Blue Jays manager that included a pair of World Series titles.

1991 – The Bucs won back-to-back NL East titles when they beat the Phillies 2–1 at TRS. Doug Drabek gave up seven hits and went the distance to outlast five Philadelphia pitchers. Orlando Merced walked twice and scored twice. Pittsburgh only had three hits, but seven free passes and a botched double play provided just enough gift wrapping to edge out Philadelphia. With the victory, the Pirates became the first NL team to repeat as divisional champs in 13 years.

Doug Drabek & Don Slaught celebrate – 9/22/1991 Press photo

1993 – 3B Stephen “Hunter” Owen was born in Evansville, Indiana. An Indiana State grad, he was drafted in the 25th round by the Pirates in 2016. He went through the minor league system as a guy who was versatile with a little pop, but in 2020 he didn’t land a spot on the alternate camp roster and worked at a golf course. Hunter was invited to spring training as a NRI, was assigned to Indy and got a callup in May when Gregory Polanco went down. He was DFA’ed back to Indy after going 0-for-4 in five games when Polanco returned to the lineup a week later. Owen became a Pro X tutor after serving as the head coach of Carmel HS.

1995 – Kevin McClatchy submitted his bid for the Bucs. He rounded up five investors (and kept five old ones) in a $40M deal to purchase the Pirates after his first bid had been rejected and John Rigas’ competing offer was considered too cash-poor. McClatchy had also put together a $50M credit line, and in February of 2006, the team was sold to him and remained here.

1996 – Pittsburgh beat the Cubs at TRS 11-3 for their 11th win in a row, posting the longest winning streak in the majors for the year. Jay Bell was the star with a homer and four RBI. Chicago stopped the streak the next day, eking out a 4-3 win. The Bucs still finished last with a 73-89 record, though the late season run did raise an unfulfilled “wait ‘til next year” hope among the faithful after Jim Leyland handed off the ‘97 club’s reins to Gene Lamont, the ex-White Sox skipper.

2004 – Two 23-year-old pitchers put on a show at PNC Park, with Chicago’s Carlos Zambrano edging Ollie Perez 1-0. It came down to a pair of bases loaded plays: in the fifth, with two away, Perez walked two guys around a single (and he was ahead 1-2 on both), then fell behind Zambrano 3-0. He came back to run the count full, but ultimately lost him. In the eighth, with two down, the Bucs had the bases loaded when Ty Wigginton hit a gapper off reliever Kent Merker, but Sammy Sosa, of all people, made a game-saving, diving catch in right center. Perez held the Cubbies to three hits over seven innings; Z was in more trouble during the night, but the Pirates let him off the hook by going 0-for-11 w/RISP.

Joe Randa – 2006 photo Rick Stewart/Getty

2006 – Chris Young carried a no-hitter into the ninth against the Bucs, but lost his bid to become the first San Diego Padre to toss a no-no when Joe Randa smacked a homer on a 3-1 pitch following a one-out walk to Jose Bautista. Young, who was drafted by the Pirates in 2000 before being traded for Matt Herges, still claimed an easy 6-2 win at Petco Park.

2014 – The Pirates won back-to-back 1-0 games for the first time since 1976 when Francisco Liriano, with help from Jared Hughes, John Holdzkom and Mark Melancon, made Andrew McCutchen’s sixth-inning homer off Aaron Harang stand at Atlanta’s Turner Field. The third straight 1-0 game for the Bucs (they lost 1-0 on 9/20 to the Brewers and old matey Zach Duke) was the first time that trifecta hit since 1917 when Pittsburgh lost three consecutive 1-0 games to the Cardinals.

2020 – Steven Brault put together his second straight strong September start, leaving after seven innings of two-hit work and a 2-0 lead at PNC Park v Chicago. Alas, with two away in the eighth and a Cubbie on first, Shelty brought in Sam Howard with Anthony Rizzo up to get a lefty-on-lefty matchup. The smart money lost this round as Rizzo tucked Howard’s delivery inside the RF pole to knot the score. But the Bucs had one last hurrah left; Jake Stallings took a ninth inning, 2-2 offering from Andrew Chafin and sent it into the left field bleachers for a walkoff homer and 3-2 Pirates win, one of just 19 dubs that Pittsburgh earned during the Covid-shortened campaign.

2023 – The young guns flexed as Endy Rodriguez, Henry Davis and Jared Triolo went deep to help the Pirates come back to beat the Reds 7-5 at Great American Ball Park. The vets also made some noise as Ke’Bryan Hayes cleared the fence and Bryan Reynolds extended his on-base streak to 21 games. All the homers were solo shots; seven different Pirates chased home runs and seven plated. Ryan Borucki improved to 4-0 while David Bednar recorded his 37th save.

Source: https://oldbucs.blogspot.com/2026/09/922-from-1960-pups-pop-ones-enough.html

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