9/7: The Losing Streak, Littlefield Fired & Lots More Stuff...

The Losing Streak, Littlefield Fired, Lefty, Hans, winning Streak, Big Innings, Maz, Jason Thompson, Immaculate Inning...

• 1905 - In his home debut, rookie Lefty Leifield gave up three runs in the first, then settled into a groove until tiring and surrendering three more runs in the ninth frame as the Bucs rolled to an 11-7 win over the Reds at Exposition Park. Fred Clarke banged out four hits while Honus Wagner and Heinie Peitz added three apiece, with Hans swatting a double and triple. 
• 1908 - Led by Honus Wagner’s 6-for-7 day at the plate, including five straight hits, a double, triple and sacrifice, the Pirates swept St. Louis 9-7 and 7-1 at Exposition Park to move within percentage points of the league leading NY Giants. Sam Leever won the opener while Vic Willis scattered eight singles to take the second match. 
• 1925 - Pittsburgh won for the 17th time in 20 games when they defeated the Chicago Cubs 8-5 at Forbes Field in the opener of a twin bill. Kiki Cuyler went 4-for-5 with a double and triple while every Pirate in the lineup had a hit. Red Oldham gave up 15 hits, but went the distance for the win. The Cubs banged out 16 more hits in the second game to gain a 9-8 split. 
• 1940 - The Bucs scored eight runs in the eighth and three more in the ninth to beat the Cardinals 14-9. Arky Vaughan‚ Terry Moore‚ and Vince DiMaggio all homered as Vaughan and DiMaggio combined for seven RBI at Sportsman’s Park. 
• 1942 - In the opener of a twinbill at Forbes Field, the Pirates scored 11 runs in the sixth inning to overcome a 5-0 deficit against the Cards and rally for an 11-6 win. They didn't have an inning in double figures again until June of 1989. Bud Stewart led the attack with two hits, three RBI and a pair of runs. Murry Dickson faced two batters and didn’t get an out, but was credited with the win; the guy that relieved him, Howie Pollet, gave up four runs in ⅓ of an inning so Dickson was deemed more effective. The Bucs dropped the nitecap 6-4. 
• 1948 - The Pirates chased Jim Hearn after two innings on the way to a 6-2 win at Forbes Field. The game was noteworthy as it took Pittsburgh six more years and a dozen losses before they claimed another win against the St. Louis righty. 
• 1953 - The Pirates swept a twin bill for the first time that year‚ beating the NY Giants 9-7 and 5-3 at the Polo Grounds. Eddie Pellagrini had four hits‚ including a HR‚ to back Bob Friend in the opener. Lefty LaPalme was the winner in the nitecap as the Bucs beat Jim Hearn after 12 straight defeats at his hands. His last loss to the Bucs was exactly six years ago to the day. 
• 1962 - Bill Mazeroski hit a grand slam and drove home six runs to prime a 10-1 Bucco win against LA’s Stan Williams at Dodger Stadium. Earl Francis tossed a four hit, complete game victory against the league leading Dodgers. 
• 1982 - Jason Thompson hit his 30th home run of the season off Mike Scott in a 9-5 win over the Mets‚ becoming just the eighth player in history to hit 30 home runs during a season in each league. (He hit 31 home runs for the Detroit Tigers in 1977.) Richie Hebner and Mike Easler also went long at TRS. 
• 1987 - Closer Jeff Robinson tossed an “immaculate inning,” the first in Bucco history, when he K’ed Cubs Leon Durham, Andre Dawson and Rafael Palmeiro on nine pitches in the eighth. He worked the ninth, though without any more punch outs, to earn a save for Brian Fisher in a 3-2 win at Wrigley Field. The runs came in on a Terry Harper homer and Bobby Bonilla two-run double. 
• 2007 - GM Dave Littlefield was fired. Brian Graham, the director of player development for the Pirates, served as interim general manager until new Pirates GM Neal Huntington took over three weeks later. 
• 2009 - The Pittsburgh Pirates set a new North American standard for consecutive losing seasons by a major sports franchise with their 4-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs (Daniel McCutchen took the L), extending their sub-.500 record to 17 years in a row. The Pirates had shared the record of 16 consecutive losing seasons with the 1933-48 Philadelphia Phillies. 
• 2012 - The Pirates committed seven errors, one less than the franchise mark set in 1939, in front of 32,699 dismayed fans at PNC Park and lost to the Cubs 12-2.