The Green Weenie: 9/22 TRS/PNC Era: Buc Clinchers, 11 In A Row, Young Gem, 1-0 B-2-B

Thursday, September 22, 2016

1971 - Pittsburgh clinched the NL East with a 5-1 win over St. Louis at Busch Stadium. Luke Walker and Dave Giusti defeated Bob Gibson thanks to a big eighth inning. The floodgate opened when SS Ted Kubiak booted Vic Davalillo’s ball, and a walk, two his and a sac fly later, the Bucs had turned a 2-1 lead over the Cards into a 5-1 score. With the victory, the Buccos eliminated the San Francisco Giants.

Luke Walker 1971 Arco Promo

1975 - The Pirates clocked the second place Philadelphia Phillies 11-3 at TRS 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, 2 RBI, 4 RS, 2 BB), Dave Parker (HR, 4RBI, 1 RS) and Richie Zisk (2B, 4 RBI, 1 RS).
1991 - The Bucs won consecutive NL East titles when they beat the Phillies, 2–1 at TRS. Doug Drabek 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 DP was enough to do in Philadelphia.
1996 - Pittsburgh beat the Cubs 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. They still finished last with a 73-89 record, but it raised a vain “wait ‘til next year” hope among the faithful.

Jay Bell 1995 Leaf

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 two run 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, 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. It was the third straight 1-0 game for the Bucs, the first time that occurred since 1917 when Pittsburgh lost three consecutive 1-0 games to the Cardinals.