9/27 TRS-PNC Era: Bucs Clinch In '70 & '92, HBD Pedro & Vin, Giles Goes Wild, Game Stories

• 1970 - The Pirates clinched the NL East title with a 2-1 victory over the Mets at TRS in front of a record 50,469 fans. Dave Cash had two hits, a run scored and the game-winning RBI to lead the offense. Dock Ellis got the win and Dave Giusti earned the save as the Pirates swept the three-game series from New York. The Pirates were broomed in the NLCS 3-0 by Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine, which in turn was beaten handily by the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series. 

Pedro Ciriaco 2011 Topps

• 1985 - IF Pedro Ciriaco was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic. Ciriaco got his first taste of MLB in 2010-11, batting .333 for the Pirates in 31 games after coming over in a deadline deal with Arizona. He popped in and out of the majors through 2015 and spent 2017 playing in the Mexican League. 
• 1986 - RHP Vin Mazzaro was born in Hackensack, New Jersey. After working 2009-12 in the AL, Vin spent a couple of years in Pittsburgh with a line of 8-2-1, 2.89 in 62 outings. Mazzaro last pitched in the show for the Giants in 2015; he worked in the indy leagues this season. 
• 1989 - Doug Drabek spun a four-hit shutout as the Bucs edged the Cubs and Joe Magrane 1-0. The Pirate run came in the fourth when Pittsburgh strung together three straight singles, with C Dan Bilardello bringing home Jeff King with the contest’s only run. Doug finished the year with a 2.80 ERA, his first of three sub-three ERA seasons as a Pirate. 
• 1992 - Pittsburgh won their third consecutive division crown by defeating the Mets at TRS, 4-2. Danny Jackson got the win and Stan Belinda picked up the save. Gary Redus and Jay Bell each had a pair of hits; Redus scored twice and Bell had two RBI. The club lost the NLCS to Atlanta four games to three when the Braves scored three times in the ninth inning of the seventh game to erase a 2-0 deficit, taking the crown after Sid Bream beat Barry Bond’s throw home.

Danny Jackson 1993 Score

• 1998 - The Pirates ended a dismal season with a 4-1 loss to Cincinnati at Cinergy Field. They finished 69-93 thanks to a 5-25 finish to the campaign, a collapse that started back on August 28th, and finished 33 games behind the Houston Astros in the NL Central. The loss was their eighth in a row and 11th in the final 12 games. The last time the club had been at .500 was on June 14th when they were 34-34. 
• 2002 - The Bucs beat the Cubs‚ 13-3 as Brian Giles scored five runs and drove home six with a double and a pair of home runs. He added another bomb the next game to give him four consecutive years with 35+ homers‚ joining Alex Rodriguez‚ Sammy Sosa‚ and Rafael Palmiero in that select club. Salomon Torres got the win at Wrigley Field. Every Pirate starter, included Torres, had a hit as the Bucs banged out 19 knocks. 
• 2009 - Pittsburgh scored four times in the ninth inning off Jonathan Braxton at PNC Park after the Dodgers took a 5-2 lead in the top of the frame by scoring three times off Matt Capps. Lastings Milledge delivered the game-winning hit, a two-run single to right-center, to plate Andrew McCutchen and Garrett Jones. Capps, despite his miserable frame (three hits and a walk), took home the win.