9/22 From 1950: Cito Joins; Clinchers; Game Stories; HBD Wally

• 1958 - The Pirates set a pair of wrong way records during their 3-2 and 1-0 twinbill losses to the Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium. Three Phil pitchers fanned a MLB record 21 Bucs in the opener, and Jack Sanford whiffed 10 in the nitecap for a MLB record 31 Ks for the day. 
• 1959 - Utilityman Wally Backman was born in Hillsboro, Oregon. He spent one season of his 14-year career in Pittsburgh in 1990, and it was more than solid as he got into 104 games and swatted .297. He came to Pittsburgh as a free agent (1 year/$400K) and left the same way, signing a two-year, $1.3M deal with the Phils. Thanks to some personal issues, Wally has had a bumpy road coaching/managing since retiring in 1993 and is now an indie league skipper. 

Wally Backman - 1990 Topps Wide

• 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 hits and a sac fly later, the Bucs had turned a squeaky 2-1 lead over the Cards into a 5-1 tally. After the victory, the Buccos eliminated the San Francisco Giants in the NLCS and dropped the Birds to claim the World Series crown. 
• 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, 4 RBI, 1 RS) and Richie Zisk (2B, 4 RBI, 1 RS). 
• 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 beginning a long run as the Toronto Blue Jays manager. 
• 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 just 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. 

Chris Young - 2002 Upper Deck Minor League

• 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. 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.