9/27 From 1980: 3-In-A-Row; Bashin' Brian; Game Stories; HBD Pedro & Vinnie

• 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 from 2016 on playing in the Mexican and Dominican Leagues. 
• 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 out of the indie leagues in 2017-19. 

Vin Mazzaro - 2013 Quarry

• 1988 - In a contest that manager Jim Leyland called “...a stepping stone to the winner’s circle,” the Bucs won their 84th game (they finished with 85 victories, the most since the 1979 World Series club) to clinch second place with a 3-2 win over the Cards at TRS. The Pirates jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead on a Mike LaValliere grounder and Bobby Bonilla’s two-run, two-out single, and John Smiley and Jim Gott made it hold up. The outcome was in doubt until the ninth, when with one away, Luis Alicea lifted a fly to medium center with Jose Oquendo on third; he tagged and Andy Van Slyke’s strike nailed him at home to end the game on a dramatic note. 
• 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. 
• 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. 

Brian Giles - 2002 Flair Collection

• 2002 - The Bucs beat the Cubs‚ 13-3 as Brian Giles scored five runs and drove home six with a double & 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 - It ain’t over until it’s over: 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.