9/7 From 2000: Futility Record; Littlefield Axed; Game Stories

• 2006 - Chris Duffy had himself a day against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. He went 4-for-4 (and all against LHP) with a homer, three runs scored and three RBI in Pittsburgh’s 7-5 win. He and Xavier Nady hit solo shots in the ninth to break a 5-5 tie to give Jonah Bayless the win. He didn’t break a sweat to earn it, facing just one batter in the eighth to get the final out. Salomon Torres, the sixth Pirates hurler, collected the save; the Cubs burned through seven twirlers. 

Chris Duffy - 2006 Topps Heritage

• 2007 - GM Dave Littlefield was fired. Brian Graham, the director of player development for the Pirates, served as interim general manager until Neal Huntington took over three weeks later, hired away from Cleveland by new President Frank Coonelly. Coonelly had replaced Kevin McClatchy as Bob Nutting put his own front office in place after becoming principal owner in January. 
• 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 string of sub-.500 years to 17 in a row. The Pirates had shared the record of 16 consecutive losing seasons with the 1933-48 Philadelphia Phillies. The Bucs would extend the record by three more seasons until finally finishing with more wins than losses (94-68) in 2013. 
• 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. Six of the Chicago runs were unearned with Starling Marte in the pasture and Brock Holt at second both misfiring on a pair of plays. 
• 2014 - Pirate bats ran wild over the Cubs at Wrigley Field as the Bucs ran away with a 10-4 decision. Their 19 hits were the most in a game since 2012. Every starter, including the pitcher, had a hit; seven players had multiple hits. Jordy Mercer & Andrew McCutchen banged back-to-back homers while Neil Walker and Gerrit Cole also went long. Cole lasted six innings, plenty long enough to pick up the win. It gave the Pirates a three-game sweep of Chi-Town, the first time Pittsburgh had swept a series at Wrigley Field since 2000. 

Willy's first win - photo Pittsburgh Pirates

• 2016 - Pittsburgh snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 4-3 win against St. Louis at PNC Park. It was a gritty performance coming off the heels of two-out, two-strike loss the night before. The score see-sawed back and forth until the eighth inning when Jung Ho Kang hit his third home run in two nights to put the Bucs ahead by a run. After being chased in the last loss, Tony Watson got back on the bicycle to earn the save for Trevor Williams, who made his first MLB appearance a winning one. Kang had three hits to lead the offense, with Josh Harrison and Gregory Polanco each collecting a pair of knocks.