9/15 From 1980: Two-Out Lightning; 5-Game Sweep; Unlucky 14; Ohlie Day; Game Stories; HBD Parker

• 1981 - Luis Tiant may have been 40-years-old and nearing the end of his road, but he took a sip from the fountain of youth in a 9-2 win against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Not only did he toss a four-hit complete game with eight whiffs, but he capped a five-run fifth inning by banging a two-out, bases-loaded double that cleared the sacks and gave him a seven-run lead. El Tiante had a shutout going until there were two gone in the ninth before Leon Durham’s homer broke up the whitewash. Dave Parker, Tony Pena and Omar Moreno combined for seven hits to lead the attack behind Luis. 
• 1983 - Richie Hebner iced an 8-4 win over the Cubs with an eighth-inning, pinch hit grand slam of Chicago closer Lee Smith, earning a curtain call from the TRS faithful. Larry McWilliams went the distance for the win, and was also ably supported by the Bucco 2-3-4 hitters (Johnny Ray, Dave Parker, Jason Thompson) who combined for seven hits, five runs scored and three RBI. The game put the Bucs in a tie with the Phils for the division’s top spot, but Philadelphia would pull away to take the crown easily by six games over the Pirates. 

Parker Markel - 2019 image Pgh Pirates

• 1990 - RHP Parker Markel was born in Newport Beach, California. He was a late round pick in 2010 y Tampa Bay out of Yavapai CC after passing on the Tigers draft offer the year before as a prepster. He made it into the show for five outings with Seattle in 2019, was treated rudely in a small sample size by the AL hitters, and waived. The Pirates claimed him as a depth guy and then brought him up from Indy a week later. He got into 15 games and K'ed 21 batters in 17-1/3 IP, but gave up three bombs on his way to a 5.71 ERA. 
• 1992 - Alex Coles used the old Roberto Clemente trick and threw out St. Louis pitcher Mark Clark at first base from right field as the Bucs edged the Cards 4-2 at Busch Stadium. Helping the cause were homers by Jeff King, Barry Bonds, and Andy Van Slyke. Paul Wagner got the win in relief of Randy Tomlin, with Danny Cox picking up a save. 
• 1996 - The Pirates took a twin bill from the Giants by 4-1 and 11-9 scores at 3Com Park, sweeping the G-Men in a five-game set, a feat the Bucs wouldn’t repeat again until 2018 when they broomed Milwaukee at PNC Park. Jon Lieber scattered nine hits for the win with help from Matt Reubel. Orlando Merced and Carlos Garcia had a pair of hits, but the key blow was John Wehner's two-out, two-run, two-bagger. The offensive fireworks in the second game were provided by Tony Womack and Carlos Garcia, each with a pair of hits and three RBI; Jermaine Allensworth added four raps as the Bucs banged out 16 hits. Marc Wilkins, the fifth of seven pitchers, got the win. It was a wild finale - the game was tied 5-5 after nine; the Bucs hung on by outscoring the Giants 6-4 in the 10th inning, with San Fran bringing the go-ahead run to the plate with two outs before Joe Boever whiffed Kim Batiste to book it. The sweep was the start of an 11-game winning streak, but they still finished with just 73 wins in what would be Jim Leyland’s last Pirates campaign. 
• 2011 - Ross Ohlendorf recorded his first win of the year and also whacked his first (and only) career homer in a 6-2 win over LA at Dodger Stadium. The Pirates trailed 1-0 after the first inning before scoring four times in the second, highlighted by a two-out, three-run blast by Ohlie who did it all in the City of Angels. 

Ross Ohlendorf - 2011 Topps 60 Years Gold

• 2016 - The Buc bats erupted for a 15-2 beatdown of the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The Pirates hit five homers (Andrew McCutchen-2, John Jaso, Sean Rodriguez & Jordy Mercer the others); nine of their 13 hits (they also drew eight walks) were for extra bases. Pittsburgh tied an MLB record that's been on the books since 1913 by leaving just one man LOB when scoring 15+ runs. The Bucs eight-run ninth matched their best inning of the year while 15 runs were the high water mark for runs scored in a game that season. Talk about using all three outs: the last 12 runs the Corsairs plated came with two away. The 15 runs were the most for the Bucs in a game against the Phils since June, 1967. 
• 2019 - The Pirates were mauled by the Cubs 16-6 at Wrigley, capping a record-setting exercise in futility for Pittsburgh pitchers. The Bucs tied their modern record for runs surrendered in a three game set with 47. The series they equalled was played between June 23rd-25th, 1950, when Brooklyn rang up 47 runs at Ebbets Field. The Bucco staff gave up 14 or more runs in three straight games for the first time in modern franchise history while the Cubs became the fifth team since 1900 to score at least 14 runs in three straight games, along with the 1901 & 1928 Pirates, 1930 Cubs, and 1993 Tigers. And to keep the 14 vibe going, Chicago also hit 14 homers during the series.