9/21 From 1970: Clinchin; AJ - 200; BB-30/50 Club; Thieving' Jason; Murder Inc; Gems & Game Tales; HBD Antonio & Zach

• 1972 - Fueled by a five-run third inning, Pittsburgh clinched the East Division crown with a 6-2 win over the Mets at Shea Stadium; the club won the pennant by 11 games. The Pirates had seven straight batters reach base in the third, and the big frame provided plenty of cushion for Steve Blass, who tossed a seven-hit, seven K complete game victory. 
• 1977 - The Pirates beat the Mets 4-0 at Shea Stadium in a game more appreciated for what didn’t happen rather than the action on the field. Before the game, manager Chuck Tanner received a thinly veiled death threat, another phone caller later asked “What do Bob Moose and Roberto Clemente have in common? They’re both dead,” and Ed Ott was told to stay off the field in another hotel call. NYC had plainclothes cops watch the pair (Tanner came out twice for pitcher meetings, but after the game stayed on the top step of the dugout and off the field; Ott didn’t play because a lefty, Jerry Koosman, was on the hill although he went through the usual pre-game drills, including BP). Nothing ever came of the calls, probably triggered by Ott breaking Felix Millan’s collarbone earlier in the year and Tanner’s defense of the play. As for the game, Bruce Kison got the win and Goose Gossage closed it out with the Bucs chipping away with four runs in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings. In an amusing contrast of wheels, Kison drove in Omar Moreno with a knock into the right-center gap; The Antelope scored all the way from first while Bruce satisfied himself with a single. 

Matt the Scat - 1981 Topps

• 1978 - The Bucs nipped the Cubs, 3-2, in 14 frames at Wrigley Field. Rennie Stennett walked to lead off the 14th and pinch runner Matt Alexander made it happen. As he stole second, C Doug Radar's throw went into center. Alexander bolted for third and was hit in the back by CF Bobby Murcer’s peg, which ricocheted away and allowed Matt “The Scat” to score. Ed Whitson got the win and Jim Bibby the save. Cub manager Herman Franks pulled out all the stops to no avail as Chicago tied an NL record by using 27 players (20 position, seven pitching) in the loss. 
• 1985 - LHP Antonio Bastardo was born in Hato Mayor del Rey, Dominican Republic. The mid-inning arm was obtained from the Phillies in December, 2014 for minor league pitcher Joely Rodriguez to replace Justin Wilson, who had been traded to the Yankees for C Francisco Cervelli. AB went 4-1-1/2.89 in 66 Bucco appearances, a performance he turned into a two-year, $12M free agent deal with the NY Mets. He wasn’t gone long, though - he came back to Pittsburgh when the Pirates returned ex-Met hurler Jon Niese at the 2016 deadline, but it was a short-lived homecoming. He was injured, ineffective and released in July, 2017, after nine outings and a 15.00 ERA. 
• 1986 - LHP Zach Phillips was born in Sacramento, California. Phillips came to the Bucs from the Orioles in a deal for Kyle Lobstein at the 2016 deadline. He got into eight games with no decisions, giving up two runs on eight hits in 6-2/3 IP. The Pirates didn’t tender him after the campaign and he signed with the Cards. He was released by the Birds, and spent the last two seasons pitching in Mexico. 
• 1987 - The Pirates defeated the Montreal Expos at Olympic Stadium by a 5-2 count behind the strong pitching of Doug Drabek and Jeff Robinson. Felix Fermin had three hits while Barry Bonds, Chico Lind, Andy Van Slyke and Sid Bream added a pair. It capped a late push toward respectability for the Bucs. The victory finished a stretch of winning 20-of-26 games and after a short bump would close the year by winning 6-of-8. The run at the end didn’t put them in the race, but they went from 18 games under .500 on August 23rd (53-71) to a season-ending 80-82 mark. It was an early coming out party for the core (Bonds, Van Slyke, Bobby Bonilla, Drabek) for Jim Leyland’s 1990-92 pennant-winning clubs. 

John Smiley - 1988 Score

• 1988 - John Smiley spun a complete game, two-hit shutout with six whiffs and no walks in a 5-0 win over the Cards at Busch Stadium. The batting hero of the day was Benny DiStefano, whose three-run, pinch hit homer in the ninth broke up a tight battle between Smiley and Jose DeLeon. The Pirates only had five hits during the match; three of them came consecutively in the final frame. The victory was the last of a stretch where the Pirates won 11-of-16; they went 3-6 to finish the season with 85 wins. 
• 1990 - Barry Bonds became the first Pirate player (and just the second major leaguer, along with the Reds Eric Davis) in history to hit 30+ homers and steal 50 + bases in the same season when he swiped second against the Cards at TRS in a 1-0 Bucco victory. Zane Smith tossed a five-hitter with 10 punch outs for the win, and Bonds scored the game’s only run in the seventh when he led off with a single and came around on Sid Bream’s double. The Pirates padded their divisional lead to 3-1/2 games after the Mets lost to the Cubs; they went on to win the 1990 NL East by four games over NY. 
• 1992 - Bob Walk and Steve Cooke (who went seven innings for the win) combined for a four-hit, 3-0 blanking of the St. Louis Cardinals at TRS. Don Slaught had three hits including a homer as Pittsburgh won for the seventh time in eight games to stretch the divisional gap between them and the Montreal Expos to seven games. 
• 1998 - The Pirates, playing out the string during a September freefall, were drubbed, 8-1, by the Giants at 3 Com Stadium. Jason Kendall provided the lone bright spot when he swiped his 26th base in the sixth inning against the Orel Hershiser, breaking the modern stolen base record for NL catchers previously set by John Stearns in 1978. Kendall was quite adept at basepath larceny in his early years; he even stole home twice during the ‘98 campaign. Jason swiped 103 bases in his first five campaigns but only 96 more over his last decade, as injury and age (he played until he was 36) caught up to him. 

AJ Burnett - 2013 Bowman

• 2013 - AJ Burnett struck out a dozen Cincinnati Reds in seven innings, becoming the first Pirate RHP to whiff over 200 batters in a season (he finished the year with 209 punch outs, handily passing up Kris Benson & Bob Friend), as the Bucs took a 4-2 decision at PNC Park. The big blow was a two-run homer by Russ Martin, and the tying and go-ahead runs were set up by Marlon Byrd, who hit a sac fly to drive in Andrew McCutchen and move Justin Morneau to second, where he scored on a two-out knock by Pedro Alvarez. Jason Grilli nailed down the save in his first save since coming off the DL as the Bucs moved ahead of the Redlegs by a game for the home wild card. 
• 2014 - The Pirates shut out the Brewers, 1-0, behind the pitching of Vance Worley and an RBI single by Russell Martin in the seventh that chased home Andrew McCutchen. Vanimal went eight innings of four-hit ball for the win; Tony Watson tossed the ninth for the save while Wily Peralta took the tough-luck loss. The Bucs jumped 4-1/2 games ahead of Milwaukee in the NL wild card race with the win and moved into a tie for home field with the SF Giants.