9/27 From 1935: Giles Drives In 6; Newman 5; '92, '70 Clinchers; Kiner's 7th Crown; Steve's Last TV Game; Gems & Game Tales; HBD Vin, Pedro & Dave

• 1935 - RHP Dave Wickersham was born in Erie. The Ohio U grad had eight solid years in the AL when he came over to the Bucs from Detroit for Dennis Ribant in 1968, but he only got into 11 games for the Pirates with a respectable line of 1-0-1/3.48, and then was sold to his original MLB city, Kansas City, in the off season. He tossed for them for one more campaign before retiring, long enough to enter the record books as one of four players to be members of both KC franchises, the Athletics (he pitched from 1960-63 for the A’s) and the Royals (1969). 
• 1952 - In the next-to-last game of the season, a 9-6 win over the Reds at Crosley Field, Ralph Kiner homered to finish the season with 37 long balls to tie Hank Sauer for the crown. It was Kiner’s record seventh consecutive National League home run title before Eddie Matthews bested him in 1953. 
• 1970 - The Pirates clinched the NL East title with a 2-1 victory over the Mets at TRS, thus eliminating the Cubs, in front of a record 50,469 fans. Dave Cash had two hits, a run scored and the game-winning RBI while Roberto Clemente banged out a pair of doubles to lead the offense. Dock Ellis got the win and Dave Giusti earned the save as the Pirates swept the three-game series from New York. The Pirates were broomed in the NLCS by Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine. 
• 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 then finished his baseball days by playing in the Mexican and Dominican Leagues through 2018. 

Pedro Ciriaco - 2011 Topps

• 1986 - RHP Vin Mazzaro was born in Hackensack, New Jersey. After working 2009-12 in the AL, Vinnie spent a couple of years in Pittsburgh with a line of 8-2-1/2.89 in 62 outings. Mazzaro was last in the show with the Giants in 2015 and pitched out of the indie leagues from 2017-19. 
• 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 Cardinals 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, then John Smiley and Jim Gott made it hold up. The outcome was in doubt until the ninth, when with one away, Luis Alicea softly lined Gott’s delivery to medium center with Jose Oquendo on third; he tagged and Andy Van Slyke’s strike cut him down at home. 
• 1989 - Doug Drabek spun a four-hit shutout as the Bucs edged the Cubs and Joe Magrane at TRS, 1-0. The Pirate run came in the fourth when Pittsburgh strung together three straight singles, with Dan Bilardello bringing home Jeff King with the contest’s only run. Doug finished the year with a 2.80 ERA, the first of three sub-three ERA seasons he posted as a Pirate. 
• 1992 - Pittsburgh won their third consecutive division crown by defeating the New York Mets in front of 31,217 fans at Three Rivers Stadium, 4-2. Danny Jackson went seven innings for the win, with Stan Belinda closing to earn the save. Gary Redus and Jay Bell each had a pair of hits; Redus scored twice and Bell chased home two runs. 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. 

Danny Jackson - 1993 Select

• 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, 10 games worse than the ‘97 Freak Show squad. The loss was their eighth in a row and 11th in the final 12 games, with the last time the club had been at .500 being June 14th when they were 34-34. The club finished the campaign 33 games behind the defending champs, the Houston Astros, in the Central Division. 
• 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 went all the way for the win at Wrigley Field with a lot of help - every Pirate starter, including Torres, had a hit as the Bucs banged out 19 knocks against six Cubbie hurlers. 
• 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 was credited with the win. 
• 2019 - After going through a miserable post All Star stretch, the Pirates, without injured starters Josh Bell, Starling Marte, Bryan Reynolds and Colin Moran, fought back to win their fourth in a row when Kevin Newman banged a two-out walkoff homer (his second dinger of the game) with Jake Elmore aboard to lead Pittsburgh to a 6-5 victory over the Reds at PNC Park. Newman had five RBI and scored twice to earn Yacksel Rios his first win as a Bucco. It was the 11th straight home win against Cincinnati, and came at an opportune time - it was retiring announcer Steve Blass’ final TV game, making the contest a memorable conclusion to Steverino's  six decades with the Pirates organization.