9/21 From 1970: Vanimal Purrs, AJ's 200, JK's #26, Cooke-in', BB 30/50, Smiley-Face, Game Tales, Unlucky 13, Threats; HBD Henry, Zach & Antonio

• 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 eventually 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-strikeout, 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 him “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 a 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. 
• 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 “The Scat” to score. Ed Whitson got the win and Jim Bibby the save. Cub manager Herman Franks pulled out all the stops 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 missed two months with a quad strain, then was ineffective when he returned and released in July, 2017, after nine outings and a 15.00 ERA. He was suspended for a second time in 2018 for PED usage after being released by Arizona and that ended his big league career.

Antonio Bastardo - 2015 Topps

• 1986 - LHP Zach Phillips was born in Sacramento, California. Phillips was dealt to the Bucs from the Orioles 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 and he signed with the Cards. He was released by the Birds, and since then has been 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 of knocks apiece. 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, the club 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. The campaign was a preview party for the core (Bonds, Van Slyke, Bobby Bonilla, Drabek) who would power Jim Leyland’s 1990-92 pennant-winning clubs. 
• 1988 - John Smiley spun a complete game, two-hit shutout (his first MLB whitewash) with six whiffs and no walks in a 5-0 win over the Cards at Busch Stadium. The man of the hour was Benny DiStefano, whose three-run, pinch-hit homer in the ninth inning broke up a pitching battle between Smiley and former Buccaneer Jose DeLeon. The Pirates only had five hits during the match but copacetically, three of them came consecutively in the final frame. The victory capped a stretch where the Pirates won 11-of-16. Then they pulled a U-turn by going 3-6, ending the season with 85 wins to finish a distant second behind the New York Mets in the NL East Division. 
• 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 during a 1-0 Bucco victory. Bonds kept his wheels churning, scoring the game’s only run in the seventh frame when he led off with a single and came around on Sid Bream’s double. Zane Smith tossed a five-hitter with 10 punch outs for the wire-to-wire win. 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. 

Steve Cooke - 1992 Donruss Rookies

• 1992 - Bob Walk and Steve Cooke (he went seven innings for the win after relieving Walk, who suffered a minor strain) 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. It was the Bucs 13th straight win over the Redbirds (the streak ended the next day when the Cards eked out a 5-4 win) as the Pirates finished 15-3 against their Eastern Division rivals. 
• 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. That broke the modern stolen base record for National League catchers set by John Stearns in 1978 and began a three-season streak of 20+ swiped sacks. Kendall was quite adept at base path larceny in his early years; he even stole home twice during the ‘98 campaign. Jason thieved 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. 
• 1999 - C Henry Davis was born in Bedford, New York. The first overall pick of the 2021 draft out of the U of Louisville by the Bucs, the media and fans pushed for his promotion after he overcame some nagging injuries and showed a strong minor league stick (.276 BA, .404 OBP, .523 Slugging %) while moving through the ranks. They got their wish in June, 2023, despite Davis playing fewer than 125 games on the farm. He missed some time with a wrist injury but still got a 200+ at-bat taste of MLB pitching, which proved a test during his first go-around. 
• 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 closed out the victory; it was his first save since coming off the DL as the Bucs moved ahead of the Redlegs by a game in the battle for the home wild card.

AJ - 2013 Topps

• 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 while Tony Watson tossed the ninth for the save as 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 San Francisco Giants. 
• 2021 - The Pirates snapped a 13-game losing streak at Great American Ballpark (their last win was on 8/13/2020) by downing the Reds, 6-2, the day after squandering a 5-0 lead in the series opener. It took some clutch pitching; Mitch Keller worked out of an early bases-loaded, no out jam, surrendering just a sac fly. Then Nick Mears did even better. The sacks were juiced with no one away in the seventh and the 3-4-5 hitters coming up before he served a pair of pop ups and a whiff to keep Cincinnati off the board. The Bucs had a balanced attack at the dish; Ke’Bryan Hayes led the way with three hits, Ben Gamel homered, and six different Buccos chased home a run while five Corsairs plated. Keller was credited with the win; it was his first victory in a month.