2015 – With a 13 – 7 win over the Colorado Rockies, the Pirates clinch a spot in the postseason for the third straight year, and the clinching game has come today in all three years. Neil Walker has a career-high 6 RBIs to lead the offense.
One strike away from a perfect game, Max Scherzer’s bid for immortality is spoiled when he hits Jose Tabata with a pitch, a slider off the elbow that many believed the Pittsburgh outfielder purposely leaned into to get on base. The 30 year-old right-hander records the final out on the next batter to complete his first ever no-hitter, allowing just one hit in two consecutive starts after tossing a 16-strikeout, one-hit complete game against Milwaukee in his last outing.
Brandon Crawford becomes the first shortstop to hit a postseason grand slam when he clears the bases in the fourth inning of the winner-take-all National League Wild Card Game, an 8-0 Giants’ victory over the Pirates. Crawfords blast quiets the very enthusiastic PNC Park crowd, who has been a valuable asset to the home team during the season. Madison Bumgarner pitches a complete game, four-hit shutout while Edinson Volquez is tagged with the loss.
2013 – The Pirates win the National League Wild Card Game, 6 – 2, over the Reds thanks to a pair of home runs by Russell Martin and one by Marlon Byrd to back the pitching of Francisco Liriano, who needs only 27 pitches to retire the Reds in order in the first three innings to set the tone for the game. It is the Pirates’ first postseason win since the 1992 NLCS.
Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander misses pitching his third career no-hitter when he allows a single to Josh Harrison with one out in the top of the ninth inning. The reigning MVP and Cy Young winner completes the one-hitter, beating Pittsburgh, 6-0, in front of a very enthusiastic Friday night crowd at Detroit’s Comerica Park.
The Marlins shut out the Pirates by a 6 – 0 score for the second consecutive day. The Pirates have struck out 22 times over the two games. Ricky Nolasco is the winner, following Josh Johnson the day before.
On October 3, 2010.00 The Pirates, with their 5-2 loss in Miami, finish the season with a 17-64 record on the road. The Bucs’ dismal away-from-home performance equals the 1963 Mets’ infamous mark for a 162-game season.
2010 – Roy Oswalt fires a one-hitter at the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 2-0 complete game shutout. It comes as rumors swirl about trading the pitching ace before the deadline on July 31st. Lance Berkman provides all the offense with two solo homers into the Crawford Boxes as part of a three-hit afternoon.
Pitcher Stephen Strasburg makes the most eagerly anticipated debut in decades before a sell-out crowd in Washington, DC. The recipient of the largest signing bonus in history lives up to his advance billing, striking out 14 while walking none in seven innings; the only batter to reach him is Delwyn Young, who connects for a two-run homer. The Nationals defeat Pittsburgh, 4 – 2, for Strasburg’s first major league win.
The all-time saves leader, Trevor Hoffman of the Milwaukee Brewers, continues to struggle this year. He blows a save for the second consecutive day in a 6 – 5, 14-inning loss to the Pirates by giving up a game-tying 9th-inning home run to Ryan Doumit, one day after giving up a grand slam to Doumit. Hoffman has already blown 4 save opportunities this year, as many as in all of 2009, and has an ERA of 13.00 with 6 homers allowed.
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