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The Pittsburgh Pirates franchise is known for great hitters (although not recently) but their pitchers have produced some highlights, too. Thus, I present a totally subjective, completely unscientific look at the top 10 single-game pitching performances in Pirates history. So, let’s get to the first half without any further ado, without even bothering to question exactly what “ado” is and why it’s not needed any further. Pirates Pitchers Have Produced Some Great Games 10. The Pirates’ Babe October 16, 1909, Pirates 8, Detroit Tigers 0, World Series Game 7 at Bennett Park, Detroit (GSc* 75). “Far above all others on the tablet of baseball fame, marking the highest point ever reached in individual brilliancy and outshining the greatest previous achievements in the annals of the Nation’s sport, must be written to-day [sic] in large and blazing capitals the name of ADAMS,” trumpeted the October 17, 1909 Pittsburgh Daily Post. Hyperbole? Perhaps, but how else to react when a 27-year-old rookie shuts out the mighty Tigers on the road in Game 7 of the World Series? That’s what left-hander did. Adams, who was 12-3 with a 1.11 ERA and 0.854 WHIP in 1909, was 3-0 in that Series. In Game 7, he pitched nine innings and gave up just six hits and one walk. These were the Tigers of , , and Wahoo , believed by many baseball historians to have been the greatest outfield in baseball history. In Game 7, they were a combined 1-for-12 against Adams. The trio combined to hit .335 during the season. It was Pittsburgh's first World Series championship. *The Game Score (GSc) was devised by influential statistician as a way to evaluate a single performance by a starting pitcher. It’s determined as follows: 50 + number of outs recorded + (2 x each inning completed after the fourth) + number of strikeouts – (2 x hits allowed) – (4 x earned runs allowed) – (2 x unearned runs allowed) – number of walks. 9. Pirates Pitchers Combine for No-Hitter July 12, 1997, Pirates 3, Houston Astros 0 at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh (GSc 95). The 1997 Pirates were dubbed the “Freak Show” by broadcaster Greg Brown and unexpectedly captured the hearts of Pittsburgh fans. During the 1996 season, owner Kevin McClatchy revised his budget and decided he needed to cut payroll. Established players were dealt for prospects and no-names. His future , , asked out of his contract. Under new manager , the 1997 Pirates and their $9 million payroll (less than the Chicago White Sox were paying ) were in the race for the National League Central Division crown until there were four games left in the season, due to a weaker division and a few wildly improbable Pirates wins. One of those wins occurred on this night before the Pirates’ first non-Opening Day sellout crowd in 20 years. “He Didn’t Make Many Mistakes” Starter , a right-hander from Mexico, held the Astros hitless through nine innings. He allowed just two walks and a hit batsman. No Astro got as far as second base. Cordova spoke no English. The Astros hitters spoke for him. “He didn’t make many mistakes,” Astros first baseman told Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “When he did make a couple, we were so surprised that we didn’t hit them.” Astros catcher asked Cook, “I don’t think we hit a ball hard, did we?” Nope. The problem was that the Pirates hitters hadn’t scored, either. After 121 pitches, Lamont decided Cordova was through for the evening. Left-handed , another Mexican who spoke no English, allowed a walk in the 10th but kept the no-hitter intact. , a little-known reserve, won the game in the bottom of the 10th with a three-run home run against . The two Pirates pitchers had thrown the first combined extra-inning no-hitter in baseball history. Thanks to Smith’s blast, this is the only game from this list to also appear on my list. 8. Near-Perfection on Memorial Day May 27, 1974, Pirates 6, San Diego Padres 0, Game 1 of doubleheader at Three Rivers Stadium (GSc 87). Pirates left-hander had a . It started with his complete-game, two-hit shutout over the Padres. It continued with Brett’s big pinch-hit triple in the second game. But let’s stick with the pitching performance. Pitching for an injury-decimated Pirates team, Brett had a perfect game through eight innings. He did it with a catcher () playing center field, a second baseman () playing right field, and an error-prone shortstop in . Alas, in the top of the ninth, catcher led off by rolling a single between Taveras and third baseman , and Brett’s flirtation with baseball immortality was over. 7. Ellis, D. on LSD June 12, 1970, Pirates 2, Padres 0, Game 1 of doubleheader at San Diego Stadium, San Diego (GSc 85). Something about the first games of doubleheaders against the Padres brings out the best in Pirates pitchers. Apparently, this is true even after the pitcher has taken large quantities of a hallucinogen. There have been no-hitters in Pirates lore that produced better pitching lines than recorded on this date. In Ellis’s nine innings...
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