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This season marks the 50th anniversary of the 1960 Pirates team, which captured the imagination of Pittsburgh like no other in history. In tribute to that epic season, Piratesreport.com will chronicle its events on a daily basis.

CHICAGO, Friday, July 29, 1960 -- Like many a good, ol' country boy, Wilmer Mizell pitched on the mound a lot like he talked off it. It took a lot of pitches for Vinegar Bend to complete the story, but when he did, there usually were a lot of smiles at the end.

So when Mr. Imperfect set down the first nine Chicago Cubs batters without a problem at Wrigley Field this afternoon, it raised a few eyebrows.

But 12 in a row? Fifteen?

Finally, Mizell saw his perfect game spoiled with two outs in the sixth inning, and it was his mound opponent that did it. Rookie Jim Brewer hit a groundball that sneaked past the left-hander and rolled into center field for the first hit of his career.

"I finished up on the wrong side of the rubber after throwing a curve to Brewer," Mizell explained in his best Alabama drawl afterward. "Had I followed through on my deliver like I normally do, I would have been in a position to catch the ball on the first bounce and throw him out."

No matter. Mizell (5-7) went the distance on nifty two-hitter, and the Pirates took care of business with a 4-0 victory. At 57-37, they were 20 games above .500 for the first time this season.

After Brewer reached base, Richie Ashburn drew a base on balls. Mizell regrouped to strike out Jerry Kindall and preserve a 2-0 lead.

Mizell (7-5) allowed only one more baserunner the rest of the way. Ashburn singled with one out in the ninth inning, and when the veteran made an ill-advised attempt to stretch the hit, right fielder Roberto Clemente gunned him down.

The two-hitter was the fifth for Mizell in his career. Two of them came at the expense of the Pirates while he was with the Cardinals earlier in his career.

"It was the best game that I ever pitched," Vinegar Bend said after he drubbed the Cubs for the ninth consecutive time.

The 22-year-old Brewer (0-3) was pretty good himself. In his third major league start, the lefty mowed down the first 14 batters before Hal Smith doubled to left field. Don Hoak followed with a two-run home run, his ninth of the season.

Two innings later, Smith and Hoak were at it again. Both singled to drive home runs.

This was Mizell's day, though.

Since his arrival two months ago, Mizell had surpassed expectations and then some. In 11 starts, he had a 6-2 record and 3.52 earned run average. His team won the three games in which he didn't figure in the decision. If not the most talented and balanced foursome in the league, then Mizell, Bob Friend, Vernon Law and Harvey Haddix were very close to it.

National League standings: PIRATES 57-37 0; Milwaukee 53-39 3; Los Angeles 51-41 5; St. Louis 50-44 7; San Francisco 48-43 7 1/2; Cincinnati 42-52 15; Philadelphia 38-56 19; Chicago 33-60 23 1/2.