The Brothers Upton homering back-to-back last night in Denver was pretty special. Siblings jacking consecutively had not happened since 1938 — by the Bucs’ Waners, Paul and Lloyd — and may not happen again.

But it might. There are always numerous brother combinations playing in the Majors; get them together, lightning can strike.

However, I covered an event that has occurred only once in Major League history, and is less likely to ever come around again: Father and son, going yard back-to-back.

The Griffeys, of course.

Sept. 14, 1990, Anaheim Stadium. Harold Reynolds leads off the first with a walk off Kirk McKaskill. Pops Griffey slices a 1-and-0 pitch over the wall in left-center. Ad The Kid hits the very next pitch to the very same spot.

The crowd of 35,000 stirred, but there was no great, emotional reaction. Those were far less sensation-prone times. Things didn’t — couldn’t — go viral. So even the post-game media coverage was muted.

But I did do something I had never done before, or since: I took my game scorecard into the Mariners’ clubhouse after the game, and asked both Griffeys to sign it, next to their home-run squares. Which they did, for a memorabilia, and memory, that still has a prominent place on my wall.

So the Bucs are committed to bringing back the “Z.” We already saw a couple of them being flashed during the recent series with the D-backs in Chase Field.

This is not welcomed news for a lot of you fans, who can’t help associating the pet 2012 symbol of solidarity with the team’s eventual collapse.

Still, spearheaded by several clubhouse leaders — Andrew McCutchen and A.J. Burnett among them — the Bucs are serious about continuing the “Z” tradition.

Fine. But I’ve got an idea for a compromise.

Zoltan, the dude of “Where’s My Car?” fame who was the original inspiration for the sign, is so last year. He had his chance.

Many of the Bucs are ardent followers of shows such as “The Walking Dead.”

So — OK, stay with the “Z”.” But now it stands for “Zombie.”

Bonus point: And the Bucs’ new in-house victory song is “Dead Man’s Party,” by Oingo Bongo. It’s a match made it Undead Heaven.

Have we got a deal?

As Major League Baseball — nay, the entire country — approaches another observance of Jackie  Robinson Day, we must again raise the question: What about The Great One?

The annual April 15 celebration of Robinson’s baseball and human heroics will be more impactful than ever, with the concurrent release of “42,” the film adaptation of his journey across the color line.

All good and extremely appropriate. But another Jackie Robinson Day will also be an excuse for another debate over whether there is another uniform that should be universally retired, whether MLB owes the same debt of gratitude and honor to Roberto Clemente and No. 21.

Robinson’s impact cannot be minimized, and was far more profound beyond the foul lines.

However, as for the current landscape of Major League Baseball, who had the more enduring effect on how, and by who, the game is played?

Robinson? Due certainly to numerous demographic and competitive (pro football and pro basketball are both immeasurable bigger magnets for athletic standouts than they were in the ‘40s) factors, the participation of African-Americans in the Majors has been on a well-documented decline.

Or Clemente, who blazed a compelling path for Latin American ballplayers, who comprised more than 25 percent of the Majors’ Opening Day rosters (a total of 207 players from a dozen different countries)?

Please — not trying to lessen the incredible contributions of Robinson, whose stoic leadership influenced those other sports as well as other facets of life. Just wishing to lift Clemente’s deeds to a comparable bar.

Just saying.

The Pirates are breaking camp today. Not Breaking Bad. That’s a different drama entirely … 

So Kevin Correia is Minnesota’s No. 2 starter, and Erik Bedard is No. 5 in Houston. And Jonathan Sanchez is No. 4 in Pittsburgh. Just something to keep an eye on. … 

In case you missed it — the guy who does the power ratings for CBSsports.com ranked the Pirates higher than he did the Yankees. A.J. Burnett’s reaction to that: “That’s good, isn’t it?” …

Many Pirates fans apparently have already concluded that keeping J-San and Brandon  Inge are signs of the Apocalypse. …

Guys like John McDonald, Inge, J. Sanchez could be invaluable if the Bucs are contending out of the gate. If they’re not, they’ll be dead weights and gone by mid-June. 

Not from where I sit: The Brand Keys 2013 Sports Fan Loyalty Index ranks Pirates fans No. 28 among the 30 Major League teams. …

Competition for the back end of the Pirates’ season-opening rotation has just gone from a match race to an all-out scramble.

Jeff Karstens was scratched four hours before he was to make his first Grapefruit League start, due to “continuing discomfort” in his right shoulder. Additional details will come from GM Neal Huntington later this morning, but the development at the very least ensures that Karstens will begin the season on the DL, not on a mound.

So, suddenly, there are two open spots in Clint Hurdle’s rotation. Instead of battling for one spot, Jeff Locke, Kyle McPherson, Chris Leroux, Jonathan Sanchez and even Jeanmar Gomez are now competing for two.

Leroux will step in to make the start today against the Orioles. Sanchez, interestingly, can ask for his release today if not placed on the Major League roster. Sanchez and Gomez have both  been extremely sharp in their last two outings, and Gomez has the advantage of already being on the roster.

More to come.

The Pirates stole another one, ambushing the Rays 6-4 at McKechnie Field on Stefan Welch’s only Grapefruit League swing. So is this exciting, or troubling, baseball? The Bucs keep winning late, with players who will not be around for the regular season, against pitchers with the same fate.

Who cares. Put another shrimp on the barbie, says Aussie Welch.

Cranks

• Jeanmar Gomez: The staff loves his stuff, and he left a glowing calling card for later this season with four innings of one-run pitching. Has allowed one earned run in his last two starts, covering seven innings.
• Jason Grilli: He’s back. Another zero.
• Jared Hughes: He never went away. A workhorse already, has made nine appearances,  given up one run in 9 1/3 innings, struck out 14.

Clunks

• Mike Zagurski: Who knew he was a first-half Spring Training pitcher? Zip in his first five outings, zapped in the last three.
• Alex Dickerson: You know how two magnets repel each other when you try to touch them by the same poles? That was the Minor League first baseman and the baseball in a guest appearance. Oh, he also took a called third strike his lone at-bat.
• A.J. Burnett: He got his work in in a Minor League game, over 100 pitches worth. He also got worked over by the Minor Leaguers.

The acquisition of John McDonald, as puzzling as it is on the surface, tells me one thing: Neal Huntington expects these Pirates to be quite good, and to contend. To be the type of team that can benefit from the presence of a twice-a-week veteran like McDonald.

The GM may be overrating his team. Time will tell. But he has spent the offseason on the lookout for veterans for the bench. Neither Brandon Inge nor Brad Hawpe may pan out. So he is trying again.

Otherwise, the move would be hard to rationalize. It adds one more element to the one team area I’d already considered congested, with Jordy Mercer and Ivan De Jesus among those in the picture. 

Having McDonald will allow Clint Hurdle to give Clint Barmes the breaks a 34-year-old shortstop might benefit from. The manager wasn’t comfortable taking Barmes’ glove off the field last season; the Bucs were 74-70 when he played, and 5-13 when he didn’t.

The move certainly does not appear to be popular among fans, some of whom have pointed out the Pirates now actually have THREE McDonalds:

James, John and Old.

The Pirates mounted their usual ninth-inning rally — it’s becoming a tradition — but this one fell short in an 11-9 loss to the “Yankees.” Why the quotes? The Bombers’ lineup included the likes of Brennan Boesch, Chris Stewart and Melky Mesa.

Cranks

• Jeff Banister: The Bucs’ bench coach fills up the lineup card daily, giving it his caligraphic touch; today, he used green ink.
• Clint Barmes: Clocked his second homer, which is one more than Andrew McCutchen has, and two more than Pedro Alvarez or Garrett Jones has.
• Josh Harrison: Went airborne away-from-the-infield for an acrobatic catch of a blooper in short left-center. While playing second base.

Clunks

• Mike Zagurski: Took the match-up lefty’s exam, and didn’t grade well; entered the game with men on second and third and one out to face lefty-hitter Dan Johnson — and walked him to load the bases, then had Melky Mesa go Granny off him.
• Russell Martin: Hope he’s just warming up; Yanks stole four bases with him behind the plate, leaving him 1-for-11 in throwing out runners.
• Travis Snider: Was on his way to third when the center fielder dropped Harrison’s liner in right-center, and was forced at second. What?!

The Pirates led the Majors with 57 one-run decisions last season, and are already at it again. Saturday’s 2-1 exhibition loss to the Twins was their ninth of the spring — out of 21 games — and the fifth in a row.

Cranks

• Gerrit Cole: Showed his most Cole-blooded side. In a 1-1 tie, ended both the third and fourth innings with strikeouts with the tie-breaking run in scoring position.
• Alex Presley: Two doubles, two walks, a load of pitches seen. What the Bucs wish they’d gotten more from him last season.
• Carlos Paulino: Had no chance tio throw out the runner on a pitch that had gotten away from him — and still almost did. McKenry has to hold down The Fort, or Paulino could sneak ahead of him on the depth chart.

Clunks

• Brandon Inge: Right now, it’s a feel-not-so-good story. In an 0-for-15 drought at bat, found his first test at first base a challenge.
• Kris Johnson: He had a total of 13 walks in 59 1/3 innings in the Dominican Winter League. Walked two of the first three men he faced, and it cost the Pirates, and him, the game.

From Kissimmee, the Paris of Central Florida, where the Pirates held on to beat the Astros, 3-2.

Cranks

• Josh Harrison: Ran his hit streak to six straight, raising his average to .304. Not bad for a guy who was hitless in his first 13 at-bats of the spring.
• Jonathan Sanchez: Who wasthat guy? First-pitch strikes to nine of 10 batters. Never mind no walks — didn’t even have a three-ball count.
• Carlos Paulino: Wasn’t even in Kissimmee. But the Bucs love his arm. Just how deep that love is was hinted by the reassignment to Minor League camp of Tony Sanchez. Paulino will get some more looks to determine whether he might rank as the top midseason callup candidate.
• Pitching staff, all of it: 17 runs allowed in the last 6 exhibitions.
• Brooks Brown: Okay, he let both of the runners he inherited in the ninth to score. But then he picked up his third save – 33% of the entire team total.

Clunks

• Michael McKenry: He went 0-for-3 as the DH, which Clint Hurdle now uses only in games not started by members of the projected rotation. So, thanks to the Fort, Pirates DHs now are 5-for-40 (.125) in March.