There are all kinds of reasons for the Pirates to be freaked out in facing the New York Yankees tonight at PNC Park, and they go well beyond the historic implications of this first meeting on Pittsburgh soil since Bill Mazeroski was waving his cap in 1960.

To start, there is recent history: The Pirates lost all six interleague meetings in Yankee Stadium, three in 2005 and three more last year, and one of those was sick enough to turn an umpire's stomach.

Remember Tony Randazzo?

He was the man in blue working first base June 15, 2005, when Jack Wilson flipped to Jose Castillo and on to Daryle Ward for what appeared to be a game-ending double play ... except that Randazzo missed the call, and the Yankees went on to win in the 10th inning.

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• Standings
• Today
  • Game: Pirates vs. New York Yankees, 7:05 p.m., PNC Park.
  • TV, Radio: FSN Pittsburgh, WPGB-FM (104.7).
  • Pitching: LHP Tom Gorzelanny (5-6, 6.59) vs. RHP Darrell Rasner (4-4, 3.64).
  • Key matchup: When Gorzelanny pitched in Yankee Stadium last year, the only hitter who had him sized up was Hideki Matsui. He went 2 for 3 with a home run and two RBIs in New York's 5-4, 10-inning victory June 8.
  • Of note: Rasner, who spent all but 25 games of his first seven professional seasons in the minors, won his first three starts upon being promoted May 1, then lost his next four, then beat the San Diego Padres, 8-5, in his most recent.

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The visiting clubhouse was full of venom for the umpire, including this gem from then-Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon: "We're not good enough to beat the Yankees twice in their own yard."

The next day, crew chief Ed Montague issued a rare admission of an incorrect call and described Randazzo as so distraught by it that he "didn't say a word for the whole ride back" to the umpires' hotel.

The Pirates were clocked by a combined 15-1 in the other two games of that series, then 27-13 in the three last year.

The atmosphere was no better in the latter, from internal bickering to finger-pointing to a tragicomedy of errors. In the middle game, catcher Ronny Paulino dropped two throws to home plate and gave up five stolen bases. Even Wilson was inflicted, with his four miscues leading to the only prolonged benching of his career.

When it was done, in what might have been one of last season's defining moments, first baseman Adam LaRoche and right fielder Xavier Nady sat at their adjacent stalls, staring into space and muttering about how awful it was.

Sounds like quite some scars to carry into the game tonight.

Except for one detail ...

"I don't remember it at all," LaRoche said with a smile the other day. "Baseball's a sport where it's sometimes good to forget."

"No recollection of anything in the series," Nady said.

What about Wilson, who steamed for a week afterward when then-manager Jim Tracy replaced him at shortstop with Castillo?

"Did we win a game up there?" Wilson asked.

He was reminded they had not.

"Oh, good times."

Well, OK, assume that the Pirates have no demons to exorcise the next three nights.

Why, then, might they succeed this time?

To start, there is a general sentiment that this team is more competitive than its recent predecessors. That is evident with an offense that ranks third in the National League, in those 18 come-from-behind victories, and through intangibles such as how quickly they recover from adversity. That trait was evident again this weekend, when they shrugged off a crushing sweep by the Chicago White Sox to win two of three from the Toronto Blue Jays.

"We got our brains beat in by Chicago, and everybody was looking ahead right away," LaRoche said. "That's different."

Another factor is that the bench is better and more experienced. Last year at Yankee Stadium, the bench included Don Kelly, Rajai Davis, an unhappy Castillo and a sparingly used Nate McLouth. This year, it has Doug Mientkiewicz, Jason Michaels, Chris Gomez and Raul Chavez, all productive and none exactly the squeamish type.

"That right there is the biggest difference in our whole team," Nady said. "We've been inconsistent in every area except our bench. They've been great."

Another difference, of course, will be the venue.

Unlike the awe-inspiring, intimidating effect that Yankee Stadium -- not to mention the 55,000 New Yorkers it holds -- can have on an opponent, the pressure on the Pirates this week will change 180 degrees: It will be mostly their fans pulling for them, thanks to the team's policy of selling tickets for this series almost entirely to season-ticket holders. And those fans, in a great rarity, will be packing PNC Park primarily for baseball.

"That's the biggest thing we're looking forward to, that atmosphere," Wilson said. "I think this is what people have been waiting for since PNC Park opened. Remember when the Mets came in to clinch a couple years ago, and we swept them? Or that time when we swept Cleveland in our first year here? It'll be nice to have something like that again."

That latter series came in 2001, a weekend sweep of the Indians, all before packed houses and capped by Brian Giles sliding home in the bottom of the ninth for a 1-0 victory on a brilliant Sunday afternoon.

The former came in September 2006, when a crowd thick with New Yorkers pulled in vain for their Mets to win just one game to clinch a division title. The champagne was packed up for the next stop.

"This is a taste of what the playoffs will be like here," LaRoche said. "That's why you play, to have people just going nuts for you."

Environment aside, this series still will come down to which team plays better baseball, and the Yankees have most every edge.

That begins with their $209 million payroll, four times the Pirates' $51 million, and it continues through a regal roster that includes three of the American League's top five batting averages in Alex Rodriguez, Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon, as well as Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte and many others.

Moreover, the Yankees are playing their best baseball after a lengthy lull, riding a 13-5 run that has them back in the always rabid East Division race.

The Pirates?

As always with this team, any analysis of how they might perform begins and ends with one facet.

"It's all starting pitching," said Mientkiewicz, who spent all last season with the Yankees. "If you attack them, you have a shot. If you nibble and try to nickel-and-dime them, they'll pound you. I saw it. I was part of it. People did try to be aggressive on us, and we beat them up, too. But you have a much better chance of beating the Yankees by being aggressive. You're not going to trick them."

Especially not since there will be more familiarity than what some might think: The Pirates and Yankees meet four times each spring along Florida's western coast, and 11 of the 12 pitchers on the Pirates' current staff have faced most of New York's big-name batters. The lone exception is T.J. Beam, who played for the Yankees in 2006.

When catcher Ryan Doumit was asked about the fuss of facing the Yankees, he replied: "Yeah? So? We play the Yankees all the time in the spring."

Right, but this counts, he was reminded.

"Well, yeah, it's a big series for us. But, playing competition like that, we should raise our game. Especially with them coming on our home turf. We should be more excited about it than afraid. It's our chance to show the country where we stack up, how we handle the big boys."

He smiled.

"I'm looking forward to it, to be honest with you."

Mazeroski will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at 6:55 p.m.