Left-hander Paul Maholm had just pitched a fairly stressful top of the seventh inning Thursday night, and the Pirates had just retaken the lead in the bottom of the seventh. A year ago, Maholm would not have gone back out for the eighth.

"Probably not," he said. "Having had a tough seventh inning and getting the lead back, we might have gone to a reliever."

Not Thursday night under new manager John Russell. And not this season, either, to an extent.

"He's told us he's going to give us the chance to win the game," Maholm said. "He's told us it's our game. To me, that's awesome. For me [Thursday night], it was a big confidence boost that he sent me back out."

There were some extenuating circumstances.

One, the Pirates bullpen needed some rest. Two, Maholm would face the lower part of the New York Yankees lineup in the eighth inning. Three, Russell felt a left-hander was better suited to face that lineup than a right-hander. Four, left-handed relievers John Grabow and Sean Burnett were not to be used Thursday night. And five, left-hander Damaso Marte would be used in the ninth.

Still, all that said ...

'It was his game," Russell said. "We took the lead and it would have been easy to go to our bullpen. But he was throwing well and the crowd was behind him."

Maholm got the first two outs in the eighth on a total of two pitches.

"That was a huge deal for him," Russell said. "That really helped him -- not only physically but mentally."

Maholm got the third out and walked to the dugout as the fans gave him a standing ovation.

"Not that I look for that," Russell said, "but it was a nice moment, and he should get that."

As good as Maholm has been when he pitches over the past several weeks, he also has been excellent between starts.

"He's really become a student of the game," Russell said. "He's really taught himself a lot about pitching. He pays attention when he's not pitching. He watches. He talks to [pitching coach Jeff Andrews] on the bench a lot during the game.

"So he has a pretty good mental picture of what he wants to do. That's what we've been trying to get all our guys to do."

• The Pirates have signed three 16-year-old players from Latin America for the 2009 season. Outfielder Exicardo Cayones is from Venezuela. Shortstop Jodaneli Carvajak and left-handed pitcher Yoldi Sierra are from the Dominican Republic.

• Left-hander Tom Gorzelanny is scheduled to start for Class AAA Indianapolis tonight, the beginning of his regrouping process. He'll pitch three innings or throw 50 pitches, whichever comes first.

• The acquisition Thursday of right-hander Dan Reichert from Cleveland and his assignment to Indianapolis resulted in the Pirates moving right-handed starter Jason Davis from Indianapolis to Class AA Altoona yesterday.