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Two victories in a row, their second-longest streak of the year.
Three victories in their past four games.
Could those new meetings be the reason?
The woebegone Pirates continued their mini-surge Wednesday night with a 5-2 triumph against St. Louis at PNC Park. They become gone-to-meetin' Pirates, talk over the previous game, then go out and beat a rather reputable pitcher.
Sunday, it was the New York Mets' Johan Santana, a two-time Cy Young winner. Tuesday, it was St. Louis' Cy Young candidate Adam Wainwright, who entered the game tied for the major league lead with 17 victories -- or almost half as many as these Pirates combined. Wednesday, it was Jake Westbrook, whom the Cardinals pried from Cleveland in a trade to help them down the stretch.
Game: Pirates vs. Milwaukee Brewers, 8:10 p.m., Miller Park.
TV, radio: FSN Pittsburgh, WPGB-FM (104.7).
Pitching: James McDonald (2-2) vs. Chris Narveson (9-7).
"Things seem a lot different now," reliever Evan Meek said Wednesday a few hours before he went out and retired St. Louis sluggers Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday as part of a 1-2-3 eighth inning. "This past week, we started having this meeting going over the night before."
After batting practice, manager John Russell stands in the middle of the clubhouse and asks a simple question: "What do you got?" It's all players' voices from there.
"And guys start talking," Meek said. " 'This guy had a heads-up play doing this.' Or 'This guy had a big hit.' We're starting to pay attention to what guys are doing. It's not so much individuals. It's more of a team."
Neil Walker added: "It's just basically been going over the positives, going over the negatives and finding areas we can improve as a team. I think that helps in team unity. When you have guys speaking up who don't really speak up very much, when you have pitchers commenting on a hitter's standpoint and hitters commenting on a pitcher's standpoint. ... that helps."
Certainly, they did not beat Santana or Wainwright strictly because of a meeting hours earlier. But perhaps such team-building unification sessions may explain why some of the rookies are surging anew. Why Walker drove in three runs for a second consecutive game Wednesday. Why Jose Tabata added another one, giving him and fellow rookie Walker a combined 10 RBIs among the Pirates' past 14 runs.
It could have been more if Walker added 2 more feet to that third-inning, bases-loaded triple. Or maybe 8 more feet to his flyout to left with the bases loaded and a run in, thanks to Tabata's infield single, in the fourth.
"I need to hit the weight room, apparently," Walker said.
Referring to the youth, to the mini-roll -- particularly for the Pirates who have won two consecutive games 12 times all season, none in the previous 26 games before these two -- Meek said: "The makings are there."
This was the Pirates' first series victory against St. Louis since May 2009.
"To be able to take two of three here at home, it was something we needed," Russell said. "Hopefully, these guys will keep building off that."
Throughout baseball, there is constant talk about "the little things." Could conversation count as one of those?
"To know how we've played the last couple of days ..." Walker began. "This is the quality of baseball we need to be playing on a daily basis."
Whatever the reason, the Pirates pieced together a stirring finish to a 10-game homestand in front of an announced 12,686 patrons. It was a homestand that started out so stale, with losses in five of the first six games.
Playing teams above .500, facing as Meek put it "two top pitchers in the game," the young Pirates won one-run games against Santana and Wainwright, then cuffed the Cardinals to take the series, limiting superstar Pujols and All-Star Holliday to 1 for 8 combined Wednesday night and no RBIs, no runs.
Joel Hanrahan, Meek, Wil Ledezma and Chris Resop finished off what second-year pitcher Daniel McCutchen (2-5) started.
McCutchen learned a night earlier he would sub for a Jeff Karstens, who had to skip a start due to a tired right arm, then had his best start of 14 in his brief career.
McCutchen, who crafted a 1.74 ERA in bullpen duty after losing five of seven starts with an 8.18 ERA, got into only two three-ball counts, never let a Cardinals runner beyond second base and tied his career best with five strikeouts. His scoreless six innings marked the best of his 14 Pirates starts in two years, the first where he did not yield a run.
"For him to pitch six innings against that team and shut them down was outstanding," Russell said of the pitcher he plans to return to the bullpen.
"I can't say enough about what he did. He came out throwing strikes, and that's what he's been doing out of the bullpen."
"Today was a start where I didn't feel any pressure," said McCutchen.
"Glad to see some positives to what I'm doing."
Positives. Negatives, as Meek put it, "when we get our butts handed to us."
They feel better for talking.
"If they recognize that and feed off that ..." Meek started to say about the first- and second-year players in the clubhouse. "We're going to be a good team."
Colin Dunlap's blog on the Pirates is featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.
