Another quality start for A.J. Burnett was not enough. (Photo Credit: David Hague)

Seeing the Houston Astros again must make the Pirates nostalgic for last year, when Andrew McCutchen and A.J. Burnett strapped the team to their back in the first half and carried them to first place on their own will.

So it was again for the Pirates (25-18) in a 4-2 loss Saturday night at PNC Park. McCutchen hit two doubles and scored the two Pittsburgh runs while Burnett struck out seven hitters and allowed only one run on his bobblehead night. Otherwise, the Bucs stranded nine runners and the normally-dynamite bullpen coughed up three runs for the Astros (12-31) to win in 11 innings.

“I just kept getting stronger as the game went on,” Burnett said after his seven innings of work.

The Astros earned their two runs in the 11th off reliever Bryan Morris. After Morris escaped the 10th on a double play (one of four turned by the Pirates), Jason Castro led off the 11th by doubling off the center-field wall. Carlos Peña was intentionally walked with one out, then Morris’ wild pitch advanced both runners into scoring position. Matt Dominguez hit a grounder to second baseman Neil Walker, who threw home but couldn’t beat Castro.

Clint Hurdle was tossed for arguing with home plate umpire C.B. Bucknor, but Dominguez remained safe for the go-ahead run. Pinch-hitter J.D. Martinez’s RBI single added insurance.

“The ump made the right call. He made a good call,” Hurdle admitted. “He got a good look at it and he got it right.”

Rookie Jose Cisnero was a hero out of the bullpen, following Erik Bedard’s quality start with 3.2 scoreless innings and five strikeouts. Closer Jose Veras mopped up the Pirates 1-2-3 in the 11th for the save, snapping the Bucs’ four-game winning streak.

Quality for A.J.

Burnett held true to his ace-level billing with another strong showing. The first inning was classic Burnett, loading the bases before striking out Chris Carter and Carlos Peña to escape unscathed. His only bump was in the 5th, as the Astros scored without hitting the ball out of the infield. Jose Altuve’s RBI single toward third baseman Brandon Inge, who was trying to keep the ball in front of him, drove in Houston’s lone run off Burnett.

“The balls that they hit were in spots where you couldn’t really do anything with it,” Inge said. “We’re one of the better infields in the league, for sure.”

Hurdle was encouraged that Burnett was more efficient and retired 11 hitters on three pitches or less. Burnett didn’t care.

“I ain’t changing nothing,” Burnett said. “I went seven innings. Why would I? What do you want?”

For a pitcher who was so erratic in New York, Burnett has become the picture of consistency. In all 10 starts, he has allowed three earned runs or fewer and has struck out at least six hitters. Now he has pitched seven innings in all four of his May starts, allowing a tired bullpen (second-most innings in MLB) some rest.

Despite four walks Saturday, Burnett used two double plays to keep the Astros at bay and reduced his season ERA to 2.57. And yes, he still leads the National League with 79 strikeouts, getting 11 swings and misses with his curveball.

“It was all right,” Burnett said. “I could have used the two-seamer a little better into lefties. I was missing more in than normal.”

Cutch Keeps Happening

As for McCutchen, he opened his 1st inning with a double that one-hopped the right field wall, scoring on a double by Gaby Sanchez in the next at-bat. The sharp hits keep coming for the Pirates’ All-Star center fielder, who now owns an .817 OPS after a slow start.

The Pirates did not get another runner into scoring position until the 6th, when McCutchen struck again with a double just inside the left-field line to move Jose Tabata to third base. Though Tabata was thrown out at home by third baseman Matt Dominguez, McCutchen scored on Brandon Inge’s RBI single to put the Pirates ahead 2-1. Andrew McCutchen has scored five of the Pirates’ last eight runs, but Neil Walker left the bases loaded with a popout in that 6th frame.

“We had at-bats that we weren’t able to capitalize on to that create separation,” Hurdle said, and the Pirates did leave nine runners on base, which the manager called “too many.”

Houston Creates A Problem

The Astros would not go softly, though, hitting three singles off former Houston closer Mark Melancon to tie the game in the 8th. All-Star Jose Altuve lined one of those singles for his team-high third hit, his first game back from bereavement. The tying run scored by Trevor Crowe on Chris Carter’s RBI single snapped Melancon’s 13-scoreless-inning streak, dating back to April 14.

“That’s pretty real good,” Hurdle said about Melancon’s month-long streak.

The Cardinals lost as well Saturday night, meaning the Pirates remain 2.5 games back in the NL Central. The Reds won handily, though, pushing the Bucs into third play in the division.

Pedro Alvarez struck with a massive home run into the Allegheny to tie the game. (Photo credit: David Hague)

The Pirates took full advantage of baseball’s worst team in their 5-4 comeback win Friday night, capitalizing on a pair of homer-ready fastballs and two Astros errors in right field.

Pedro Alvarez pulverized a first-pitch fastball served up by a Quad-A pitcher with a 6.00 ERA to tie the score in the 8th. Then Russell Martin popped up a ball that had “extra innings” all over it, until a rookie and a utility player collided in right to gift the Bucs (25-17) a walkoff error. The surprisingly loud contingent of 29,743 at PNC Park certainly played a factor in the Astros’ (11-31) bad-news mishap to end the game.

“We got really lucky,” Martin said. “It definitely feels like they probably lost the game more than we won the game.”

Lucky? Sure, but still a close victory over a team that could not prevent runs if we called them “jogs.” Andrew McCutchen homered off fringy starter Jordan Lyles in the 1st, but got his luck by seeing a routine fly ball become a three-base error via right fielder Chris Carter in the 6th. McCutchen scored the Pirates’ first two runs, helped by the Astros’ generosity, and added an opposite-field single to aid the Bucs’ ninth-inning comeback.

“It’s usually a sign of him getting to a good place,” Hurdle said. “That was good to see, there’s no doubt.”

When the Astros were still in the NL Central, these were the kinds of games the Pirates would lose. Instead, the Bucs picked up 10+ for the fifth time in eight games. The offense is stringing together more runs, and a pair of games remaining against Houston can only help their – ahem – upswing.

Gomez Can’t Hold Up

Starting pitcher Jeanmar Gomez began his fourth start well, despite leadoff hitter Robbie Grossman opening the score by coming around after a game-opening double. He said he didn’t have his best stuff, but Gomez used his sinker to retire 11 straight Astros hitters in efficient fashion.

The foundation crumbled in the 5th. Gomez served up a go-ahead solo homer to Matt Dominguez on what he called “a good pitch,” a sinker inside. The right-hander then allowed a single to Marwin Gonzalez. After Lyles bunted Gonzalez over, Gomez allowed his first walk to Grossman and an RBI single to Jake Elmore.

“When you don’t have your best stuff, you have to battle,” Gomez said.

Then things got weird. Elmore was dead on arrival trying to steal second, but Russell Martin’s throw was in the dirt in front of Clint Barmes. The ball skipped behind the bag to Neil Walker, whose throw home to get Grossman was off-target. Grossman scored to put the Astros up 4-1, as errors were charged to Barmes and Walker. Gomez went on to walk Jason Castro, and was promptly removed. Three of the Astros’ four runs were charged to the starter.

There were few signs that Gomez would labor through the fifth inning as he did. The right-hander completed the first four innings with a very low count of 36 pitches. Granted, he got only two hitters to swing and miss in the contest, but his command had been good prior to the home run, two singles and two walks.

Get ‘Em Back

McCutchen’s early runs kept the Bucs close. Photo credit: David Hague

The Pirates mounted a comeback effort in the 6th with starter Lyles’ pitch count climbing. Carter dropped the fly ball off McCutchen’s bat, then Garrett Jones drove in McCutchen with a double down the right-field line. A total of 89 pitches was all for Lyles, as left-hander Travis Blackley entered to face Neil Walker.

On the first pitch, Walker laid down a bunt (a decision he says he made himself) and it went right back to Blackley who tossed it to third base for the easy out of Jones. The free out didn’t stop the Pirates from loading the bases on Russell Martin’s and reliever Paul Clemens’ walk of pinch-hitter Gaby Sanchez. Jordy Mercer popped out in the bases-loaded situation, though, keeping the Astros lead at two.

Another two-out scoring opportunity arrived in the 7th. McCutchen doubled off Clemens, but pinch-hitter Brandon Inge hit a ground ball right back to reliever Wesley Wright to keep the Pirates from causing any damage.

Toro Bomb

While Pirates’ reliever Vin Mazzaro, Tony Watson and Justin Wilson combined on 4.1 shutout innings, the offense kept pushing. In the 8th, Walker got aboard with a leadoff single, then scored on Alvarez’s explosive and team-leading 7th home run. The missile from Alvarez flew 462 feet, one-hopping into the Allegheny River.

“I’m surprised it bounced,” Travis Snider said.

The game-tying homer was the first of Alvarez’s career to find water, but he remains unsatisfied.

“I’m not going to take credit if it bounces in,” Alvarez said to laughs. “That’s cheating.”

Against Edgar Gonzalez, Starling Marte led off the 9th with a bloop single over Elmore’s head. Marte was thrown out at second on Snider’s check swing plop to third, but Snider reached. He went to third base on McCutchen’s single to right field. Brandon Inge reached when Gonzalez bobbled a comebacker, then Walker struck out looking.

With the bases loaded and two outs, Martin was a strike away from extras or a ball away from shrimp walkoff, but instead hit a pop fly into right-center. Jake Elmore and Jimmy Paredes collided as the ball flew in, and the E-9 sent the Pirates’ contingent of the 29,743 fans at PNC Park home smiling, their team tied with Cincinnati for the NL’s second-best record.

“Definitely not the way I planned it,” Martin said. “We’ll take it.”

Multiple players said the crowd noise played a factor in the game-ending error, as did the second baseman Elmore.

#Astros‘ Jake Elmore said crowd was too loud and “You can’t hear anything.” If Paredes called him off, he couldn’t hear it.

— Brian T. Smith (@ChronAstros) May 18, 2013

Simple fact: Two teams play the game. One had to win it. This time, it was the one that didn’t have two inexperienced fielders plow into each other in the 9th inning.

Travis Snider hit a home run that bounced into the Allegheny River on Thursday. Photo Credit: David Hague

It was a strange game, to say the least. Just to give you an idea of how strange I’ll share this note I jotted down during Pittsburgh’s four-run sixth inning.

“Pedro Alvarez stole a base. Clint Barmes smashed an RBI off the wall. Justin Wilson has a bat in his hands. The Pirates are kicking the (crap) out of the Brewers. 5/16/13 — officially Opposite Day.”

But was it really Opposite Day? The Pirates have won three consecutive and four out of seven games against the Brewers this season and, for the time being at least, appear to have vanquished whatever demons they had when playing against Milwaukee.

All season Pittsburgh has had timely contributions from unexpected places and that was again the case in their 7-1 win on Thursday.

With the game tied 1-1 in the fifth inning Starling Marte did what he has been so good at this season and started the inning with a hit. Snider followed him and parked the first pitch of the at-bat from Milwaukee starter Hiram Burgos well beyond the wall in right-center field. The Pirates announced the ball traveled 458 feet and came to a stop in the Allegheny River to put Pittsburgh ahead for good. It was Snider’s first home run of the season.

“I feel like early on in the season as I started to get some more consistent playing time I was starting to find my stride driving the ball, not hitting home runs, but with more consistent contact at the plate,” he said.

Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle echoed Snider’s statement.

“We were looking for somebody to start something and that swing of the bat did,” he said. “He’s worked so hard to find his way back offensively and he’s finding his way back in a good way. Big swing of the bat for us tonight.”

Snider hit was appeared to be his first home run earlier this season at PNC Park against Cincinnati, but after a review it was ruled a double. He said he learned from that experience.

“I didn’t watch this one,” he said. “I bat-flipped a double earlier this year so I wanted to make sure I put my head down and started running and fortunately it was over the fence.”

And then there was the sixth inning.

Clint Barmes led off the inning by reaching on an error, and after Brandon Inge popped out the Pirates rattled off five consecutive hits (including four singles) to blow the game open and perhaps erase whatever power it was Milwaukee has had when playing Pittsburgh in recent seasons.

**

The win gave the Pirates a 3-1 edge in the series and marked the fourth time this season Pittsburgh has lost the first of a four-game series and gone on to win the final three.

“I had no idea this was how you go about trying to win a four game series — by losing the first game,” Hurdle said. “All these years and I never had that. We can joke about that now but there’s no explanation for it. You want to talk about figuring some things out, figure what the odds are of that happening.”

**

Francisco Liriano looked good in his second start for the Pirates, but found himself in a bit of trouble early. Fortunately for him, the defense came to his rescue.

Nori Aoki started the game with a walk and was promptly thrown out attempting to steal second base by Martin. Jean Segura then singled and would have scored on Jonathan Lucroy’s shot to deep center field if not for an outstanding play by McCutchen to leap and catch the ball with the sun in his eyes. Liriano then struck out Carlos Gomez (the first of his seven strikeouts in the game) to end the inning.

“A professional outing. We helped him in the first. Russell Martin with a great throw, McCutchen with a great play,” Hurdle said. “I think he struggled with his rhythm. The last strikeout to get the third out of the inning helped a little bit and then from the second inning on his rhythm on the mound improved.”

Liriano improves to 2-0 this year with the win. Not only has he been a force on the mound with a combined 17 strikeouts in his two starts but he has had great run support in each appearance. In his first start last week against the Mets the Pirates scored 11 runs and then Thursday against the Brewers they plated seven runs.

Wandy Rodriguez improved to 4-2 with a 3.25 ERA this season after Wednesday’s win against Milwaukee. Photo Credit: David Hague

Milwaukee catcher Jonathan Lucroy opened the fourth inning with a triple that Jose Tabata appeared to have trouble making a clean play on. Neither team had been hitting much to that point and the Brewers looked ready to tilt the momentum to their side with a man standing 90 feet from home plate and no outs in the inning.

Rodriguez locked in and went to his breaking ball, getting Carlos Gomez and Rickie Weeks to pop up in the infield before forcing Alex Gonzalez to ground out to end the inning without any damage being done.

The Pirates would go on the score two in the sixth inning and another in the eighth to secure a 3-1 win and improve to 23-17 through 40 games so far this season.

Rodriguez finished with five strikeouts and one walk while allowing six hits and one run (a Weeks home run in the seventh inning) to earn his fourth win of the season and lower his ERA to 3.25.

“He made pitches he absolutely had to make to get out of that inning,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said of Rodriguez’s work in the fourth. “We might have had an opportunity to defend the ball a little better but it would have taken an above average Major League play to make it, but we’ve got to be able to make above average major league plays up here. That being said, he picked it up and he laid it down for us. He battled from start to finish.”

**

Neil Walker’s single back up the middle with the bases loaded scored Andrew McCutchen and Starling Marte in the sixth inning and went down as the first RBI’s for Walker since April 17. It was also the Pirates first hit with a runner in scoring position in their last 24 opportunities (all against the Brewers).

“That bases-loaded thing has worked for him pretty well,” Hurdle said. “Right spot, right guy.”

**

Make no mistake, Gallardo was Gallardo until the Pirates broke through in the sixth. Before Marte led off the inning with a double, the Milwaukee ace had allowed just one hit (a Jordy Mercer single in the third) with three strikeouts and two walks.

He drops to 3-3 with the loss after allowing the two runs on three hits with four walks and five strikeouts on Wednesday.

Hiram Burgous (1-1, 6.86 ERA) will start for the Brewers on Thursday with Francisco Liriano (1-0, 1.69) slated to make his home debut for the Pirates.

Andrew McCutchen’s solo home run in the 12th inning gave the Pirates two wins in their last three games against the Brewers. Photo Credit: David Hague

Andrew McCutchen hit a solo home run off Mike Fiers in the bottom of the 12th inning to give the Pirates a come-from-behind 4-3 win against Milwaukee at PNC Park.

McCutchen had previously hit two balls that appeared to be possible home runs earlier in the game, but both ended as long outs on the warning track. When what proved to be the winning strike left his bat in the 12th, even the Pirates all-everything center fielder was not sure if it was gone.

“It’s like they got a horseshoe up their butt every time we play them,” he said. “That’s just the way I look at it. It just seems like everything goes their way every time we play them. For us to be able to come out and be able to fight and be able to get a win is definitely a plus.”

Milwaukee got off to another good start against the Pirates. Jean Segura hit a solo home run in the first inning but Pittsburgh answered in its half of the first with a Garrett Jones ground out that scored Starling Marte to tie the game.

Pittsburgh’s bats went cold for a spell after that as the Pirates managed just two hits in the next four innings while the Brewers tacked on runs in the fourth and fifth innings to take a 3-1 lead.

The Pirates battled back in the later innings, however, with Neil Walker scoring on a Clint Barmes ground out in the sixth and then again on a Russell Martin double in the eighth to tie the game.

Jason Grilli made an appearance in the ninth inning, with Mark Melancon and Vin Mazzaro combining to keep Milwaukee of the score board in the extra innings and allowing the Pirates a chance to win the game.

“After we scored in the eighth I wanted an absolute stop in the ninth,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “Grilli’s my guy to go to for an absolute stop then we’ve got a really good other option after him in Melancon.”

**

The walk off home run was McCutchen’s fourth walk off of his career. He was quick in making his way around the bases before being mobbed at home plate and eventually given the celebratory pie to the face by A.J. Burnett.

“Considering the previous two balls I flew out at the wall. I hit the crap out of those balls and they went nowhere,” McCutchen said. “Right off my bat I just, I didn’t know.”

**

John McDonald entered the game in the 11th inning and nearly had an extra base hit, only to be robbed by a diving Ryan Braun in left field. McDonald was replaced by Brandon Inge at shortstop in the top of the 12th due to “discomfort in his lower back.”

“His back locked up when he came in the dugout so he was unable to go back out on defense,” Hurdle said.

There was no word on if McDonald would miss any time with the back problem.

**

Despite the Pirates pitiful record against the Brewers over the course of the last few seasons, more recent history is on Pittsburgh’s side. Tuesday’s win, combined with a win in the final game of its previous series against Milwaukee, gave the Pirates two wins in their last three games against their National League central rivals.

Who’s got the horseshoe up their butt now?

The Brewers did whatever they wanted to on the base paths with Michael McKenry behind the plate on Monday. Photo Credit: David Hague

Monday’s game was not your typical Brewers-Pirates game, except for perhaps the end result.

Milwaukee stole six bases, hit no home runs and the Pirates committed three errors (all in the seventh inning with two by A.J. Burnett) as the Brewers extended their dominance over Pittsburgh with a 5-1 at PNC Park.

Burnett had fewer strikeouts (six) than innings pitched (seven) for the first time this season and took the loss to drop to 3-4 on the season. He wasn’t particularly bad, but on a night when Pittsburgh needed its ace at his best he was far from it (though he did do well to work out of what could have been a disastrous first inning).

To make matters worse, the Pirates made Marco Estrada look like an ace. Estrada allowed just three hits with five strikeouts and one walk in seven innings.

Put all of that aside though, because the stolen bases were the story. With Russell Martin still nursing the issue he’s having with his neck, the catching duties were left up to Michael McKenry and the results were not promising. He and Burnett have not played together much and it showed as the Brewers took advantage of both of them seemingly whenever they got the chance.

Jean Segura stole three bases, Norichika Aoki took two and Carlos Gomez had one with all six coming with Burnett on the mound. Segura had three hits to settle into the National League lead for batting average (.368) with Gomez right behind him at .367.

Burnett was not doing much to keep the runners close, and when McKenry had to make a throw it was usually a bad one.

If Martin’s neck continues to be a thing, it is not too far-fetched to think Tony Sanchez’s next call won’t be to the taxi squad with McKenry putting on defensive displays like the one on Monday. That’s just my opinion.

**

For those of you keeping score, that’s 72 losses in 97 games for Pittsburgh against Milwaukee since the start of the 2007 season.

**

Travel issues prevented me from making it to PNC Park on Monday but I will be there for Tuesday’s game. Jeff Locke is scheduled to start for the Pirates and will look to extend his recent streak of solid pitching. I usually get to the park around 3 p.m. and am finished with pregame interviews by 4. Have any questions you would like answered? Tweet me (@TomBraggSports) and I’ll see what I can do to get them answered (provided they’re not asinine and won’t get me kicked out of the clubhouse/beat up).

Francisco Liriano retired the first seven Mets hitters en route to a nice debut.

If the Pirates make a run for the playoffs, a real run in which they are keeping pace with the Reds and the Cardinals, look back at this game. Look back at Saturday’s 11-2 win over the New York Mets and see the where it all started to come together. The hitters set season highs in hits and runs, and the pitchers set a season high in strikeouts.

If the Pirates make a run for the playoffs, it will be because Francisco Liriano is at least a shade of the dominant pitcher he once was. Liriano generated 18 swings-and-misses in his Pirates debut, his most since last July, on the way to striking out nine Mets hitters. The left-hander started off sitting 93 miles per hour on his fastball and tuned his off-speed stuff for eight whiffs with the slider and seven whiffs with the changeup. Control issues showed up in the form of a four-pitch walk and five-pitch walk, but neither runner scored.

Liriano exited in the sixth inning, partly because of the large Pirates lead, but he had completed the task well. His final line: 5.1 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K on 90 pitches. He did not give up many hard-hit balls and threw 63% strikes for the highest percentage in his last eight starts. The Mets are in the lower-half of offensive teams in the National League, but Liriano looked sharp to start his 2013 season.

Top-Notch Hitting

If the Pirates make a run for the playoffs, it will be because some of the young hitters have reached a level close to their potential. Jose Tabata, Jordy Mercer and Starling Marte are among the pre-prime players the roster is filled with, and they helped supply the offense Saturday.

The day belonged to Mercer. He ripped a high fastball for a home run in the 5th, then followed it up with a no-doubter off the bottom of the second deck in the 8th. Here’s hoping he’s still with the team when they return to Pittsburgh. Tabata had a season-best day as well, smacking a home run to left-center and a double off the wall on the way to a four-hit afternoon. If he can continue to hit lefties (his career numbers are a bit better vs. RHP), we may have found Travis Snider’s platoon partner. Marte racked up a pair of singles to remain the NL leader in base hits.

Jordy Mercer picked up his second and third home runs in the last eight games. (Photo Credit: David Hague)

If the Pirates make a run for the playoffs, it will be because they get run production from seemingly unexpected places. The seventh and eighth hitters, Michael McKenry and Clint Barmes, combined to rack up four hits and drive in five runs at the bottom of the order. Three of those RBI came with two outs to extend the hurt on Mets starter Jonathon Niese.

The Bucs ended up with a season-high 16 hits and 11 runs on the afternoon, a vision of what is possible when the offense comes together. The offensive outburst was surprising given the Pirates’ struggles against left-handed starters this season (.200 average, .586 OPS as a team entering Saturday).

Bullpen Strong Again

If the Pirates make a run for the playoffs, it will be because the young relievers lock down the late innings to set up shop for the more experienced Jason Grilli and Mark Melancon. Rookie Bryan Morris did not allow an out and struck out three Mets hitters in the 6th and 7th, and fellow rookie Justin Wilson retired the side 1-2-3 in the 8th with two strikeouts. Tony Watson had a hiccup in the home run he allowed to Andrew Brown, but struck out two himself.

It was all a part of a season-high 16 strikeouts by Pirates pitching. That number also ties the second-most strikeouts by a Pittsburgh pitching staff in a nine-inning game over the last century.

(A brief aside: the Pirates’ performance was the 10th time this season a team has struck out 15+ hitters in a nine-inning game. Between 1925 and 1953, only nine total teams accomplished that feat. Imagine that. MLB teams have done in six weeks what it used to take more than 28 years to do. This is, indeed, the strikeout era. Thanks to Baseball-Reference’s Play Index.)

If the Pirates make a run for the playoffs, you will see the team chemistry come together like it did Saturday. Brandon Inge kept Mercer loose by slapping him in the face at a mound meeting. Arizona’s Brandon McCarthy, a smart analytical player, told a SABR conference that Inge’s knack for keeping the young players loose provides a real benefit to the team. Morris (apparently) stood up for teammate Jose Contreras by hitting Jordany Valdespin, who pimped his solo home run Friday night with a bat flip. The reliever was rewarded with high-fives from Pirates teammates.

Does Inge really provide 12 wins just by keeping the dugout comfortable? Of course not. Should Morris really be plunking guys that celebrate Major League home runs? Probably not. But those moments are what the players care about and where they mesh. Naturally it is easier to dole out fist-pounds and play carefree when you are ahead by nine runs, but I’m not going to completely rule out the idea that this Pirates team could have some good chemistry that leads to positive results.

Where To Next?

There are 126 games to play, four and a half months to go and a lot more this Pirates team has to prove before we will consider them real contenders instead of a squad that is peaking early once again without staying power.

Right now, though, the Bucs are 20-16 against a tougher-than-average schedule and just a half-game behind the second Wild Card spot. The pieces are starting to come into place. Liriano is here, Neil Walker will be back soon, Marte is hitting like a batting champ, the complementary players are providing pop…

If the Pirates make a run for the playoffs, it sure looks like it would be an exciting run to watch.

Jeanmar Gomez started in place of an injured James McDonald in Pittsburgh’s win on Tuesday. Photo Credit: David Hague

Not only did Gomez pitch, but he pitched well as the Pirates beat the Mariners 4-1.

Gomez allowed just two hits with five strikeouts and two walks in five innings of work before handing the ball to the bullpen to finish the job — which they did. Justin Wilson, Tony Watson, Jose Contreras, Mark Melancon and Jason Grilli combined to keep the Mariners at bay over the final four innings.

“You hate for J-Mac to have to go on the DL but Gomez stepped up,” Andrew McCutchen told the media after the game. “He’s done it before. That can be tough on someone but he took it in a positive manner and he went out and did an amazing job.”

As tough as it may have been for Gomez on Tuesday, McCutchen certainly made things easier with four hits in four at-bats and an early RBI that helped the Pirates get out to a 2-0 lead.

McCutchen had struggled, by his standards, in recent weeks but started to heat up during the weekend series against Washington. Clint Hurdle said it was only a matter of time before the Pirates’ star center fielder began to put the ball in play on a regular basis.

“His swing is better and he’s in a better place at the plate with his balance and rhythm,” he said.

Pittsburgh was clinging to its two-run lead for most of the game. Seattle cut the lead to 2-1 in the seventh inning when Dustin Ackley scored on a Raul Ibanez double. After that, the Pirates got some breathing room from a Garrett Jones two-run home run in the eighth to provide some insurance. Melancon and Grilli combined, again, to preserve the win in the final two innings.

**

Hurdle put to rest any speculation that the move to put McDonald on the disabled list was one the Pirates had planned, saying that when he was alerted to the issue today was the first he had heard of McDonald being hurt. McDonald had been asked by members of the media on several occasions if he was injured or if something was off and denied it each time.

The move gives the Pirates essentially an entire pitching staff worth of arms on or in the process of returning from the disabled list along with Jeff Karstens, Charlie Morton and Francisco Liriano (though Liriano is expected to start for the Pirates later this week when they visit New York to play the Mets).

The Pirates have persevered despite having to find creative ways to fill voids in the rotation. Tuesday’s win moved Pittsburgh to 18-4 on the season, which has the team tied with Cincinnati two games behind St. Louis for first place in the National League Central.

“When someone goes down in the past we didn’t have anybody to come up and pick up the slack but we have it now,” McCutchen said. “The scary thing about it is everyone isn’t healthy.”

One pitcher who has been healthy for the Pirates this season has been A.J. Burnett, who will face Seattle ace Felix Hernandez on Wednesday. While the prospect of facing a pitcher of Hernandez’s caliber could be daunting to some, McCutchen downplayed the match up.

“It’s another game,” he said. “It’s no different. Doesn’t matter who is on the mound.”

Michael McKenry went 0 for 4 Sunday with two strikeouts, including one in the first inning with the bases loaded. Photo by: David Hague

It appeared as if the Pirates had the Nationals’ number with one run already in and several more sure to come from the bases loaded, no outs situation, but that is not how things worked out. Russell Martin and Michael McKenry struck out before Brandon Inge grounded out to end the inning with Marte’s solo shot being the only run scored.

Gonzalez rebounded from his horrendous start to stymie the Pittsburgh offense for much of the afternoon and the Nationals offense picked up the slack as Washington beat the Pirates 6-2 to win the rubber match between the two clubs at PNC Park.

“We had a chance to push him out the door and create some separation early and we missed that opportunity,”  Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “He put a foot down and all we had was Wandy’s single until the sixth inning.”

Wandy Rodriguez got that single in the second inning and Marte followed by reaching on a fielder’s choice but after that it was slim pickings for the Pirates.

“(Gonzalez) locked down his command,” Hurdle said. “The breaking ball came in to play and the changeup challenged us.”

While Pittsburgh struggled to put together anything consistent at the plate, the Nationals got their act together after Bryce Harper was ejected in the top of the first for arguing a strike three call that third base umpire John Hirschbeck ruled he went around on. It did not appear as if Harper’s actions merited an ejection, but there is always the possibility he used one of the “magic words’ umpires do not like and was told to watch the rest of the game from the clubhouse.

Ryan Zimmerman walked and would later score in the second inning to even the score and singled before eventually scoring on a Danny Espinosa home run in the fourth to give Washington the lead for good. Rodriguez went on to pitch through the sixth inning and finished the game having thrown 117 pitches (77 for strikes) with seven strikeouts and just one walk while allowing the three earned runs.

“He had 80 (pitches) through four. No doubt the deep counts were problematic early,” Hurdle said. “He was able to make an in-game adjustment and that’s really why we let him keep going. I wanted to show faith in him being our No. 2 guy. I think we found a little something there that is going to help him moving forward so we wanted him to go out and pitch the sixth inning as well and not back off early.”

Hurdle said a common problem for Pirates pitchers — both starters and relievers – has been capitalizing on two-strike counts and that he saw more of that in Sunday’s loss.

“The two-strike put away pitch has not been where we’d like it to be and for him today that happened as much as anything,” he said.

The Nationals added three runs on one swing by Tyler Moore in the eighth inning to pad their lead. Roger Bernadina, who came in to replace Harper after the first inning ejection, started the inning with a single and after Adam LaRoche was intentionally walked Moore (who had struck out three times to that point in the game) made the Pirates pay.

Pittsburgh now has an off day on Monday before welcoming the Seattle Mariners to PNC Park for a two-game series before opening a four-game series against the New York Mets at Citi Field starting Thursday.

**

Jose Contreras made his first appearance for the Pirates on Sunday, and it was a successful one.

Contreras pitched the seventh inning for Pittsburgh and after giving up a single to Wilson Ramos to start the inning retired the next three Nationals (including consecutive strikeouts) to end the inning.

“Liked what I saw — velocity, a good split, free and easy,” Hurdle said. “In the one inning I thought he was fine. Four out of four first pitch strikes is always a good thing. Back-to-back punchouts. Looked good.”

Then the great bullpen debate of 2013 got off and running, and well, it did not end well for the Pirates.

Starling Marte did a very Starling Marte thing and hit a two-run home run in the third inning to put the Pirates ahead 2-1, and then with the score tied in the fifth inning Clint Barmes did a very not-so Clint Barmes thing and hit a two-run home run of his own. Pittsburgh allowed Washington to tie the game again in the sixth but could not take the lead for a third time.

Tony Watson hit Ryan Zimmerman with a pitch, gave up a single to Adam LaRoche and after each of them advanced on a double steal Tyler Moore hit a sacrifice fly to score Zimmerman in the top of the ninth inning. The Pirates could not answer and Washington evened the three-game series with a 5-4 win.

The decision to not use either of the best relief pitchers on the team — Mark Melancon and Jason Grilli — was one Hurdle was asked about after the game. He was blunt in his response.

So there’s that.

Look, taking issue with the way Clint Hurdle handles the bullpen is not a new concept. Does it make sense to leave your best arms on the bench in a tight game? In an isolated situation, perhaps. But for Hurdle to come out and essentially say that Grilli and Melancon would only be used in save and hold situations seems shortsighted.

Saves and holds are nice statistics in the sense that if you get a lot of them you can say, “Look at all those saves/holds I got.” But to limit yourself and what you can do in that way does not make sense (to me). If it had worked on Saturday nobody would be talking about this, and if the Pirates win on Sunday I imagine the conversation will shift.

So what else happened in this game? There were, of course, the home runs by Marte and Barmes (his first of the season) and Jeff Locke regressed from his previous two outings, but was not bad either. He lasted five innings and allowed four runs (three earned) with three walks and two strikeouts. Where Locke went wrong was issuing free bases to the Nationals.

Roger Bernadina was hit by a pitch in the third inning and later scored while in the sixth inning Locke walked Ryan Zimmerman who would come around to score (along with Bryce Harper) on a Wilson Ramos single later in the inning off Justin Wilson.

“The hit batter came on a curveball. I just didn’t finish it all the way,” Locke said. “It wasn’t like I was trying to come in with a fastball and missed location or anything like that. Everything felt good today I just need to be a little more efficient early in the count.”

Hurdle said he thought Locke was “in and out of his delivery” and yanked Locke before he could record an out in the sixth.

“I thought we’d be best served to pinch off that inning and maintain a lead and not try to mess with the other side of their bullpen. I thought with Wilson and the RPMs he could bring that was our best bet to get out of that inning.”

It was a strange game and my head sort of hurts from thinking about it too much. I’ll be back at PNC Park bright and early Sunday morning for the series finale. Wandy Rodriguez will start for the Pirates with Gio Gonzalez (2-2, 5.34 ERA) taking the mound for the Nationals.