'Watch and learn': Pirates perform under pressure against best team in baseball

Before the Pittsburgh Pirates played the best team in baseball, Derek Shelton talked about how much his rookie-laden club could learn from watching the New York Yankees.

The Pirates manager played in the Yankees’ minor league system, so he knows something about their tradition and pursuit of excellence and hoped the two-game interleague series could rub off on his team.

“When you have a young group of players, it’s really important for them to see what really good teams play like,” Shelton said. “It’s important for them to watch and to learn. When you play really good teams when you have a young group, it’s really important for them to see how these other teams go about it.”

Shelton then watched and learned something about the Pirates, mainly that they don’t back down against the best teams in baseball. After winning five out of six games against the Los Angeles Dodgers, including a three-game sweep at Dodger Stadium for the first time in two decades, the Pirates toppled the mighty Yankees.

The 5-2 win over the Yankees Tuesday night came before a crowd of 37,733, the first sellout of the season at PNC Park, in an atmosphere many of the Pirates’ young players hadn’t experienced at home.

“It was an awesome environment, just getting that place packed out,” said Pirates rookie left fielder Jack Suwinski, who hit a two-run home run to boost his NL rookie-leading total to 14. “Ton of energy, a lot of crowd noise. I think that really helped a little bit. You kind of feel that. Yeah, it definitely gives you some adrenaline, gets the blood flowing a little bit. You kind of have to balance that a little bit.”

As much as Shelton enjoyed the atmosphere, especially the playing of David Bednar’s walk-out song “Renegade” in the ninth inning, he insisted the Pirates won because of their attention to detail.

They got a strong pitching performance from veteran left-hander Jose Quintana, who gave up one run on six hits and no walks against a righty-heavy lineup that leads the majors in home runs, runs scored, RBIs and walks. They delivered timely hitting against former Pirates right-hander Jameson Taillon, who was 9-1 with a 3.32 ERA but gave up full-count home runs to designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach and Suwinski to get in a four-run hole.

The Pirates also got two hits apiece from first baseman Yoshi Tsutsugo and right fielder Ben Gamel in their first game back after spending the past five weeks on the injured list. And they got a pair of big defensive plays that saved runs from scoring: Center fielder Bryan Reynolds made a diving catch with two runners in scoring position, and rookie shortstop Oneil Cruz helped turn a double play to get out of a jam.

Those plays, Vogelbach pointed out, are the difference in winning close games. The Pirates are 21-25 in games decided by two runs or fewer, including 5-15 in such games over the past month.

“I think that no matter how long you play this game or however long you’re in the big leagues, I think you learn every day,” Vogelbach said. “The game teaches you as you go. You talk to guys across the league who have done everything you can do in this league, and they still learn every day. So I think the biggest thing is us accepting the learning curve and, when the game teaches us something, to take it and run with it.”

Quintana, an 11-year veteran who has postseason experience with the Chicago Cubs, provided leadership with his performance but also soaked in the experience of pitching in front of a packed house against a team that won 58 of its first 80 games this season.

“I think this series is really good for the team, facing I think one of the best teams right now in baseball,” Quintana said. “It’s really cool. It was really loud. I liked that. That’s really special for us, and to get a ‘W’ against this huge team is really impressive for us.”