PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – The Pirates are 33-47 on the season, but own the best teams in Major League Baseball. Beating the Yankees 5-2 on Tuesday moved the Bucs to 6-1 against New York and the Dodgers. Those teams are a combined 47 games over .500.
"I think it's a gritty group of guys," said Pirates closer David Bednar. "We come to compete every single day. When you do that, you put yourself in a good spot to win some games."
"Today was a good example of us playing together and playing as a team," said rookie outfielder Jack Suwinski Tuesday after beating New York. "Playing as a team that we know we can be. Pitchers doing their thing, really good start and the bullpen coming in and shutting it down."
Not only have the Pirates won six of the seven against the best teams in baseball, they've also been competitive against some of the best teams.
"I keep saying, I know it stinks to say because a loss is a loss, but we've played so many close games," Vogelbach said. "A ball goes the other way; our record is so much different than it is. I think it goes back to the learning curve of trying to win those close games. Forcing the ball to go our way, then in those one-run games finding a way to win."
"They continue to learn," said Pirates Manager Derek Shelton. "We went into LA and played well there, played against LA well here. To play against the team with the best record in baseball, I think it shows them if you pay attention to the little things. They are important."
"When you have a young group of players, it's really important for them to see what really good teams play like. It's important for them to watch and learn. When we play really good teams when you have a young group, it's important for them to see how the other teams go about it."
"I think you can learn about how they go about their business."
"No matter how long you play in this game, you learn every day," Vogelbach said. "You talk to guys across the league, and they've done everything they can do in this league, and they still learn every day. The biggest thing is us accepting the learning curve. When the game teaches us something, to take it and run with it."
The Pirates are still the pupils. There is still much to learn, but every once an awhile they ace a quiz. Can they be good enough again to ace a final?
