PITTSBURGH -- One of the Pirates biggest deficiencies this season has been their struggles with runners in scoring position. Theyve had their chances. Theyve missed their chances. Over the last couple days, the Pirates appear to have taken a small step forward.

The Pirates went 4-for-10 with runners in scoring position in their 9-5 loss to the Reds on Sunday at PNC Park and are 13-for-36 (.361) with runners in scoring position on this current homestand. The sample is all of a handful of games, but for Pittsburgh, this stretch is a much-needed deviation from a season-long trend.

"Really encouraging, said manager Derek Shelton. It's something that we're continuing to work on, and we're kind of seeing the benefits of that. I think it's really important, and our guys need to keep going. We had some run scoring opportunities and we capitalized on them and gave us a chance to be in games. That's really important."

Entering this homestand, the Pirates were hitting .209 across 803 at-bats with runners in scoring position, the worst mark in the league. At the conclusion of Sundays game, the Pirates have raised their batting average with runners in scoring position up to .216 on the season. Thats a far cry from their performance in San Francisco last weekend, when they went 3-for-28 with runners in scoring position against the Giants.

Baseballs streaky, and it seems like right now were kind of struggling with that, said Kevin Newman, who had two hits on Sunday. [Were] hoping that well keep grinding away at-bats and its going to turn here soon, get those big hits and get those runs in.

In the bottom of the first inning, Ben Gamel drove in the Pirates first run with a single to center field to plate Bryan Reynolds, and Rodolfo Castro followed it up with a double down the left-field line to score Michael Chavis. If not for a bit of bad luck, Pittsburgh may have put up a crooked number.

With the infield in and runners on second and third, Greg Allen pulled a line drive that appeared destined for left field. Reds shortstop Matt Reynolds lept and stole Allens potential hit, then doubled off Gamel at third base. If Reynolds didnt make the catch, Gamel wouldve waltzed home and Castro, the runner on second, likely wouldve scored.

The Pirates tacked on a couple more timely hits in the bottom of the sixth inning. Tucupita Marcano drove home a pair of runs in the sixth inning with a double, then advanced to third on right fielder Aristides Aquinos misplay. One batter later, Jason Delay singled home Marcano, giving the Pirates four hits with runners in scoring position.

Theres still work to be done on this front. Pittsburghs average in these situations remains the worst in the league. Still, the Pirates performance in key moments over the last week represents progress.

Cam Vieaux pitches well in return to PiratesVieauxs contract was selected about 30 minutes prior to game time, and the rookie pitched well in his return to the Major League level. In his first appearance with the Pirates since July 1, Vieaux didnt allow a run in 1 2/3 innings of relief and struck out two batters.

"He did a nice job, Shelton said. He came in and kind of put the fire out. He got Moustakas and then got the ground ball base hit. He finished the ninth. He did nice and was effective.

Vieauxs crisp outing was a continuation of the solid work he had done with Triple-A Indianapolis since being designated for assignment in mid-July.

On the surface, Vieauxs numbers during his latest stint with Triple-A Indianapolis merely look OK. In 14 1/3 innings, Vieaux posted a 4.40 ERA with 14 strikeouts. Those numbers dont jump off the page, but Vieauxs numbers were inflated by an outlier outing in which he allowed four earned runs and retired just two batters. Excluding that outing, Vieaux only allowed three earned runs across 13 2/3 innings (1.98 ERA).

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Pirates raise average with runners in scoring position - MLB.com