Pirates' youngsters face challenging end to road trip in New York

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ four-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds this week matched their season-best win streak of four games, set in early July.

In their four-game takedown of the Reds, the Pirates (55-88) were firing on all cylinders, combining largely solid starting and relief pitching with potent offensive output.

Monday’s starter, Bryse Wilson, earned the win, and Johan Oviedo and Luis Ortiz, who started the front and back end of Tuesday’s doubleheader, combined to throw 10²⁄₃ shutout innings.

Roansy Contreras gave up one run in four innings Wednesday in a planned short outing, and relievers Tyler Beede and Miguel Yajure held things down for the final five innings.

Offensively, the Pirates hit eight home runs, had 14 extra-base hits and scored 23 runs in the series.

Overall, beating the Reds in four straight games represented a nice change of pace for the Pirates, who were 2-7 in September before arriving in Cincinnati.

But with that now in the rearview mirror, a more daunting opponent awaits for a second consecutive four-game series: the NL East-leading New York Mets.

Furthermore, after the Pirates wrap up in Queens, they’ll head across New York City to the Bronx for two games with the Yankees, who lead the AL East.

Beating up on the Reds, with whom the Pirates are neck-and-neck for last place in the NL Central, is one thing.

Taking on two playoff-bound teams on the road in full, energetic ballparks is something else entirely.

“It’s going to be a good challenge for us,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Wednesday during his AT&T SportsNet pregame show. “We’re talking about two of the best teams in baseball in two different stadiums where the environment is going to be different than anything our young kids have ever seen. I’m really excited for them.”

The Pirates split a two-game series with the Yankees at PNC Park in July and dropped two of three games to the Mets at home earlier in September.

As the season winds down over the next few weeks, and with the Pirates out of playoff contention for the fourth straight year, expect some tweaks to the everyday lineup, in addition to a healthy list of transactions with Triple-A Indianapolis and, perhaps, Double-A Altoona.

The result of the late-season mixing and matching could result in a preview of what’s to come.

In other words, Shelton and general manager Ben Cherington will want to make the most of the remainder of the season by continuing to expose young talent to the rigors of MLB.

For example, Oneil Cruz maintaining his hot September, in which he’s hitting .314 (16 of 51) with four homers and 11 RBIs, will be important.

As will be the need for Contreras to keep up the good work. The 22-year-old is 5-4 with a 3.24 ERA through 18 games (15 starts).

Impressive recent performances by Oviedo and Ortiz are also encouraging, and Ke’Bryan Hayes is enjoying his hottest month at the plate this season, with a .344 (11 of 32) average in September.

“I think for the young guys, just contributing and continuing to get better, we’ve talked about they need to play to get better, and they’re playing and taking advantage of opportunities,” Shelton said.

But that doesn’t apply only to the youngest of the youngsters on the roster.

Mitch Keller, who, in his fourth MLB season is a grizzled veteran compared to the likes of Cruz, Contreras and Co., will start for the Pirates on Friday evening in the second game of four against the Mets.

Keller (5-10, 4.01 ERA) has had an up-and-down campaign, but with three straight quality starts under his belt, he aims to end the season on a positive note and preferably get his seasonal ERA under 4.00 for the first time in his MLB career.

Before Keller pitches, J.T. Brubaker (3-11, 4.36 ERA) takes the mound for the Pirates in the series opener with a 7:20 p.m. first pitch against Carlos Carrasco and the Mets scheduled for Thursday.