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Endy Rodriguez slides safely by the Cardinals' Yohel Pozo tonight at PNC Park.

The Pirates weren't waiting around tonight at PNC Park as they hosted the Cardinals for their first divisional matchup of the young 2025 season. They scored four runs in the first two innings and added four more in the seventh en route to an 8-4 win for their first back-to-back victories of the season.

Throughout their first 10 games of the year, the Pirates weren't getting the hits they needed as they slumped to a 3-7 record. And while those struggles will ultimately continue over the next 151 games, their 10 hits on this night, paired with four extra-base hits and a 4-for-4 performance with runners in scoring position was a step in the right direction, even if it came against a team playing their third game in a little over 24 hours with a left-hander on the mound that has tallied a career 4.50 ERA.

"It’s just baseball, you’re waiting for those hits, you’re waiting for those balls to fall. It seemed like we haven’t had that, we haven’t had the hits we’ve needed," Joey Bart said following his 2-for-4 night, which included a home run and a triple. "That’s why it’s a long season, and you just have to stay the course."

Bart's home run started things in the first inning as he cranked a first-pitch fastball on the low inside corner of the zone into the Cardinals' bullpen in center field:

The Pirates then continued to be aggressive in the second inning as Tommy Pham led off with a single and moved to third on an Endy Rodriguez double. This was the hit that followed:

Isiah Kiner-Falefa has been one of the Pirates' best hitters through their first 11 games. His .343 batting average ranks 14th in all of Major League Baseball and he's had success with hits similar to the one above.

"We did a really good job situationally. The biggest hit to open it up was IKF's," Derek Shelton said. "The fact that we get a ball out over the plate and all of the sudden -- Endy had hit the double -- we get two runs right there and continue to add on. I thought that was really important."

Situational hitting has been something that the Pirates have stressed since the beginning of spring training. With the lack of power they have in the offense, they need to move runners over and drive them in when they reach scoring position. They haven't done that so far this season as they are currently hitting .228 with runners in scoring position, the 10th-lowest average in Major League Baseball.

The Pirates went through a lull after the second inning as they tallied just two hits in 14 at bats while striking out five times. But, when the opportunity came to strike in the seventh, they did.

Kiner-Falefa again singled through the right side and moved to second on a Ke'Bryan Hayes walk. That was when Andrew McCutchen broke the game open with this swing:

"It was a tight game, a two-run game and Cutch came in and kinda sealed that deal there and we just added on from there," Bart said.

Bart then tripled off the wall in center field -- there was fan interference on the play but the outcome didn't change -- and McCuchen scored. Oneil Cruz then hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Bart from third.

It was simply another display of situational hitting for the Pirates as five players recorded RBIs and four had multi-hit nights.

"We were very aggressive early," Shelton said. "We had a really good approach and were able to not only start it, but continue to extend it."

The Pirates' offensive struggles this season have been undoubtedly noticeable. They have the sixth-worst batting average (.207), the fifth-worst OPS (.609) and the fourth-worst slugging percentage (.315) in the league. Tonight won't solve their issues as the season carries on, but it was a sign that it can be done.

"We have to score as many runs as we can," Bart said. "[Mike Rabelo] always jokes that the team that crosses home plate more than the other team wins. So that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to score as much as we can."