The Pirates have won eight of their last 10 games and 12 of their last 15. With Thursday's victory, they pulled within four games of the Cardinals in the National League Central standings and increased their NL Wild Card lead over the Cubs to four games.
After a shaky start, Marlins left-hander Justin Nicolino rebounded to throw six solid innings. Miami had a man on second base with one out in the eighth inning, but Pittsburgh setup man Tony Watson quelled the rally, setting up closer Mark Melancon's Major League-leading 41st save.