The Pirates have lost seven runners on the basepaths in the early going, not counting steal attempts, but it is safe to say they have lost no sleep over it.

The reason, as manager John Russell has pointed out repeatedly, is that most of those happened as the result of aggression.

For example, Doug Mientkiewicz, Xavier Nady and Ryan Doumit were thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double, each with one out, each in a close game.

Predictably, the fiery Mientkiewicz had plenty to offer on the subject.

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Minor-league report

Thursday's games

• INDIANAPOLIS (5-3) lost at Syracuse, 6-1. RHP Ty Taubenheim (0-1, 15.88) allowed six runs and nine hits in 1 1/3 innings. RHP Marino Salas (0.00) pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings, allowed two hits and struck out three. CF Andrew McCutchen (.194), RF Steve Pearce (.206) and DH Neil Walker (.192) each went hitless in four plate appearances.
• ALTOONA (2-5) was off.
• LYNCHBURG (2-4) lost at Winston-Salem, 5-3. LHP Tony Watson (0-2, 6.23) allowed five runs, four earned, and seven hits in five innings. SS Brian Friday (.222) went 2 for 4 with a walk and committed his fourth error.
• HICKORY (5-3) won at Greensboro, 4-1. RHP Duke Welker (0-0, 1.29) pitched three scoreless innings, allowed two hits and struck out one. LHP Mike Felix (1-0, 0.00) allowed one unearned run and one hit in three innings of relief. 2B Matt Cavagnaro (.238) hit his first home run and went 3 for 4.

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"If you play the game to win, you have to take chances," he said before the game last night. "If you play the game safely, you're not going anywhere. I think the safe way around here hasn't worked. I don't mean to be rude, but I'm not here to lose."

Mientkiewicz was thrown out Wednesday in the 10th inning by Chicago right fielder Alfonso Soriano.

"In my case, was I out by 10 feet? Yeah. But it took a perfect throw. And the odds of a team getting three hits in a row in extra innings are pretty slim off a good bullpen. Hey, I'd rather go down swinging than being passive."

He mentioned, as Russell has, that the Pirates hope to develop a running reputation that puts pressure on opponents.

"When word starts getting around the league that we're taking chances, those throws won't be on line for long," Mientkiewicz said. "You'll see outfielders picking up their heads a little faster to see what we're doing. I played on a team in Minnesota where we ran the bases like wild men. And we ran ourselves out of a lot of innings. And games. But we also created a lot of winning streaks in the long haul because we started to get other teams to throw the ball around. Nobody wanted to play us."

At the other extreme, Mientkiewicz cited rookie Brian Bixler freezing at third base Monday rather than scoring what would have been the Pirates' winning run.

"Bix was a little tentative, and it cost us. You don't want guys to be afraid out there. You want them to think about winning. Let that be your instinct. That's how J.R. wants this team to play. You're going to mess up. We all will. But do it aggressively."

There is another side to this: The Pirates are not a fast team. Nor, despite some good early offense, do they have a pedigree of high on-base percentage to make up for too many lost runners.

"There is a time when we need to be smart and not overly aggressive, obviously," Nady said. "But, you know, we're a team that could use that extra base."

Struggling starter Tom Gorzelanny had what all concerned termed an encouraging throwing session on flat ground before the game.

He has experienced lingering but minor tightness in his left shoulder, dating to the discomfort that briefly shelved him early in the spring. That might have cost him some zip on his fastball Monday, when he allowed seven runs in less than three innings, but he also achieved an unusually high 94 mph on one pitch.

He will pitch Sunday on five days' rest.

• Expect shortstop Jack Wilson, on the disabled list until April 19, to begin a Class AAA rehabilitation assignment with Indianapolis Sunday or Monday.

• Doumit, on Zach Duke's seven strong innings -- one run, six strikeouts -- Wednesday: "That is the best I've seen his stuff since I caught him in 2005."

• Center fielder Chris Duffy, progressing slowly in rehabilitating his left shoulder in Bradenton, Fla., still has no target date to return to game action.

• In addition to Sean Burnett's sizzling numbers with Indianapolis - 0.00 ERA, six innings, six strikeouts - a radar gun at his weekend outing in Pawtucket, R.I., clocked one of his fastballs at 93 mph. The Pirates had expressed concern about a loss of velocity over the winter.