BALTIMORE -- Much has been made recently about the strength of the Pirates' bench.

And it's true that Doug Mientkiewicz, Jason Michaels, Chris Gomez, Luis Rivas and Raul Chavez have contributed quite a bit offensively.

What could be more important in the long run is what that quintet has contributed in the clubhouse -- character, makeup, a certain "want-to."

"It's big," manager John Russell said. "Makeup is a big key."

"Makeup" arises a lot in conversations between Russell and general manager Neal Huntington when they're evaluating players.

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Minor-league report

Saturday's games

INDIANAPOLIS (34-36) lost at Columbus, 5-4. RHP Bryan Bullington (3-6, 5.70), pitching for the first time since May 26, allowed two runs and three hits in three innings. He struck out two, walked one. C Ronny Paulino (.429) hit his fourth home run, a two-run shot, and went 1 for 4. CF Andrew McCutchen (.280) went 1 for 3 with a double, a sacrifice fly and two RBIs. 3B Neil Walker (.228) went 1 for 4. RF Steve Pearce (.259) went 0 for 3 with a walk.

ALTOONA (29-36) won at Connecticut, 4-1. LHP Kyle Bloom (0-4, 6.12) allowed one run and one hit in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out five, walked six. RF Brad Corley (.289) went 1 for 3 with two walks.

LYNCHBURG (29-40) beat Kinston, 8-0. LHP Danny Moskos (6-3, 4.04) pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings and allowed three hits. He struck out seven, walked one and got 10 groundouts. LF Jared Keel (.224) hit his fourth home run, a three-run shot, and went 2 for 3 with a walk.

HICKORY (30-39) beat Asheville, 5-3. RHP Brad Lincoln (3-2, 2.70) allowed three runs and nine hits in six innings. He struck out four, walked two and got eight groundouts. 1B Miles Durham (.335) hit his 11th home run and went 2 for 4 with a triple and two RBIs.

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"When in doubt, go back to tools and makeup," Russell said. "Makeup is going to tell you a lot about a player. You look at our [bench players] -- they know how to play the game. And they work hard. Not that the other guys don't work hard, but they see these guys who have been around 10 or 14 years still working hard. It's a good thing.

"It's one thing you think about when you start thinking about signing a player or think about trading for a player. We talk about how he would fit into the makeup of our club. Will he be a guy who fits in or will he be a guy who's a stand-off guy?

"It's hard to get 25 guys in your clubhouse with the makeup of Nolan Ryan, but you try to get people who have a passion for doing it right. A lot of times, it rubs off on the others who haven't experienced that before. It can really help an organization."

Getting a breather at DH?

Ryan Doumit, normally the Pirates' starting catcher, might be the team's designated hitter today.

"Ryan's been going awfully hard since he came off [the disabled list June 5]," Russell said. "At some point, we have to give him a blow.

"Sitting out for three weeks [because of a fractured left thumb] and then coming back to catching -- he caught the day game after the night game the other day, and it's getting hot -- it's going to catch up to him sooner or later."

"We'll have to monitor that. When I played, there were times you'd lose 10 to 12 pounds of water weight during a game. That will take a toll on you eventually."

Duffy assigned to Altoona

Chris Duffy, who had surgery on his left shoulder Aug. 31 of last year, will begin a rehabilitation assignment with Class AA Altoona today at Connecticut.

The center fielder, whom the Pirates had expected to be game-ready in early April, had a few setbacks and continued to rehab in Extended Spring in Bradenton, Fla.

Duffy, 28, was the Pirates' opening-day starter in center in 2006-07.

3 more draft picks in fold

The Pirates have signed three more draft picks, including ninth-rounder Matt Hague, a third baseman from Oklahoma State who played his first three collegiate seasons at the University of Washington.

The other two are 48th-round choice Owen Brolsma, a right-handed pitcher from Texas Tech, and 50th-round pick Craig Parry, an outfielder from South Dakota State.

The last 50th-round pick signed by the Pirates was Justin Rethwisch, an outfielder from Antelope Valley Junior College, in 2001.

The Pirates have signed 16 of their 50 picks.

Buried treasure

• Shortstop Brian Bixler, who spent most of the first eight weeks of the season with the Pirates filling in for Jack Wilson, has begun to pick it up offensively with Class AAA Indianapolis. Through Friday night, Bixler had a .310 batting average in June.

• Center fielder Nyjer Morgan, who began the season with the Pirates, went to Indianapolis May 8 -- the day Jason Michaels joined the Pirates. In his first 33 games with Indianapolis, Morgan stole 15 bases in 18 attempts.

• Class A Hickory third baseman Bobby Spain, 23, the Pirates' 19th-round draft pick last year, is second in the South Atlantic League with 22 doubles.