PITTSBURGH -- In the past six months, outfielder Nyjer Morgan has changed his perspective of the organization, and, apparently, the outfielder is changing the organization's perception of him in the process.

When outfielder Steve Pearce rejoined the team when rosters expanded in September, it was anticipated that he and Morgan would split outfield duties during this final month of the season. Management wanted to evaluate both. And neither had gotten much face time at the Major League level.

However, Morgan seems to have left Pearce behind him, becoming a top-of-the-order catalyst that has forced management to rethink where the speedy outfielder may fit in the Pirates' long-term plans.

"He's taken advantage of the time he had to go down to [Triple-A] Indianapolis to the time he's had to come back and has done some very good things," manager John Russell said. "He's put himself in position to get some looks."

Morgan won't give some fancy formula for his sudden success -- he's reached base in 19 straight starts, posting a .258 batting average during that span. Yes, hitting coach Don Long has preached a "slower" approach to Morgan since the outfielder was recalled on Aug. 19, but Morgan attributes a mental adjustment to his recent offensive success.

"I just kind of stopped worrying about what was going on behind the scenes and am just trying to take care of what I can control in all of this," said Morgan, who has made twice as many starts (10) as Pearce since the start of the month. "I'm just playing. I'm just doing what I've done since I've been a little boy and that's have fun and play ball."

With Morgan's sudden success, Pirates management certainly will head into the offseason with something to think about. The thought of having two center field-type players in the outfield (Morgan and Nate McLouth) is a proposition that management has said it likes. Add in the fact that Morgan provides a defined leadoff-type hitter, and the possibilities are intriguing.

The Pirates have plans to send Morgan to Mexico this offseason to play one month in the Mexican Winter League. They've also made it quite clear that if Morgan wants to force management's hand next season, he's got some offseason goals to reach as well.

"It will be a big offseason for him," Russell said. "He needs to come into Spring Training better than he did last year. I don't think he was quite prepared when he came into Spring Training, so that's one emphasis we'll put on him."

Morgan enters Wednesday's game 4-for-8 in the series.

Pitching matchup
PIT: LHP Zach Duke (5-14, 4.84 ERA)
Though Duke started out extremely sharp in his last outing against the Astros on Thursday, he was undone by some fielding errors and then by his own poor pitch location. Duke came into that start after putting together one of his better stretches this season. He had thrown at least six innings in six consecutive starts, though he lasted just 4 2/3 innings against Houston. With only two more starts left this season, Duke will look to improve on the results he had against the Dodgers in a start against them in April. Duke allowed four runs -- three earned -- in six innings in that outing.

LAD: RHP Chad Billingsley (15-10, 3.02 ERA)
Billingsley came into Coors Field with an 8.76 ERA in Denver, but he delivered a solid start, allowing two runs over six innings. It wasn't overpowering, as he struck out three and stranded five Rockies in scoring position. He leads club starters in wins, ERA and strikeouts, and has gone 12 straight outings without allowing more than three runs, a time in which he's 7-2 with a 2.52 ERA.

Bucs bits
Major League Baseball will release each team's 2009 schedule at 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday. It's already known, though, that the Pirates will face competition from the American League Central in next year's Interleague Play. ... Jack Wilson (fractured right index finger) is progressing but is still a few days away from being ready for a pinch-hitting role. Wilson is still hopeful that he could be ready to hit before the end of this homestand.

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Up next
• Thursday: Pirates (Paul Maholm, 9-8, 3.68) vs. Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw, 4-5, 4.41), 12:35 p.m. ET
• Friday: Pirates (Ian Snell, 6-11, 5.69) vs. Astros (Randy Wolf, 10-12, 4.58), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Saturday: Pirates (Jimmy Barthmaier, 0-1, 27.00) vs. Astros (Brian Moehler, 11-7, 4.33), 7:05 p.m. ET