PITTSBURGH — The losing was the same, if not worse.

But for better or worse, the 2009 Pittsburgh Pirates certainly aren't the same team coming out as they were going in.

The team used a club-record 26 pitchers and 49 players, using the final two months of the campaign as an early audition for 2010.

"These final games were important for a lot of reasons," manager John Russell said. "The biggest was showing pride as major leaguer and proving that you can play and produce at this level."

The Pirates did not produce often enough. Their 6-0 loss to close the season Sunday in Cincinnati was their 17th shutout loss of the year. The team won only 22 road games and had no player with more than 74 runs scored or 65 RBI.

Andrew McCutcheon was promoted in May and played the final 108 games in center field. He led the Pirates with the 74 runs scored and 22 stolen bases. He also hit .286 with 26 doubles, nine triples and 12 home runs.

Fellow rookie Garrett Jones hit 21 home runs in 82 games. His .293 batting average led the team — the lowest average to lead the club since Carlos Garcia hit .277 in 1994.

Andy LaRoche's 65 RBI marked the lowest total to lead the club in a nonstrike year since Billy Southworth's 61 in 1919. Paul Maholm's 119 strikeouts were fewest to lead the team since Bob Friend fanned 98 in 1955.

Tired of the losing, fans stayed away from the ballpark during the latter portion of 2009. The Pirates' home attendance of 1,577,853 was the lowest in PNC Park's nine-year history.

But the Pirates aren't worried about the past, only the future. Veteran left-hander Zach Duke — still only 26 — led the National League with 16 losses but pitched 213 innings, three complete games and had a respectable 4.06 earned run average.

"Working with (pitching coach) Joe Kerrigan, I feel like I'm getting back to where I was when I first came up," Duke said. "I know I'm maturing as a pitcher and I know I gave the team a lot of chances to win games.

"There's no doubt we're building a solid starting rotation here and that's where it all starts."

Ross Ohlendorf posted a 3.92 ERA and shared the club lead in wins with Duke at 11. He's proven to be one of the early returns of the many Pirate trades of the past two years.

So, too, was outfielder Lastings Milledge, who hit well over .300 during his two months with the team.

"I'm excited about the young talent that's here and in the minor leagues right now," Milledge said. "It's a situation where we have to mature as a team and get to know each other as players and people.

"We're still strangers to each other in a lot of ways. That's not going to be the case for very long."

While Milledge has played well as an everyday left fielder since coming to Pittsburgh, he doesn't consider the job his.

"No way. I'm taking nothing for granted," he said. "I don't think anybody here should. There's going to be a lot of positions open in spring training."

Center field won't be one of them. McCutcheon made a strong bid for National League Rookie of the Year honors despite his late call-up. The same could be said for Jones, who hit more home runs in July than any player in the big leagues despite not being called up until late June.

The only NL players to hit more homers than Jones' 21 over the final three months were Derrek Lee of the Cubs, Prince Fielder of Milwaukee, Mark Reynolds of Arizona and the Phillies' Ryan Howard.

"We went out and played hard, played with enthusiasm down the stretch," McCutcheon said. "Winning three of four against the Dodgers, not letting them celebrate on our field, that was huge to us.

"It may not seem like much, but it showed us what we're capable of doing when we just relax and play ball."