Don’t look now, but one more win — the Pirates visit Clearwater and the Phillies tomorrow — and the Bucs will tie their longest winning streak (5) of all last season.

If today’s 5-4 win — in 10 innings — over the Blue Jays seemed familiar, there was good reason. … 

Cranks

• Bill Murray: Because we associate him with Groundhog Day. In Monday’s walk-off win over the Orioles, Josh Harrison drove in the tying run and Carlos Paulino had the winning RBI. In today’s walk-off win over Toronto … aw, you know the rest.
• Starling Marte: In the first, he beats out a rather routine grounder to short for a single. A few innings later, he pounds the right-center alley for a stand-up triple. As they used to say on the streets, he’s fly.
• Alex Presley: Didn’t let two failed bunt attempts in the ninth get him down. Pulled a grounder to first that still moved the trying run into scoring position.

Clunks

• Me: Hope nobody saw my erroneous Tweet this morning that Lucas May was one of the players reassigned to Minor League camp by the Bucs. I mostly hope Lucas didn’t see it.
• The Core: When all the snow has melted, this will be one of those “Remember when?” deals. But Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez and Neil Walker — the preferred No. 3-4-5 hitters in the lineup — are a combined 10-for-69 (.145).

Today’s game finally, after 16 earlier exhibitions, had a “real” feel to it. Buccos pitchers batted, as Clint Hurdle discontinued the use of a DH, and mainliners were still in the game at the end. Alex Presley and Josh Harrison were both featured in the winning two-run rally in the bottom of the ninth.

And “only” 15 more exhibitions to go!

Cranks

• Phil Irwin: Supposed to have a devastating curve, but the heater ain’t bad, either; seven punchouts in 3 2/3; could be the 2013 model Brad Lincoln.
• Roman Colon: Guy’s 33, but starting his 17th pro season; has appeared in only eight Major League games the last three years, but seems healthy. Just what the Bucs need, another bullpen candidate.
• Brad Hawpe: That beautiful swing showed up in the eighth inning, launching a homer a-way over the right-field boardwalk. 

Clunks

• DHs: No, not a philosophical statement. Hurdle has stopped using them, but who’ll be able to tell? Pirates DHs were 5-for-37 (.135) in March. 
• Pedro Alvarez: He must be getting ready for another 30-homer season because he’s having the same spring he had in ’12.  Two-for-22 (.091) thus far although, looking at the half of the cup that is full, the only-five strikeouts indicate he’s getting close.

Waiting for the time to come for regulars to play, err, somewhat regularly so the Bucs can find the offensive hot button …

Today’s result: 5-4 loss to Twins.

Cranks

• A.J. Burnett: Four shutout innings before tiring in the fifth? Nice. Another pickoff? Great!
• Jared Hughes: No, really. For providing more  testimony why traditional pitching stats are worthless for relief pitchers. He is now credited with a perfect spring in five appearances (no runs in 5 1/3 innings) — yet the first three men he faced today got a walk and two hits, including one that scored the tying run charged to A.J.
• Ivan De Jesus: After 69 innings, a Pirates player finally hit a home run. And it was him.

Clunks

• 5-4: That’s the Bucs’ 9-1-1. They lost their last six games with that final last season, have already lost twice by that count this spring.
• Gerrit Cole: No, he hasn’t done anything wrong. But Clint Hurdle’s decision to go to the Fort Myers portion of Sunday’s split-squad games — rather then check out his start in Sarasota against the Orioles — doesn’t bode well for how open-minded the Bucs are about him making the season-opening rotation.

The Bucs dropped a 6-3 nighttime affair to the Birds in McKechnie Field.

Cranks:

• Starling Marte: You’d think he wants that leadoff gig. Two singles and a walk, two stolen bases, both leading to runs. 
• Pedro Alvarez: The good Toro showed up on defense, with a fabulous backhand stab of Travis Ishikawa’s smash down the third-base line with two outs in the first and a runner on second, and a bullet throw to first for the out. Hey, O’s, remind you of anyone who used to hoover third base for you guys?
• Mike Zagurski: He may not have the classic athlete’s physique but, man, he’s got the classic lefty reliever’s pitches. Three up, three down — all on strikes, getting Clint Hurdle’s attention, big-time.
• Carlos Paulino: The non-roster catcher showcased his arm in a late-game appearance, and it’s of a calibre recent Pirates and fans are not used to seeing. 

Clunks:

• Erik Cordier: The 27-year-old non-roster righty endangered everyone from his catcher to Baltimore hitters to fans sitting behind first base. He sailed a pickoff throw five rows into the seats on the fly, walked three, unleashed two wild pitches, gave up a hit — in two-thirds of the ninth inning.
• Buccos bats: Have now gone 66 innings since their last home run, the second of Gaby Sanchez’s two blows on March 1 in Sarasota against the Orioles. 

Introducing a new regular feature of my Spring Training coverage, takeaways from the day’s happenings between the Grapefruit League lines and elsewhere in the Pirates’ den as they prepare for the season.

Yeah, I could have called this 3-Up, 3-Down. But isn’t that what everybody else does? This is Pirates booty; we do things differently.

The Bucs lost to Tampa Bay, 4-2, today in McKechnie Field.

3-Cranks:

• 1. James McDonald: Four shutout innings of one-hit ball, AND a pickoff of Desmond Jennings.
• 2. Charlie Morton: Less than eight months removed from Tommy John surgery, he has a batting-practice date on Sunday.
• 3. Jose Contreras: Another Tommy John patient, for keeping himself in great condition, for when he’s ready to resume pitching. Anyone who snickers about him really being 50 years old should see him in the locker room without his shirt on.

3-Clunks

• Gaby Sanchez: He looked good at third base on Tuesday against Spain, when no one could pull a ball to him. A little different in this one, as he couldn’t reach first base on the fly for the error that led to all four Rays runs.
• Jeanmar Gomez: Yeah, the four off him were all unearned. But he gave up the hits that followed Gaby’s throwing error. And he still has an ERA of 12.00
• Pirates lineup: Everyone took the day off. Came within four outs of being blanked on one hit for the second consecutive home game (Philadelphia one-timed them on Monday).

Russell Martin has withdrawn from the World Baseball Classic.

Martin made the late decision to skip competing with Team Canada over both that team’s and the Pirates’ resistance to allowing him to play shortstop in The Classic.

“They both were uneasy about that,” Martin said, “and I simply didn’t want to catch. It’s just too much grind. The catcher’s out there the whole game, and it just takes your body so long to recover from catching 20 innings or so.”

Martin, signed to a two-year, $17 million as a free agent to be the Bucs’ new receiver, had looked forward to an opportunity to play short in the international tournament. When that became unlikely, he chose to withdraw from Team Canada and concentrate on getting ready for the season.

“I feel sorry for (Team Canada), but sometimes you just have to look out for what’s best for you. You have to make a personal choice. But I’m really sorry for how all this went down.”

Remarkable how much “louder” today’s intrasquad game became once Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon left the mound.

Batters started making solid contact, even on outs. The second batter after Cole departed, Ivan De Jesus, tripled. The third, Starling Marte, connected for a drive halfway to Clearwater.

In the two innings each by Cole and Taillon, batters were on the total defensive. And in the hole: Cole started off each of the seven batters he faced with strikes; Taillon was 5-for-8.

Cole also wasted no time flashing his mean streak. His third pitch sailed in on Marte, who was swinging and fouled off the ball near his hands, which he shook for a few seconds, wondering where that nest of hornets had come from.

Trying to downplay this early look, manager Clint Hurdle said, “Those first two pitchers pitched very well today. But it is what it is — the first game, two innings in an intrasquad game.”

There will be more. In the coming week, Cole and Taillon should both get their first taste of big-league competition in Grapefruit League outings. … 

Alex Presley, the triples-machine with seven in limited play last season, should’ve started off in style. But his first-inning drive atop the left-field line was called foul by the faraway plate umpire.   The game was worked by a two-man crew, one behind the plate and another at first (when the bases were empty). … 

Arriving in the McKechnie Field clubhouse for the first time, relocating from Pirate City, the Bucs were greeted by the annual “Feel Good” video on the big screen: A long loop in which every one of their swings produced a home run, and every one of their pitches punched someone out. That was the Pirates’ view of a perfect world.

Pirates club chairman Bob Nutting, who on Tuesday gave manager Clint Hurdle an extension through 2014 with an option for another season, but who also signed off on John Russell being fired after 2010 with a year left on his deal:

“We must take a step forward. We expect to win. I expect to win, Frank (club president Frank Coonelly) expects to win. Neal (general manager Neal Huntington) expects to win. And the idea that an extension is a free pass is exactly the message that I would not want to send, and exactly the message that Clint would not want to hear.

“We’ve absolutely shown that we’re willing to make a change if we need to, irrespective of contract terms.So Clint and everyone in the organization knows that.”

*  * *

The usual slate of the Tee-Shirt Fridays is on the Pirates’ schedule. I assume all the different designs are taken care of, but if the brains behind the very popular promotion get stuck, might I make a suggestion?

You get new closer Jason Grilli to pose with The Fort.

Above the pic: Mac N’ Cheese.

Below: You Know You Love It!

With one of those curled-into-a-smile pieces of macaroni, yellow on black.

I’d buy that T. Would you?