The Pirates are still haunted by last season's late summer collapse.

Pittsburgh lost a 19-inning marathon on July 26, 2011 and never recovered. They would lose 11 of their next 12 games.

The Pirates edged the Cardinals in an extra-inning battle last week, but have dropped five of six since. The Pirates and Cardinals will face off in a series this week, beginning on Monday night.

"We've had a tough stretch here. Every team goes through it," general manager Neal Huntington said. "It's time for our guys to regroup, and refocus our energies on what we have to take care of. This is exciting -- this is why we do this, to play meaningful games late in the season. To do that, you've got to beat the good teams. It's going to be a fun series."

The Pirates are eight games back of the Reds in the National League Central at 68-59. They are just two games back of the Braves and Cardinals for one of the two Wild Card berths.