After going 3-3 on their six-game West Coast road trip against the Angels and Dodgers, the Pirates are in a similar spot to where they were a week ago after being swept by the Guardians in a three-game set. But, there have been signs of improvement.

The road trip ended tonight with a 9-2 loss at Dodger Stadium after the Dodgers tallied 14 hits, two home runs, one double and jumped on Bailey Falter from the very beginning. The only two runs the Pirates pushed across were a pair of back-to-back home runs from Andrew McCutchen and Enmanuel Valdez in the first inning.

As Derek Shelton would say following this one, it was their worst performance of the trip.

"We played well in five of the six games," Shelton said. "Last night we're in a 4-4 game in the eighth. And today, we didn't play well. We didn't pitch very well and we only scored early. I thought we played well the first five games of this trip and I think it's something we've got to build on."

And build on it they can.

With Bryan Reynolds fully returning to the lineup following his shoulder injury, the Pirates' lineups were consistent for the most part. Oneil Cruz, Reynolds and McCutchen were the top three hitters in every game and started to develop a rhythm. Together, they combined to go 23-for-76 for a .302 batting average. Reynolds was the only one of the trio that hit below .300 out West.

Cruz found his footing at the top of the order and hit two leadoff home runs while providing a third on Wednesday against the Angels to spark the Pirates' 3-0 win. He finished this trip going 9-for-27 with five RBIs and three walks. McCutchen also slashed .375/.444/.667 with a 1.111 OPS to go with two home runs and four RBIs.

"I think having Bryan back in the outfield really allows us to get Cutch in there and when we get Cutch in there we feel like we have a longer lineup and not only a longer lineup but a professional lineup, a lot more professional at-bats," Isiah Kiner-Falefa said. "So, it's nice. I think we're starting to believe in each other."

However, production didn't just come from the top of the order. It came from the bottom as well. Kiner-Falefa, Adam Frazier, Tommy Pham and Ke'Bryan Hayes -- the four players who hit in the 6-7-8-9 holes for a majority of this trip -- all hit over .300 with Frazier, who extended his hitting streak to 11 games today, hitting a team-high .417.

With production all the way through the order, the offense started to show signs of life after being one of the worst to start the season. Over the last seven days, the Pirates recorded the second-best batting average (.289) in all of Major League Baseball, seventh-best on-base percentage (.357), eighth-best OPS (.774) and tallied the fourth-most hits (61).

It resulted in taking two from the Angels and one from the Dodgers in a primetime matchup with Paul Skenes on the mound.

"We definitely showcased some stretches where we can put the runs up and when the pitching does their job, which it did more times than not, I mean, yeah, we have opportunities to win, especially against a team like the Dodgers," McCutchen said. "I mean, not even us -- you look at paper, people expect them to sweep, no matter what, just because of the team, the payroll, the guys on the team. So for us to go in and play them well for two games, it just showed that we're capable of doing that ... We're just capable of competing."

When the Pirates have been able to excel in all three phases of the game, they've been able to capture wins, and they displayed that on a few different occasions out West. One could look at Andrew Heaney's brilliant performance against the Angels on Wednesday, or the offense’s ability to pick up a short outing from Falter on Tuesday and score nine runs on a season-high 18 hits. The highlight of the trip was Skenes shutting out the Dodgers and the bullpen, headed by a rejuvenated David Bednar, closing the door.

A six-game trip like this, on the other side of the country, could've been a turning point for the Pirates. They sat at 8-15 and were set to take on two teams with winning records. They easily could've come home with a losing record or, worst-case scenario, no wins at all. But, they found a way to come home with a split.

"I thought we played well in five of the games, and we just need to continue to play better," Shelton said. "Hopefully, offensively it looks like we're getting more consistent as we get more healthy, which is really important. And then we've just got to make sure that we get some other things squared away."

That last part is the most important. There are still things that the Pirates need to improve on to continue playing like they have been. Because they still are here:

And they still have a long way to go.

This won't act as a turning point in their season. They are still making mistakes that cost them runs, like Frazier's throwing error yesterday or Joey Bart getting thrown out at home. That doesn't even mention Colin Holderman's eighth inning blow-up. Over this six-game stretch, they hit .241 with runners with scoring position and left 49 runners on base. They also committed six errors. The mistakes are still there and the attributes of a team that is currently at the bottom of the National League Central are still present.

However, this trip was a step in the right direction.

"I think we're just playing better baseball all-around," Kiner-Falefa told me. "Throwing it better, playing good defense, bats are starting to come alive a little bit and, yea, I think we're just getting some traction ... Hopefully we were able to build some confidence off this trip."