ARLINGTON -- It took more than a month, but the Pirates finally recorded their first hit with the bases loaded on Wednesday afternoon at Globe Life Park. Then they got another one, then they kept showing what their lineup can do with some timely hitting.

The Pirates put up four runs in the fourth inning, the pivotal point in their 7-5 win over the Rangers, and tacked on key runs without hitting a single home run all day. After losing eight straight games, Pittsburgh scored 13 runs -- one more than their seven-game total last week -- to pull off a two-game sweep in Texas.

“We had some clutch hitting,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “We continue to encourage them. They have skills and believe they can do it. We went out there and we did it today.”

And they finally did it with the bases loaded. The Bucs entered the day as the only club in the Majors without a bases-loaded hit. But the Pirates’ 0-for-16 skid ended after Starling Marte hit a single to center and Gregory Polanco and Josh Bell walked against Rangers starter Shelby Miller.

Up came Melky Cabrera, the steady veteran who has helped the Bucs overcome a number of outfield injuries this season. Cabrera poked a low fastball into left field, driving in Marte to tie the game.

After Colin Moran popped up, switch-hitting rookie Bryan Reynolds stepped up to the plate against Miller. A day after clubbing his first Major League homer, Reynolds reached down and swatted a 3-1 fastball over left fielder Joey Gallo’s head. Polanco waved as he crossed the plate, Bell scored easily, and Cabrera slid home safely.

“At some point, you have to get the big hit. Guys wanted to step up. Maybe guys were trying a little too hard,” said starter Jameson Taillon, who allowed four runs (three earned) in 6 1/3 innings. “We saw a bunch of different guys come up with some big knocks today.”

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The hit lengthened Reynolds’ career-opening hitting streak, which now stands at nine games -- longer than any Pirate since 1900, other than Polanco. The even-keeled rookie has hit six doubles in his first nine games.

“He’s off to a fantastic start,” Hurdle said. “There’s a lot to like. He’s come in here with a very slow heartbeat and performed extremely well and done some damage with the bat.”

Sitting in the dugout during the game, Polanco told Pablo Reyes that Reynolds’ hot start reminded him of, well, himself. Five years ago, Polanco began his career with an 11-game hitting streak -- a stretch when, Hurdle jokes, it looked like Polanco invented the game of baseball.

“He’s kind of the same. He’s hitting more extra bases, for sure,” Polanco said. “He’s a great hitter. Just keep it simple. He’s got pop. I’m excited to watch him play and just enjoy, because he’s helping the team win.

“Watching him play, I remember five years ago when I had that start of my career. It was a great feeling.”

Polanco experienced another great feeling in the seventh, which may have been a sign of more good things to come. After Marte ripped a run-scoring double to right, Polanco crushed a 108-mph double to center for his first RBI of the season. Polanco has been struggling to find his rhythm since he came off the injured list, but he may have found something when he shortened his swing to catch up to Kyle Dowdy’s 97-mph fastball.

“That swing, that felt really good -- finally,” Polanco said. “I’ll watch that video of that swing and try to get that feeling. That was like the perfect swing. That was me.”

That gave the Pirates a 6-2 lead, and they needed every last run. Danny Santana homered off Taillon in the seventh, then Shin-Soo Choo launched a two-run homer to right off reliever Richard Rodriguez to pull the Rangers within a run.

Catcher Elias Diaz gave the Pirates a little more breathing room in the eighth, knocking an RBI single to right that scored pinch-runner JB Shuck after an aggressive send by third-base coach Joey Cora.

After spending more than a week searching for timely hits, the Pirates found plenty of them in Texas.

“When you’re in the middle of a losing streak, it feels like you’re probably never going to win another game,” Taillon said. “Then you have a good off-day, you come back, you win two in a row, and before you know it, you can start a winning streak just like that.”