MILWAUKEE -- It was enough to make Jose Tabata blush like a baby.

"Albert Pujols? Really?"

Yeah, really. The Pirates' outstanding rookie, as of Sunday morning, had 87 hits since his June 9 promotion, tied for most in the National League with the game's greatest hitter.

"Come on," Tabata pressed.

No, really. The Pirates' media relations staff looked it up, although by day's end, after Tabata went 0 for 5 in the 8-4 loss against Milwaukee, he trailed Pujols by one hit. There was more:

• Tabata is batting .312, second among all Major League Baseball rookies with at least 300 plate appearances, behind the San Francisco Giants' Buster Posey.

• He has been consistent, reaching base safely in 58 of 70 starts, including 13 for 29 in the past eight games.

• His 59 hits since the All-Star break are second-most in the league, behind another rookie, the Chicago Cubs' Starlin Castro.

That is quite some maturation for that teary-eyed kid June 9 in the visitors' clubhouse in Washington who relayed calling his mother in Venezuela to tell her, "Our dream has come true."

Tabata laughed at the memory.

"Yes, I still think about that, about my mom and everything," he said Sunday. "But now, I'm more experienced. I put all my concentration in the game every day. I know I'm the same guy that went out there for the first game, but I know now that I have to do something for my team every day."

And how is he finding that consistency?

"I feel great. I feel very, very comfortable. I think it's because I'm trusting myself. Every day, when I go to the box, I think I need to do something for my team, something special. In the game, you always have the opportunity to do something special. I think that's why I'm doing very, very well right now."

Tabata took Andrew McCutchen's place in center field and atop the batting order, with McCutchen getting a rare day off after a 2-for-25 slump and an 0 for 5 Saturday night. He pinch-hit Sunday and walked.

In the lineup despite a 3-for-35 slump was first baseman Garrett Jones. He had a single and walk but also struck out twice.

"We've got a couple guys really struggling right now," manager John Russell said.

• General manager Neal Huntington, not with the Pirates on this trip, just scouted Class AA Altoona to see the system's next noteworthy wave of starting pitchers in Bryan Morris, Rudy Owens, Jeff Locke and Justin Wilson. Huntington said on his radio show Sunday that none is expected to make the team out of spring training but added it is "not unreasonable" that one or more could arrive later in 2011.

• Class AAA Indianapolis starter Brad Lincoln's stiff neck is "taking a little longer than hoped," Huntington said, and the young starter remains out of the rotation.

• Huntington, on pursuing free agents this offseason: "We're going to be looking, but we're not going to just throw money at free agents to appease the fans and a few members of the media."

Colin Dunlap's blog on the Pirates is featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.