PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Pirates are doing a lot of little things right these days, which might add up to something big later in the season in the tightly packed National League Central.

Right-hander Jameson Taillon lacked his best stuff but held Tampa Bay scoreless over 6 1/3 innings as the Pirates beat the Rays 4-0 on Thursday at PNC Park.

Andrew McCutchen had three hits and a walk, and Josh Harrison also reached base four times, thanks to twice getting hit by pitches. He has been plunked a major-league-most 18 times.

"I guess I just got a magnet or something," Harrison said.

Deposed closer Tony Watson turned in a clutch seventh-inning performance in relief of Taillon (4-2), and John Jaso and Gregory Polanco homered. None of it was flashy, but the Pirates (37-42) are contending.

"We got a good group of guys, and nobody presses because we know at the end of the day, if we all do our job, we'll be in a good spot," Harrison said.

McCutchen, batting. 398 in June, drove in the first Pirates run with an opposite-field single on a low, out-of-the-zone slider from Rays right-hander Chris Archer that few could have handled.

"Sometimes you throw a pitch where you want it and it gets hit," said Archer (6-5), who gave up three runs in six innings. "Typically it doesn't get hit like that, but I got to be better."

That was debatable, but no one argued about the home runs balls to Jaso and Polanco.

"I wish I executed a handful of pitches at a higher level, kept the game a little closer," Archer said.

Taillon, a big right-hander making his fourth start since undergoing testicular cancer surgery on May 8, continued a remarkable comeback. In only one of the games since his return has he allowed more than two runs.

"I feel healthy. I'm back," he said. "That's back-to-back games, six innings the last one, 6 1/3 this time, (103) pitches. I feel like I'm back with the team, I'm contributing and we're playing for something."

Taillon got sharper as the game progressed until he ran into "a little turbulence" in the seventh, as Hurdle put it.

Tampa Bay's Jesus Sucre and Mallex Smith started the inning with singles, and Steven Souza Jr. lined out hard to left field. That was it for Taillon. In came Watson, who lost his closer's job earlier in the month. The left-hander struck out Corey Dickerson, the Rays' best hitter, and got Evan Longoria to pop out.

"We just got beat tonight, you know?" Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "Last two nights. Not for lack of effort or anything. We were just outpitched a little bit, outhit a little bit. The bats kind of went quiet."

NOTES: The Rays activated RHP Brad Boxberger from the 60-day disabled list and designated RHP Danny Farquhar for assignment. Boxberger has missed the season to date with a lat muscle injury and a strained flexor tendon in his right forearm. Farquhar relieved in 37 games. ... Pirates 1B Josh Bell is the fourth switch hitter in team history to hit at last 15 home runs in a season, joining Bobby Bonilla (five times), Neil Walker (three) and Ryan Doumit (once).