PHOENIX -- When Joel Hanrahan arrived in Pittsburgh fresh off being dealt from Washington, it was hard to get past that 7.71 ERA. Those unfamiliar with his electric stuff questioned what value that right-hander could possibly offer when his results had been so inconsistent.

It's now been nearly a month since Hanrahan joined the Pirates' bullpen, and that value has begun to show. Heading into the Pirates' series finale against the D-backs on Sunday afternoon, Hanrahan has made five straight scoreless relief appearances, including one this series.

Only one previous time this year -- a year that included losing the Nationals' closer job twice -- has Hanrahan strung together that many consecutive scoreless outings.

"All the guys here have been pitching with a lot of confidence," Hanrahan said, while beginning to speak of his slow turnaround. "I hear a lot of guys talking about some of the younger pitchers that have been here and how they are starting to feel more confident. I kind of said to myself that that's how I was last year and that's what I need to do now to get that confidence back. I know I need to go out there with the mentality that I know I can succeed."

When asked what has aided Hanrahan in finding more consistent success since the trade, manager John Russell agreed that Hanrahan's fresh bullpen environment has played a significant role, if for nothing else than the fact that the right-hander has been able to relax.

"I think there was a lot of pressure put on their bullpen," Russell said, referring to Washington. "It was openly made public that they needed to pitch better. I think it snowballed on him and he lost some confidence."

Hanrahan's role is still not entirely defined, but as Russell showed when putting him into a critical early relief situation on Friday, confidence in the right-hander is certainly there. In his eight appearances with the Pirates, Hanrahan has been scored upon just twice.

No, there have not been any magical mechanical changes that have contributed to his steady results. It's all in his mentality.

"I'm just a little more relaxed on the mound and not putting as much pressure on myself," Hanrahan said. "I'm really kind of building off what these other guys in the bullpen are doing and the kind of success that they had before I got here. With the attitudes that they all have, it's easy to go out and build off of them."

None of those eight appearances may have been bigger than Hanrahan's 2 1/3-inning outing on Wednesday, though. Not only was it his longest relief appearance so far this year, but Hanrahan called it his biggest this season. He also compared how he felt in that outing to how he felt through most of 2008, a season in which he posted a 3.95 ERA in 69 games.

Russell, well aware of Hanrahan's potential, saw the same.

"I thought that was something that he really needed," Russell said. "I think that was one of the bigger moments for him since we got him."