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PITTSBURGH -- By itself, the two-out, two-run double that Neil Walker hit on Thursday night was a blip in the 162-game season.

In the big picture, though, the at-bat against the Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Todd Coffey said a lot about his rapid development at the major league level this season.

Moments earlier, rookie Jose Tabata had a pitch thrown behind him, after which the home plate umpire warned both teams. In a tense situation, Walker conceded that he might have allowed his emotions to get the best of him earlier in his career.

"The worst thing that I could have done was hack at the first pitch out of his hand," said Walker, who hit .593 (16 of 27) in the last six games. "That would have taken me out of my approach. I didn't want to get down 0-2 there, but at the same time, I wanted to make sure that I gave myself the best chance to hit the ball on the barrel."

Moreover, the second strike appeared to be well below the knees.

"The guy got a pitch over the plate and I was able to hook it down the line and score two runs," Walker said. "But yeah, in big situations, it's better to tone it down as opposed to let the emotions get to you too much. The more times you're in those situations, the better prepared you are."

Since his May 25 promotion, Walker ranked third in hits (55) and batting average (.320) among major league rookies.

Walker liked to think the rally was indicative of the development of the team as a whole.

"It is," he said. "It would have been nice to get more runs across the plate and the win. At the same time, we really try hard to battle on a nightly basis. If we continue to do that, it will really help us down the road."

LET THE TESTS BEGIN: Minor league players that are not part of the 40-man rosters will be tested for the human growth hormone, and Russell supported similar blood tests at the major league level under certain conditions.

"The biggest (issue) is the integrity of the tests," he said. "I'm sure that's the biggest thing that the players association would want to look into. They talk about confidentiality and how (the tests) are done. There are a lot of hurdles to get over before (the program) can be implemented. It's it good for the game? Yeah. But there can be lot of backlash because of false tests."

"We support Major League Baseball's efforts to continue to develop a comprehensive program that limits and ultimately eliminates the abuse of performance enhancing drugs," player development director Kyle Stark said. "This is another step in that direction."

Team player representative Paul Maholm was unavailable for comment. Assistant representative Ross Ohlendorf declined to speak on the matter.

THE END WAS NEAR: The collision between Brewers behemoth Prince Fielder and Erik Kratz at home plate on Thursday night brought back bittersweet memories for Russell, a former major league catcher.

Three decades earlier, Russell saw his career flash before his eyes when former Pirates outfielder Dave Parker barreled toward him.

"Dave Parker almost killed me," Russell recalled. "I just stepped out of the way, and he didn't stop until got to the screen. I couldn't see him, but I heard him. (First baseman) Von Hayes cut the ball off at the last second. I probably never would have played again because (Parker) had a full head of steam."

Fielder rammed into Kratz with his arms up and out as though he were an offensive lineman, but Russell didn't object to his "added aggression" on the play.

"(Fielder) wanted to knock the ball out (of the glove)," he said. "He wanted to get underneath (the arms). That's why we tell catchers to keep the ball close to them so the runner can't get underneath their arms. Erik did a nice job."

'CUTCH IS CLOSE: Andrew McCutchen hit in a batting cage and played long toss before the series opener against the San Diego Padres on Friday night, as he moved closer to return to the line-up as early as this weekend.

The outfielder was scheduled to take part in batting practice on Saturday afternoon.

"He has made a lot of progress," Russell said. "He's very close, put it that way, whether it's tomorrow or the next day. I would say Tuesday would be a definite (return date). He should be ready by then for sure."

NEXT . . .: The weekend series will resume on Saturday night (7:05, FSN, WPGB-FM).

Mat Latos (10-4) will oppose Jeff Karstens(2-5) on the mound.