PITTSBURGH -- Playing in his final home game of 2017, Pittsburgh first baseman Josh Bell put an exclamation point on a strong rookie season.

He hit his 25th homer and was 3-for-4 with three RBIs on Wednesday night in the Pirates' 5-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles at PNC Park.

"I feel like I'm in a good spot," Bell said.

"I definitely have a foundation now, something that I can work off this offseason, continue to grow and continue to learn and hopefully next year, come out strong."

Bell goes into the final weekend of the season hitting .256 with 87 RBIs.

"It's important for a feel-good (lift)," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said of Bell's game Wednesday.

"The only thing that's gone in a downward climb this month has been his average. You can't tell how he's hitting by the way he goes out on the field. You can't tell what he's hitting by the way he plays defense. You can't tell how he's hitting by the way he runs the bases.

"He's a ball player. He hasn't been getting hits. Timing has been off. He hasn't been hitting the fastball like he was earlier. He's synched it back up really well."

Gregory Polanco added a solo homer for the Pirates (73-85), who have won four in a row and five of six. They finished the home portion of their schedule 44-37 and have four games at Washington remaining.

Baltimore (75-84) has lost 16 of 20 going into its final series at Tampa Bay.

Anthony Santander had three hits, and Pedro Alvarez and Trey Mancini had two apiece for the Orioles.

Pittsburgh took a 4-3 lead in the third and held it until the seventh, when Starling Marte's broken-bat, two-out RBI single drove in Sean Rodriguez, who led off the inning with a double.

Pittsburgh starter Chad Kuhl (8-11), in what is expected to be his final appearance of the season, pitched five-plus innings, allowing three runs and eight hits with five strikeouts and one walk. He has given up fewer than four earned runs in nine of his past 11 appearances.

"He became a different pitcher during the season," Hurdle said. "That's probably the thing that impresses me the most. The sinker-slider guy that we brought up here last season left town in May. The new guy showed up. It's been fun to watch."

Felipe Rivero pitched the ninth for his 20th save. He gave up a one-out double to Santander but stranded him.

"Felipe comes in throwing 102 (mph)," Hurdle said. "That's impressive. That's fun to watch."

Orioles starter Gabriel Ynoa (2-3) lasted only three innings, allowing four runs and five hits -- including two homers -- with three strikeouts and one walk. He had allowed more than three runs in only one of his eight previous appearances (three starts) this season.

"A little flat. Not much Christmas to his stuff," Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said of Ynoa. "He was a little flat with everything. Breaking ball was a little sloppy."

Pittsburgh opened the scoring in the first inning. Adam Frazier singled, moved to third on Andrew McCutchen's one-out single and scored on Bell's base hit.

The Orioles answered with three runs in the second. Alvarez and Mancini singled, giving Mancini a 16-game hitting streak. Chance Sisco knocked in Alvarez with a double to tie it at 1.

Mancini scored on J.J. Hardy's groundout, and Sisco scored on Santander's double to make it 3-1.

Polanco's leadoff homer, a zinger to right, in the bottom of the second pulled Pittsburgh within 3-2. It was Polanco's 11th long ball of the year.

The Pirates moved back ahead 4-3 in the third on Bell's homer, a two-run shot to right that bounced into the Allegheny River.

Ynoa got David Freese to fly out to end the inning, but the Orioles pinch-hit for him in the fourth.

"I was trying to attack the hitters ... but things didn't work out for me," Ynoa said through a translator. "Unfortunately, I was missing with my fastball, and the hitters took advantage of that."

NOTES: Baltimore SS Tim Beckham, who injured his right hamstring Saturday, remained out Wednesday. He is expected to play this weekend at Tampa Bay. ... Orioles CF Adam Jones missed a second straight game because of leg soreness. ... Baltimore 1B Pedro Alvarez made his first trip back to Pittsburgh since 2015 and started after not playing Tuesday. He was 2-for-4 with a run. Alvarez was a Pirate for six seasons. ... Pittsburgh announced its probable starters for the first three contests of its four-game finale series at Washington: RHP Ivan Nova on Thursday, RHP Gerrit Cole on Friday, RHP Jameson Taillon on Saturday. ... LHP Wade Miley is scheduled to start Baltimore's series opener Friday against the Rays.