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DENVER -- Paul Maholm's pitching line would appear to wholly explain the Pirates' 9-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies Thursday afternoon at Coors Field: He was charged with eight runs on 11 hits and three walks in lasting just 5 1/3 innings.
The starting pitcher blew another one.
Case closed, right?
Maybe not.
Yes, all concerned agreed that Maholm was well off peak form, giving up seven of those hits on two-strike counts and leaving far too many pitches over the white of the plate. As manager John Russell put it, "He just never really seemed like he got in much of a rhythm. The biggest thing that hurt him was that he had trouble putting hitters away. He battled. It just wasn't his day."
It is entirely possible, though, that Maholm's day might have been different but for a pivotal sequence in the Rockies' four-run second inning that brought a 5-1 lead ...
Game: Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals, 8:15 p.m., Busch Stadium.
TV, radio: FSN Pittsburgh, WPGB-FM (104.7).
Pitching: RHP Jeff Karstens (2-6, 4.72) vs. RHP Chris Carpenter (11-3, 3.03).
Season: Cardinals, 2-1.
Key matchup: Everyone vs. the spectacular Carpenter, who has opened the second half with eight-inning victories vs. Los Angeles and Philadelphia.
Of note: Karstens must find a way to last longer in his starts. Through five innings, his ERA is 3.18. After the fifth, it is 13.06.
After one out, Maholm walked Ryan Spilborghs and gave up an infield single to Miguel Olivo. Third baseman Pedro Alvarez's throwing error put the runners on second and third. With first open, Russell ordered an intentional walk of Ian Stewart to get to pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez.
It could not have been an easy decision: For one, Stewart was batting .255, including .229 against left-handers. For another, the intentional walk pretty much guaranteed Maholm would face leadoff man Dexter Fowler, who was 5 for 9 off him lifetime. And right behind Fowler was Clint Barmes, 9 for 15 off Maholm.
The first part of it worked, as Maholm struck out Jimenez. But, sure enough, Fowler doubled into right-center for two runs, and Barmes lined a single into right for two more.
Russell's explanation was that, in facing Colorado's ace in Jimenez, the Pirates did not want to concede any runs: Just get Jimenez for the second out, then go after Fowler, who was mired in a deep 3-for-43 slump.
"We knew we couldn't give up a lot of runs," Russell said. "Jimenez, hopefully, gets a ground ball. Fowler is up next, and he's been struggling a little bit. We took a chance to try to limit it to no runs that inning."
Maholm declined comment on that matter, but his long glare into the dugout before the intentional walk spoke volumes.
In general, while acknowledging that he could have fared better in finishing off two-strike counts, Maholm mostly credited Colorado's hitters.
"I think they did a good job when they scored the four in the second," Maholm said. "With two outs, they didn't take big swings, went the other way. I wasn't able to make the pitch."
Were his issues command-related?
"No, I felt good. They'd lost a lot of games in a row, and they were eventually going to break out. They had good at-bats. You've got to give them credit. Barmes had a great day. Last time he was up, I was pounding him in, and he barely hits it over the shortstop. That's how the day went."
Fowler and Barmes each would get another hit off Maholm, as the Rockies snapped an eight-game losing streak.
"He just never really seemed like he got in much of a rhythm. The biggest thing that hurt him today was that he had trouble putting hitters away, gave up a lot of two-strike hits. He battled. It just wasn't his day."
Unfortunate or not, Maholm's record fell to 6-9, and his ERA rose to 4.52 after being charged with seven or more runs for the third time in seven starts.
The Pirates had been seeking their first road sweep of the season, and it got off to an encouraging start with Garrett Jones' RBI double in the first, giving him six hits in seven at-bats. But, with Alvarez at the plate, Jones was picked off second by Jimenez.
Russell called that "a young mistake," referring to Jones' year-plus in the majors more than his being 29 years old, and added, "In this ballpark, a secondary lead's not that important because the outfielders are so far back."
Jones acknowledged that mistake, as well as one other: When he dived back to the bag, he put his hand on shortstop Troy Tulowitzki's shoe.
"I shouldn't have been caught off," Jones said.
Either way, Maholm gave up Carlos Gonzalez's home run in the bottom half to tie it, and the Rockies were on their way to providing ample backing for Jimenez, a Cy Young candidate who improved to 16-2 by holding the Pirates to one run and four hits over seven innings. He also struck out six, often reaching 99 mph on the gun with breathless ease.
"He was really good," Russell said.
Neil Walker hit a two-run home run in the eighth off Rafael Betancourt to make the score 9-3. It was Walker's fifth home run, second of the series, and it continued a 21-for-47 tear that somehow included a hitless drought of 11 at-bats.
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