John Heller, Post-Gazette The Pirates scored just about every way imaginable last night to the delight of the 31,113 fans on hand at PNC Park. Rob Mackowiak scores the first of his three runs -- one of three Pirates to score three times. Click photo for larger image. More Pirates Coverage: For Pirates, .500 in June unfamiliar territory Pirates Notebook: McClendon to skip Williams Paul Meyer's Baseball Notebook: Right turn Collier: The one that didn't get away Smizik: It's time Pirates recognize Paul Waner's achievements Going batty: A breakdown of the 18-2 romp Minor-League Report: 6/12/05

Oliver Perez is back.

All the way back.

The signs were evident last night all across PNC Park, where the Pirates tore through the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 18-2.

There was the single run Perez posted on the visitor's line of the scoreboard. There was the K counter in left field being forced to start anew because he had struck out 10, one more than it can handle. There was the crowd of 31,113 clapping with every two-strike count. There was the radar-gun display routinely running up to 96 mph.

There also was some of that familiar Perez passion, pumping his fist after each of the three double plays behind him and jawing with Tampa Bay's Eduardo Perez one pitch before whiffing him.

"That's Oliver. He's right there," catcher Humberto Cota said. "That's the best game I've caught from him this year. He was pretty much lights out."

Manager Lloyd McClendon shared that view.

"I would say so," he said. "He really had everything going for him."

The Pirates' victory, their season-high fourth in a row, evened their record at 30-30. This is the latest in a season the team has been at .500 since Sept. 1, 1999, when it was 67-67. In McClendon's first four seasons, his teams never had a .500 mark beyond May 30.

Perez had plenty of help, to say the least.

The scoring output was the Pirates' highest since Sept. 26, 1992, in a 19-2 rout of the New York Mets, and the hit total of 20 was a season high. Every player in the starting lineup had a hit, and every one except Perez had an RBI.

Jose Castillo busted out of an 0-for-18 drought with three hits and a career-high five RBIs, including a three-run home run. Daryle Ward had four RBIs, giving him seven in the past two nights. Ryan Doumit, placed in the cleanup spot for his second major-league start, responded with a single, double, triple and three RBIs. Rob Mackowiak had three more hits to raise his average to .358.

"We've been on the receiving end of those, as well," McClendon said. "As manager, you just want to get those over with and make sure nobody gets hurt."

The outburst hardly was a fluke against these Devil Rays. Their earned run average of 6.49 and error total of 59 -- the latter boosted by three more last night -- are the worst in Major League Baseball. They have lost seven games in a row and have given up six or more runs in each.

But their team batting average of .278 is second-best in the game, which is one reason why Perez's outing stood out.

He dominated Tampa Bay as few pitchers have done, allowing five hits in his seven innings, walking one and retiring 13 in a row at one point. His strikeout total was a season high, the 15th time in his career he achieved double digits.

"We knew coming into this series we'd have to pitch well, and Oliver did," McClendon said. "The changeup was excellent. The slider was biting quite a bit. He got a lot of check swings. And the fastball had good velocity, too."

That Perez relied heavily on his offspeed repertoire might have been most encouraging to management. Only three of his third strikes came on fastballs. Four came on sliders, three on changeups.

After Perez started the season 1-4 with an 8.03 ERA, he was placed on a two-week hiatus to restructure his approach. One component of that was reducing his dependency on the fastball to keep his arm fresher.

In five starts since, Perez is 4-0 with a 3.26 ERA and an average of 14.5 strikeouts per nine innings. He also has been more efficient, reaching seven innings in each of his past two appearances.

"I was throwing my fastball too much," Perez said. "I'm using the offspeed pitches more, and I'm getting guys out. I'm not too worried about strikeouts. I want to get outs and to stay in the game."

Asked if this was his best start, he added: "I don't know. It's more important that I feel really good. I'm relaxing and enjoying the game."

One of Perez's strikeouts by fastball came after an animated exchange with Eduardo Perez in the fourth.

Eduardo Perez was barking at Oliver Perez about being too demonstrative on the mound. Cota stood up and barked back, soon was joined by Oliver Perez, and all had to be separated by home-plate umpire Bruce Dreckman.

"You've got to take care of your pitcher," Cota said. "I didn't like what he was saying and I let him know."

Next pitch was a 95 mph fastball that caught the inside corner for strike three, accompanied by a thunderous ovation.

Oliver Perez insisted he was not motivated for a strikeout, but Cota disagreed.

"He wanted to get him, and he did," Cota said. "That's the Oliver of old. That's when you can tell he's back."

The Pirates struck for three runs in the first against Scott Kazmir, Tampa Bay's 21-year-old rookie starter. And they had help.

Freddy Sanchez walked to lead off. Mackowiak singled. Jason Bay's smash skipped off third baseman Jorge Cantu's glove and into left field for an RBI single. Had Cantu fielded it cleanly, it would have been a double play. Instead, it brought home Sanchez.

Doumit was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Ward grounded to Eduardo Perez at first, and he had an easy force at the plate. Instead, he inexplicably double-clutched and tagged out Ward as Mackowiak scored.

Castillo followed with a broken-bat RBI single to make it 3-0.

Eleven men went to the plate in a six-run fifth inning that was highlighted by Castillo's drive to the left-field bleachers. Kazmir, who had pitched well in his previous four starts, exited after 4²/₃ innings and was charged with nine runs.

Only 12 of the Pirates' runs ending up being earned.

The Pirates are 9-3 in the 13-game homestand that concludes today. If they sweep Tampa Bay, they would have their first 10-victory homestand since July 12-22, 1984, when they went 10-4.

They also would have a winning record heading into their next series at New York's Yankee Stadium. The hosts will not be able to say the same. The Yankees are 30-31 heading into their rubber match at St. Louis today.

"A better record than the Yankees? Yeah, that would be pretty cool," outfielder Matt Lawton said. "Talk about a confidence boost."