Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit tags out Tampa Bay's Jorge Cantu in the first inning of yesterday's 7-5 loss at PNC Park. Click photo for larger image. More Pirates Coverage: Pirates Notebook: Littlefield says maybe to buying, no to selling Return trip to House That Ruth Built Minor-League Report: 6/13/05 Cook: McClendon rightfully displeased after bad loss

"One play short."

That was how Pirates first baseman Daryle Ward described his team's 7-5, 13-inning loss to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at PNC Park, and the phrase was a fine fit for a game that brought a foul finish to an otherwise sterling homestand.

Humberto Cota lofted a dramatic home run with two outs in the ninth to tie the score, but Jose Castillo grounded into a double play with the bases loaded to end the 10th.

One sacrifice fly short.

The bullpen retired 14 in a row to carry the Pirates to the 13th inning, but Brian Meadows allowed a two-run home run to Alex Gonzalez.

One pitch short.

There was one last rally in the bottom half of that inning after two outs. Castillo doubled, and Ward walked. But Bobby Hill grounded to third for a forceout.

One single short.

And one victory short of topping .500 this late in a season for the first time since Aug. 15, 1999. The Pirates' record fell 30-31.

They still finished their 13-game homestand 9-4 and won all four series, but the were long after the team's longest game of the season.

Especially the manager's.

"It was a very frustrating loss, in a lot of different ways," Lloyd McClendon said. "As far as we've come, this type of game shows you just how far we have to go. When you become a championship-type club, you win these games. We just didn't execute."

Asked to elaborate, he replied, "It was the total package. We did a lot of things wrong. The defense. Running the bases. The situational hitting. The pitching. You name it."

Asked if it was the most frustrated he had felt after a game this season, he replied: "Absolutely."

The game started poorly, too.

	Tomorrow Game: Pirates (Kip Wells 5-4) at Yankees (Mike Mussina 6-4), 7:05 p.m. TV/Radio: FSN Pittsburgh/KDKA-AM (1020) and the Pirates Radio Network.

Tampa Bay's first five batters against Josh Fogg reached base, and the Devil Rays had a 3-0 lead before many of the 23,240 in attendance had taken their seats.

The Pirates got two of those runs back in the bottom half, one on Ryan Doumit's RBI double, another on Rob Mackowiak's RBI groundout. But Castillo flied out to strand Doumit at third.

Fogg settled and posted five zeroes after that, but Tampa Bay scored twice more in the seventh to go ahead, 5-2, on Toby Hall's two-run single against reliever Salomon Torres.

Again, the Pirates answered in the bottom half. Again, they got one run less than needed.

Ward walked, Jack Wilson was hit by a pitch, and pinch-hitter Tike Redman singled to load the bases. Freddy Sanchez's double-play grounder brought in Ward but damaged the momentum.

Still, there was a chance for more.

Matt Lawton's bunt single drove in Wilson. Jason Bay singled off the glove of shortstop Julio Lugo. That would have brought up Doumit, who is hitting .375 in five games since his promotion, but Lawton rounded too far past second on the Bay hit and was tagged out when the throw came in from center field.

It was Lawton's second baserunning gaffe of the game.

"I saw it come off of his glove, and I couldn't stop," he said. "It just felt like I was on black ice."

The Tampa Bay victory appeared to be on ice in the ninth after Lance Carter retired Wilson and Hill for two quick outs. But Cota, after taking one ball, slammed a high fastball into the bullpen beyond center field for his fourth home run, the Pirates' first from a pinch-hitter.

Cota has been among the team's top clutch performers, with 17 RBIs in 108 at-bats. Twelve of his 28 hits have been for extra bases.

"Certainly, that was a big hit for us," McClendon said. "And we had a chance to win it after that, too."

That came in the next inning.

The Pirates loaded the bases against Trever Miller. Lawton singled, Bay walked, each was advanced on a Doumit bunt, and Mackowiak was intentionally walked.

Castillo had flied out each of his first four times up. If he simply did that again, the Pirates would win.

The Devil Rays brought in Franklin Nunez, who offered Castillo nothing but sliders. Castillo poked at the third one, trying to go opposite field -- "I saw a hole in right-center" -- but he instead delivered a 4-6-3 double play.

One night earlier, Castillo was the offensive hero with a home run and five RBIs.

"I don't know what happened in the last 12 hours," he said. "Not my day."

It was not Meadows' day, either.

He looked poised in a 1-2-3 12th but opened the 13th with a five-pitch walk to Nick Green. One out later, he went 2-0 on Gonzalez.

"I was just trying to do too much right there, especially when I know it's a 2-0 count and he's geared up for a fastball," Meadows said. "He got one he could handle."

Gonzalez powered the elevated fastball into the left-field bleachers.

It was only the eighth home run allowed by the Pirates' bullpen, fewest in Major League Baseball, and the first since May 28.

The Pirates failed to extend their winning streak to five and to secure a three-game sweep of the Devil Rays, who had lost seven in a row.

A winning streak and a sweep of that length would have been season firsts, but they fell one step short.

"It was one of those tough losses where you could have had the game, should have had the game, where you can find all kinds of little things," Cota said. "But we've got to keep our heads up. We have two big series coming up in New York and Boston, and we need good results. We can't be worried about what went wrong here."