MILWAUKEE -- The pitcher who came this close to being the ace of the Milwaukee staff in the first half of last season will start tonight for the Pirates.

That would be Victor Santos, he of the 4-13 record and 4.57 earned run average in 2005.

It also would be the Santos who had a fine first half, compiling a 3.50 ERA but winning twice.

"The first half of the season, he was about our best pitcher," said Brewers pitching coach Mike Maddux, whose pupils also included Ben Sheets, Doug Davis and Chris Capuano. "He was solid, man. He was going out there and taking us deep into the game all the time with a chance to win."

Going deep often went badly for Santos, though.

"We just didn't score," Maddux said. "If a ball took a bad hop, it was in his game. If we booted a ball, it was when he was out there."

There was the game June 4 in Los Angeles, witnessed by Pirates manager Jim Tracy, then with the Dodgers.

"I was fairly impressed," Tracy said. "We couldn't do anything, and he was still out there in the sixth inning and still getting people out."

And still not winning. Santos worked seven innings, allowed two runs and lost, 2-1.

In the second half, though, the losses were not close. In 11 games, he had a 7.45 ERA and pitched only 38²/₃ innings.

The superficial answer to Santos' pitching is easy to find.

"Basically, when Vic is down, he's pretty good," Maddux said, referring to the strike zone. "When he's up, the hitters are pretty good. His stuff's fine. It's a matter of keeping the ball down, locating the pitches and changing speeds."

Which is what Santos will try to do tonight against the Brewers.

"It's going to be a lot of fun competing against friends," Santos said. "It pumps you up. I'm sure they'll be pumped up, too."

Good glove work

Aside from reliever Salomon Torres' costly muff of a sixth-inning bunt, the Pirates' defense was sharp.

The highlight was a double play, started by Jack Wilson going deep to the hole and capped by a strong relay from Jose Castillo.

"I thought Jack would just throw to me," first baseman Sean Casey said. "They were thinking two all the way."

Left fielder Jason Bay threw out Rickie Weeks trying to stretch a single to a double in the second, then made fine catches in the fifth and sixth.

Where was Craig Wilson?

The Pirates made it through a tight game -- one in which they entered the seventh and eighth innings with a one-run deficit -- without using their best pinch-hitter, Craig Wilson.

Tracy explained that he was waiting for a situation where a home run was needed.

The Pirates entered the ninth down by three, and Castillo struck out to open it.

Pinch-hitter Nate McLouth singled, and pinch-hitter Freddy Sanchez bounced into a double play.

If Sanchez had reached, Wilson would have batted, Tracy said.

Buried treasure

Starters Kip Wells and John Van Benschoten were placed on the 15-day disabled list. The 40-man roster remains at its limit.

The crowd of 45,023 was the largest for an opener at Miller Park.

Milwaukee starter Doug Davis was not dominant in his six innings, giving up six hits and four walks. But he allowed only two runs by getting timely outs. "I wanted to throw strikes and make them put the ball in play," he said.

Tracy bumped Joe Randa to fifth in the order, ahead of Jeromy Burnitz, because he was 8 for 19 in his career against Davis. He went 0 for 3 against Davis, 0 for 4 on the day. "Sometimes, those numbers don't work out," Randa said.

The Pirates fell to 63-57 in openers, including losses to the Brewers in the past two.