The afternoon already was plenty long, plenty miserable.

But not enough of either, apparently, to suit Damaso Marte.

More than a half-hour after the Pirates fell hard, 5-2, in 13 innings to the Milwaukee Brewers yesterday at PNC Park, he still was seated at his stall in an otherwise vacated clubhouse, eyes glazed, staring straight ahead.

	Matt Freed, Post-Gazette, Post-Gazette The Brewers' David Bell drives in two runs in the 13th inning yesterday. Click photo for larger image. Looking ahead Tomorrow: Pirates (Ian Snell, 10-8) vs. Cincinnati Reds (Chris Michalak, 1-0), 7:10 p.m. Where: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati. TV, Radio: FSN Pittsburgh, KDKA-AM, Pirates Radio Network. Related articles Pirates Notebook: Inning count could cost Gorzelanny

"Can't talk," he replied in a barely audible voice when asked for an interview. "Sorry. Not now."

The reaction was not without cause. Pitchers can have difficulty coping with one tough, late-inning loss. But two in less than 24 hours?

"It's no fun, I'm sure," fellow reliever Salomon Torres said. "He's having a good season but, sometimes in this business, you can focus too much on one number."

That number, in Marte's case, is his 0-7 record, tied with the Baltimore Orioles' Bruce Chen for most losses without a victory in all of Major League Baseball. And, most painful, it grew by two in the past two days.

On Tuesday night, his two runs in the eighth inning cost the Pirates the lead and, ultimately, the game, 6-3.

This time, Marte entered after starter Zach Duke and his bullpen mates had preserved a 2-2 tie through 11 innings, and he held Milwaukee scoreless in the 12th.

The 13th, though, would be a mess from ball one.

First came a full-count walk to Tony Graffanino. Marte struck out Kevin Mench, but strike three eluded catcher Ronny Paulino for a wild pitch that advanced Graffanino.

Bill Hall was intentionally walked. Another wild pitch pushed the runners to second and third and, as a result, another free pass was handed to Damian Miller.

The capper: David Bell ripped a single up the middle for two runs

Another was added after Marte was replaced by Britt Reames, but he would be charged with all three runs on one hit and four walks over 1 1/3 innings.

To an extent, manager Jim Tracy absolved Marte, largely because it was only the fourth time in 58 appearances that he was asked to work beyond one inning.

"That happens when you're deep into the bullpen," Tracy said.

In the same breath, he made clear his distaste for the leadoff walk to Graffanino.

"It boils down to throwing strikes," Tracy said. "Fact is, when Marte's in the zone, he's very good."

Trouble is, Marte misses that zone too often: He has an unsightly 25 walks in 43 innings.

At any rate, he hardly was the only member of the Pirates to come up short. The offense managed two runs in Milwaukee starter Chris Capuano's six innings, then was blanked by the bullpen on two hits the rest of the way.

There were two chances to win, each in the ninth.

Jason Bay, pinch-hitting for his first at-bat since his hamstring was hurt Sunday, launched a Jose Capellan fastball deep toward left field and drew a brief, hopeful roar from the crowd of 14,901. But it came up short of what would have been a dramatic walkoff -- or limp-off, in his case -- home run.

"I wouldn't have limped, believe me," Bay said.

	THE RACE How Freddy Sanchez stands in his bid to become the first Pirates player to win the National League batting title since Bill Madlock in 1983. LAST GAME Yesterday: 2 for 4 with two singles. LEADERS Freddy Sanchez .346 Miguel Cabrera, Marlins .337 Chipper Jones, Braves .333

Right after that, two walks and a hit batsman loaded the bases for Joe Randa, but he struck out as part of an 0-for-5 day in which he stranded eight runners out of the cleanup spot.

On the brighter side, Duke was effective for a second consecutive start, allowing two runs and nine hits while walking none in his 6 2/3 innings.

He might have gone longer, too. The Pirates had a 2-1 lead in the seventh, and Duke's pitch count was a low 83 when Tracy pulled him with two outs and a man on second. Matt Capps came on, and his first-pitch fastball was dropped into shallow right by Brady Clark for the tying run.

Tracy explained that he thought Duke had toiled enough in stranding four runners the previous two innings.

"Regardless of the pitch count, you have to look at the intensity of those situations," he said. "It made all the sense in the world to bring in Matt Capps there."

And would Duke have preferred to stick around?

"It would have been nice, but I respect the decision," he said. "There's no second-guessing. Matt Capps is more than capable of getting guys out."

The other highlight was a run-saving catch by center fielder Chris Duffy in the 12th that might have been the Pirates' best defensive play all summer.

With a man on first and two outs, Jeff Cirillo scorched a ball toward the fence in right-center. Duffy froze momentarily, then went full bore and dived onto the warning track to come up with the ball.

"That's as fine a play as a center fielder can make," Tracy said. "He gave it everything he had. And you know what? I think that shows you a little about the message that Chris Duffy is trying to send all of us."

"It feels pretty good, I guess," Duffy said. "But it would've been a lot nicer coming in a win."

The Pirates finished the homestand 4-2 after losing two of three to Milwaukee.