Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Starter Tony Armas is comforted by Ian Snell after throwing 40 pitches in the first inning against the Marlins last night at PNC Park. Click photo for larger image. Today Game: Pirates (RHP Ian Snell 3-2, 2.38) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (LHP Doug Davis 2-4, 2.72), 7:05 p.m., PNC Park. TV, radio: FSN Pittsburgh, WPGB-FM (104.7). Key matchup: Davis is known as a strikeout pitcher, but he has trouble getting the ball past Freddy Sanchez, who is 11 for 26 against him, a .423 average, with a home run and three doubles. Of note: Arizona took two of three in Colorado to move two games above .500, but expectations are much higher for a team with a staff ERA of 3.67 that ranks fourth in the National League. The problem: The team batting average is .242 and highlighted by an overachieving Eric Byrnes, batting .296 and in the cleanup spot. Related articles Pirates Notebook: A return for Craig Wilson? Pirates Q&A with Dejan Kovacevic

Out went Tony Armas.

In came Shawn Chacon.

That exchange was the turning point of the Pirates' 7-2 flip-flopping of the Florida Marlins last night at PNC Park, as Armas' early mess was erased by Chacon's five scoreless innings.

And that exchange, more pivotal by far, almost certainly will be the same one manager Jim Tracy makes today when he announces the future of his starting rotation.

Tracy stopped just short of declaring it last night, but he left little to the imagination.

Asked about Armas' status, Tracy replied, "I think we're better served to talk about that tomorrow. Let's enjoy this one."

Armas, 0-3 with a National League-high 8.46 ERA, had nothing to enjoy once again: He needed 77 pitches to last three innings, including an eye-popping 40 in the first. He somehow wriggled away with a line of two runs despite three hits, two walks and a hit batsman.

Out of all those pitches, he got four swings and misses, half of those by his mound opponent, Ricky Nolasco.

Tracy did not elaborate on Armas' performance, and Armas did not speak to reporters. But catcher Ronny Paulino offered this: "He started out OK, but he lost his breaking ball early on and ... I don't know what happened after that."

Once Armas was out, just about everything that happened for the Pirates was positive.

Chacon entered in the fourth with Florida leading, 2-1, and limited the Marlins to two hits and a walk to give his offense a chance to leapfrog ahead by five runs. He also overcame two errors by his defense that put Florida runners on base.

"Shawn Chacon was terrific," Tracy said. "He located extremely well. His pitches had life, great life down in the zone. Late movement, too. Just five great innings."

"Very aggressive," Paulino said.

Management has weighed promoting one of the two hot hands at Class AAA Indianapolis, John Van Benschoten or Bryan Bullington, to replace Armas. But Van Benschoten had his first erratic outing last night -- four runs in as many innings -- in Indianapolis' 4-2 loss at Syracuse, and Bullington has struggled in his past two starts.

	Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Freddy Sanchez is checked out by trainer Brad Henderson after being hit by a throw from the Marlins' catcher on an attempted pickoff at second base. Click photo for larger image.

Still, neither of those factors is the one that has made Chacon stand out as the clear choice. Rather, it is that he has a 2.84 ERA in 15 appearances of long relief and, probably most important, 115 career starts in Major League Baseball.

"If we get to that point where we're having that discussion," Tracy said before the game of the chance that Chacon could start again, "we know he's someone who's capable."

Chacon insisted he did not feel he was auditioning when he took the mound -- "I don't have any idea what management's going to do, and I don't think about it," he said -- but he also acknowledged that it was well known Armas had to pitch well to stay in the rotation. Tracy made that public Sunday.

"It's no secret Tony's been struggling, and I feel for him," Chacon said. "But I think we also understand that that spot in the rotation is important to this team."

Behind Chacon, three RBIs from Paulino and plenty of help from Florida's dismal defense, the Pirates salvaged a split of this four-game series.

Trailing, 2-1, entering the fourth, Adam LaRoche walked, and Jason Bay reached when third baseman Miguel Cabrera -- for the second time in as many at-bats for Bay -- failed to handle his routine grounder.

Ryan Doumit walked to load the bases, and Paulino blooped a 1-0 Nolasco fastball into right field for two runs.

Paulino, his average creeping up to .227, has appeared more patient at the plate of late. That has shown in his reaching base safely eight times in his past 15 plate appearances, including four walks.

"He threw me a breaking pitch first, and I just waited until I could get a pitch to hit," Paulino said.

Jose Castillo's sacrifice fly brought another run, and Florida shortstop Hanley Ramirez's two errors committed on a Chacon single -- fielding and throwing -- set up a Chris Duffy sacrifice fly for a 5-2 lead.

Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Reliever Shawn Chacon talks with catcher Ronny Paulino at the start of the fourth inning last night. Click photo for larger image.

The Marlins would finish with five errors, tying a franchise high.

"We just kicked it around," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "You can't do that. Keep putting people on base, and something bad is going to happen."

The Pirates added two runs off Wes Obermueller in the seventh on Freddy Sanchez's RBI double off the left-field fence and Bay's sacrifice fly.

The four sacrifice flies matched a team record, set Sept. 9, 1988.

Two downers on the night:

One, Sanchez and shortstop Jack Wilson each absorbed minor injuries. Sanchez was struck on the left elbow by an errant throw on the basepaths in the seventh inning, and Wilson hurt his right shoulder making an exceptional catch of a popup in the eighth. Sanchez stayed in the game, but Don Kelly replaced Wilson for the ninth. Tracy said more would be known about each today.

The other: The crowd of 9,582 that endured brisk temperatures left the series total at 50,395, smallest for any four-game set at PNC Park in four years.