Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Freddy Sanchez hits the ground after swinging and missing against Randy Johnson in the first inning yesterday at PNC Park.

Each of Paul Maholm's starts, it seems, can be dissected into small slices, where one pitch here or there accounts for the difference.

Trouble is, the bigger picture keeps repeating like images in an Andy Warhol painting.

Hit after hit.

Run after run.

	Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Reliever Damaso Marte wipes his brow after giving up a walk in the top of the eighth inning against the Diamondbacks Click photo for larger image. Tomorrow Game: Pirates (LHP Zach Duke 1-4, 5.19) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (RHP Adam Wainwright 3-3, 6.34), 8:10 p.m., Busch Stadium. TV, radio: FSN Pittsburgh, WPGB-FM (104.7). Related articles Pirates Notebook: Van Benschoten might have upper hand Smizik: Pirates' foundation of youngsters not so stable Pirates live chat with Dejan Kovacevic, 1 p.m. today

And loss upon loss, more than anyone on the Pirates' staff.

The latest soup can in the row came in the color of a 5-2 loss to Arizona yesterday at PNC Park, one in which Maholm gave up five runs in five innings. He gave up eight hits, too, raising his opponents' batting average to .305 as his record fell to 2-6.

Answers?

None yet.

As manager Jim Tracy put it, "Paul had situations today where he got good counts and had difficulty making the pitch he needed to make to put hitters away. And there were other hitters where he fell behind and couldn't get back into the count."

If that sounds like a no-win situation, that is because it apparently is.

Consider that Maholm was sharp early, as in his previous start. But Carlos Quentin and Chris Snyder chipped singles to left to lead off the third inning. One out later, Stephen Drew tied the score at 1-1 with a sacrifice fly.

And the kicker: Conor Jackson rolled a ball through the right side to put Arizona ahead.

"You look at that ball go through, and ... what are you going to do?" Maholm said with a shrug. "I felt I was making my pitches, but maybe that stayed with me."

Arizona's three-run output the next inning would suggest it did.

Eric Byrnes led off with a double but was caught trying to steal third. That dubious decision should have been a break for Maholm, but Mark Reynolds dropped a single into left.

Next came walks to Scott Hairston and Quentin to load the bases.

Here was another potential break: The next man up was Snyder, Arizona's No. 8 hitter with a .179 average, and his mound opponent, Randy Johnson, was on deck.

Uh-uh.

Maholm's first-pitch fastball to Snyder was drilled into the right-center gap to clear the bases and put the Diamondbacks ahead, 5-1.

"It was the only ball they hit hard," Maholm said. "And it was my fault. It had no sink. It wasn't an aggressive pitch. It was kind of a just-get-ahead pitch."

Tracy lamented it for much the same reason.

"If you're a hitter and you see the two hitters in front of you get walked, I think it's safe to have a relative assumption that he's going to try to get ahead of you," Tracy said. "The fastball, in that case, has to be located. And it was up and over the plate."

Of Maholm's first nine starts, only one -- his complete-game gem April 24 against the Houston Astros -- could be classified as above average. Since that shutout, he has given up 23 runs and 36 hits in 26 innings, and his ERA has soared to 5.82.

"I went through this last year, and I turned it around," Maholm said. "That's what I'm expecting to do now. I'm not worried about the first nine starts."

Tracy expressed similar optimism, but it cannot escape attention that Maholm's numbers are not appreciably better than those of Tony Armas, who was removed from the rotation over the weekend.

Is Maholm staying?

"He has to stay in the rotation right now," Tracy replied, referencing the team already having one vacancy. "This guy did a very solid job in the second half of last season. Just like any other club in baseball, we've got some things going on that we're trying to get straightened out."

Johnson had a typical outing, too: He struck out 10, walked none and limited the Pirates to two runs in pitching into the sixth inning.

"He's no fun for a lefty, I'll tell you that," Adam LaRoche said after striking out twice. "He's 8 feet tall, and he throws you nothing but those sliders."

Johnson has yet to pitch more than seven innings this season, still slowed by offseason back surgery. But he pronounced himself unusually limber after this one.

"I've been physically up and down all year, but I felt pretty good out there," he said.

Arizona manager Bob Melvin lifted Johnson with two outs in the sixth and a 2-0 count on Ronny Paulino. The Pirates were down, 5-2, but two men were aboard and Paulino had nailed the ball his first two times up.

"I was really seeing the ball well," Paulino said.

He apparently saw it well from reliever Tony Pena's hand, too, driving it with authority to center field, but Byrnes tracked it down.

Jonah Bayliss and Damaso Marte each pitched two scoreless innings of relief, but the Pirates' offense went 0 for 10 against the Arizona bullpen.

The only other bright spot: Xavier Nady, on a 9-for-15 tear, twice followed Jose Bautista hits by driving him home, on a double in the first and a single in the sixth.

The Pirates finished their 10-game homestand 4-6.