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Bill Kostroun, Associated Press New York Yankees' Derek Jeter scores on a single by Jorge Posada as Pirates catcher Ronny Paulino fields the throw yesterday at Yankee Stadium in New York. Click photo for larger image. 
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Game: Pirates (RHP Shawn Chacon 2-0, 3.26) vs. New York Yankees (RHP Tyler Clippard 3-1, 3.60), 1:05 p.m., Yankee Stadium.
NEW YORK -- Roger Clemens got the raves and roars, but it undeniably was the Pirates' defense that defined their 9-3 loss to the New York Yankees yesterday at Yankee Stadium.
Or lack thereof.
"The disappointing part is that we did not play well defensively," manager Jim Tracy said. "We obviously afforded them extra at-bats. You give a club like that more than three outs, and you're putting yourself in harm's way."
Clemens, making his 2007 debut, went six innings in limiting the Pirates to three runs on five hits, while striking out seven. He exited to a thunderous ovation from the capacity crowd of 54,296, as Elton John's "Rocket Man" blared from the speakers.
From the other dugout, the tune was decidedly more downbeat. And that had a lot less to do with missing Clemens' pitches than it did with missed plays, missed catches and ... well, a team that looked like it was missing in action less than 24 hours after competing so fiercely in a 5-4 loss.
"Just one of those days," shortstop Jack Wilson said. "You have days where everything kind of hops in your glove, and you have days where everything keeps kicking off to the side."
For Wilson, this definitely fell into the latter category. He was not charged with an error, but there were four occasions on which he failed to make a play that, when in typical form, he makes.
For catcher Ronny Paulino, it went worse. He was unable to hang onto two throws to home plate and gave up five stolen bases, including two double-steals in the same inning.
And the miscues most assuredly were not limited to those two players.
"We definitely made our pitchers work more than they're supposed to," Paulino said. "To bring our bullpen in early again ... it's not good."
Paul Maholm fell to 2-9, but he might have had his fourth solid start in a row with a little help. He went 5 1/3 innings and gave up five runs, but only three of those were earned, and no more than half of New York's six hits off him were stung.
The negative on his ledger was five walks, two more than any outing all season.
"I wanted to get the team deep into the game and keep us in it," Maholm said. "Unfortunately, there were too many walks, and that kind of cost us."
The Pirates took a 1-0 lead off Clemens on Adam LaRoche's two-out RBI single in the first inning, but the defense hurt them right away.
Johnny Damon singled to start the bottom half, and Derek Jeter doubled him to third. After one out, Alex Rodriguez bounced softly to third. Jose Bautista had a play at home, but he hesitated and threw across to first for the second out, allowing Damon to score.
Jorge Posada's ensuing line drive was over Wilson's head, but it looked within reach. He leaped too late -- "It's not easy read the ball off the backdrop here," Wilson said -- and it went into left field to bring home Jeter.
Jason Bay's throw home was in time to prevent that, but Paulino did not take it cleanly -- a regular occurrence this season -- and was charged with an error.
Next, Robinson Cano's grounder to the left of Wilson went under his glove for another RBI single and a 3-1 lead. It originally was ruled an error.
"Paul could have gotten out of that inning," Tracy said of Maholm. "That number didn't have to be three. It did not. There was a play at home plate, and Jeter should have been out. But we didn't catch the ball. There was another play where we had a shot at a fielder's choice. That didn't happen."
Wilson found some restitution in the fourth by lining a Clemens fastball to the fence in right for a two-run double and a 3-3 tie. And Maholm brightened the picture further by putting up three zeroes.
But New York loaded the bases to start the fifth on a hit and two walks, and Posada's sacrifice fly put the Yankees back ahead, 4-3.
Wilson bobbled a double-play grounder later that inning and got just one out, but it did not cost the Pirates.
The next missed chance did.
Maholm got a quick out to open the sixth, but Tracy lifted him after a walk to Melky Cabrera. John Grabow relieved and, with a hit-and-run on for Damon, Wilson went to cover second. Damon hit a grounder to where Wilson was, and Wilson had to lunge back. He got there in time, but he lost his footing, and the ball skipped off his glove for a single.
It was not an easy play but, again, one Wilson makes when sharp.
After the first of those two double-steals, Jeter walked to load the bases. Bobby Abreu's RBI single and Rodriguez's sacrifice fly made it 6-3.
There was another series of miscues in the seventh, with Tony Armas on the mound.
With a man at second, Cabrera singled to left. Bay missed the cutoff man in his throw toward home. The ball went through to Paulino, anyway, but he missed it and allowed it go to the backstop. Next play, with Cabrera at third, Damon bounced to LaRoche, who had trouble releasing his throw and was late in his try for the out at home.
"We did not play well in the seventh," Tracy said. "Overshot cutoff man, ball went to the screen ... a little late on a throw home ... you're not going to beat this team doing things like that."
Certainly not with a legend on the mound.
Clemens did not have top velocity, hovering around 90 mph, but he leaned hard on a devastating splitter. That included his 108th and final pitch, a swinging strikeout of Ryan Doumit.
"It's just great to be back," Clemens said of his much-hyped return to the Bronx. "Felt like old times."
Yankees manager Joe Torre had hoped for "four or five innings" out of Clemens, but he had an easy enough time with the free-swinging Pirates that he looked as if he could have gone longer than his six.
"He was not as sharp as he's going to be," Torre said.
The Pirates, 2-3 on this trip, dropped to a season-low 10 games under .500 at 26-36.
