The Pirates might have stabilized their fifth starting spot last night, but they still have some work to do with their bullpen refinishing project.

John Van Benschoten, in his first start since being called up from Class AAA Indianapolis, gave the Pirates a plenty-good-enough-to-have-won performance.

The offensively challenged Chicago White Sox, however, rendered that meaningless in the short run by scoring four times against the bullpen in the final three innings and beating the Pirates, 6-1, in front of a sellout crowd of 36,610 at PNC Park.

	Today Game: Pirates (Zach Duke 3-6, 5.54) vs. Chicago White Sox (Javier Vazquez 3-5, 4.15), 1:35 p.m., PNC Park. TV, radio: FSN Pittsburgh, WPGB-FM (104.7). Key matchup: White Sox batters vs. Duke, whose .351 batting average against is last among NL pitchers who have pitched at least one inning per team game played. Of note: Vazquez has one victory in his past 10 starts despite having worked at least six innings in each. Related articles Inside the Pirates: And the team's All-Star will be ... Paul Meyer's Power Rankings Pirates Notebook: Wilson remains in starting lineup

Van Benschoten, the Pirates' top draft pick in 2001 out of Kent State, allowed three hits, three walks and two runs and struck out four in 5²/₃ innings.

"I thought he was outstanding," said bench coach Jim Lett, managing in Jim Tracy's stead last night. "He's trying to show he belongs here, and that's what he did.

"He competed really well. He threw quality pitches. Considering he hadn't pitched in a big-league game in three years, he was pretty good."

Van Benschoten, the Pirates' top draft pick in 2001, made his major-league debut Aug. 18, 2004, at Arizona. He pitched in five other games that season before shoulder problems sidelined him.

He missed virtually all the next two seasons because of shoulder surgeries.

The right-hander was 6-4 with a 2.73 earned run average in 12 starts for Class AAA Indianapolis this season.

Any difference between Van Benschoten in 2004 and now?

"Not a lot," Indianapolis manager Trent Jewett said. "Maybe some more maturity. And he's a little more confident in what he does."

"Compared to getting called up in '04, I'm better prepared now," Van Benschoten said. "This year, I've progressed better and better."

The Pirates hope Van Benschoten can become a fixture in their rotation so right-hander Shawn Chacon, one of two former fifth starters, can remain in the bullpen and pitch in the seventh and eighth innings.

"I've only seen him a little bit," Tracy said Friday before leaving for his son's college graduation in California. "I'm as anxious as anybody to see how this turns out. The reports I've read are that he's throwing the ball about as well as [anybody's] seen him throw it.

"Hopefully, he can stabilize the rotation and Shawn Chacon can pitch in the seventh inning, which has been a real trouble spot for us and we can fix a couple of things here."

Consider one of those "couple" well on its way to being fixed.

Van Benschoten zipped through the White Sox in order in the first inning.

"I was nervous for the first batter a little bit," Van Benschoten said. "But I got him out, and it was full go from there."

There was a hiccup in the second.

Van Benschoten walked Jermaine Dye with one out. Alex Cintron lined a 2-0 pitch into right field for a single that sent Dye to third.

Rob Mackowiak hit a hard ground ball to first baseman Adam LaRoche a step from the bag. LaRoche stepped on first for the second out and, with a good low throw to the third-base side of the plate, could have nailed Dye coming from third.

LaRoche's throw sailed high and wide to the backstop side. Dye scored. Moments later, so did Cintron on Josh Fields' double to left with pitcher Mark Buehrle waiting on deck.

Van Benschoten set down the White Sox in order in the third and fourth and shrugged off a leadoff walk to Mackowiak in the fifth inning.

Chicago threatened in the sixth after a leadoff double by Tadahito Iguchi. Van Benschoten got A.J. Pierzynski to pop to second. Paul Konerko bounced to Van Benschoten, who trapped Iguchi between second and third.

The Pirates finally ran down Iguchi, who stayed alive long enough for Konerko to reach second. After Van Benschoten walked Dye on four pitches, Lett waved in left-hander John Grabow, who retired Cintron on a fly to center.

The Pirates, who were 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, scored their run off Buehrle in the second on a double by LaRoche and a single by Ryan Doumit.

They wasted LaRoche's leadoff double in the fourth and Rajai Davis' leadoff single in the fifth.

Buehrle doled out nine hits in his eight innings, but he allowed just one in each of the final six innings he worked -- and yielded half of those six with two outs.

The White Sox, in their second venture over the four-run mark in their past 11 games, put the game away against the Pirates' bullpen.

Fields hit a two-run home run off John Grabow in the seventh, and the White Sox added single runs off Dan Kolb in the eighth and Tony Armas in the ninth.

By then, Van Benschoten had had time to reflect on his return to a major-league mound.

"Healthwise, it's nice to be able to close the door and get here again," he said. "After three years, it was worth the wait."