SEATTLE -- Perhaps there actually was one way John Van Benschoten could have made more of a difference in the Pirates' 3-0 loss to the Seattle Mariners last night at Safeco Field.

	Elaine Thompson, Associated Press Seattle starter Felix Hernandez reacts to striking out the Pirates' Adam LaRoche for the third out in the eighth inning last night. Click photo for larger image. TODAY: Game: Pirates (LHP Zach Duke 3-6, 5.68) vs. Los Angeles Angels (LHP Joe Saunders 3-0, 2.22), 10:05 p.m., Angel Stadium of Anaheim. TV, radio: FSN Pittsburgh, WPGB-FM (104.7). Key matchup: The Pirates vs. Saunders, who will be promoted today from Class AAA Salt Lake because of a back injury to scheduled starter Jered Weaver. While in the majors, Saunders has walked 12 batters in 24 innings and quickly run up high pitch counts. Of note: The Pirates are 15-9 in series openers, including 13-4 in the past 17. More Coverage: Pirates Notebook: Torres' delay might push him beyond break Pirates Q&A with Dejan Kovacevic

No, not by pitching better.

Van Benschoten, some might recall, was one of the NCAA's most feared sluggers while at Kent State University. And, even with a half-decade of inactivity and a long-ailing left shoulder, he surely could not have fared much worse than anyone else did against Felix Hernandez in this one.

Right?

Hard to tell.

Hernandez, the Mariners' 22-year-old right-hander with the riveting stuff, had his way with nearly everyone he faced: He held the Pirates to six hits -- all but one of those a single -- while striking out nine and walking one in his eight innings.

"He was really good," center fielder Nate McLouth said. "He had four quality pitches, and he had all of them going."

"Another tough one," first baseman Adam LaRoche said.

At the same time ...

"You know what?" LaRoche continued. "We're facing some pretty good pitchers, but we're also making them look better than they are."

Manager Jim Tracy seemed to see it the same way, especially 24 hours after seeing his team blanked by Jeff Weaver and that 10.97 ERA. It marked the first time the Pirates were shut out in back-to-back games since May 4-5, 2006, and it was the eighth time they have been shut out this season.

"Very similar," Tracy said, comparing it to the showing against Weaver. "If you don't score, you don't have a chance to win."

He, too, credited Hernandez, though.

"Felix pitched great. He had 96 mph on his fastball all night, a great breaking ball, and he put down the only two opportunities we had."

The Pirates stranded men at second base in the third and fourth innings, then left the bases loaded in the fifth when McLouth watched Hernandez's 97-mph fastball cross the inside corner.

"If we do something there ... who knows what happens?" Tracy said.

Again, hard to tell.

Van Benschoten matched Hernandez zero for zero through four innings, but a three-run fifth ended his evening.

Richie Sexson walked on four pitches and, one out later, Yuniesky Betancourt singled. Ichiro Suzuki was next, and he worked a masterful 11-pitch at-bat, fouling off seven 2-1 pitches before lining an RBI single.

Jose Lopez did not wait at all in drilling Van Benschoten's next pitch to the left-field corner for a two-run double and a 3-0 Seattle lead.

"I thought John did fine," Tracy said. "Pitching was not our problem."

The Pirates' hitters did try something different this time, anyway: They showed patience.

But even that backfired.

Twenty-three of the 31 batters who faced Hernandez took the first pitch they saw. Trouble is, 11 of those pitches were called a strike, and digging a hole is no help to a team that struggles offensively in the most ideal counts.

"When you're going against someone like that, the last thing you want to do is get behind," McLouth said. "He put everything over the plate."

Lowlight of the evening was Ryan Doumit striking out all four times up.

The only highlight was another strong relief showing from Masumi Kuwata, who pitched scoreless sixth and seventh innings while striking out four. The latter included his whiffing of another Japanese star, Suzuki, who offered a rare clumsy swing at an outside curveball.

"Very lucky," Kuwata said.

Not exactly.

Kuwata again dazzled by throwing all four varieties of his pitches with precision, recording 21 strikes on his 26 offerings. And more than one of his 68-mph curveballs had the 22,950 in attendance gasping.

"I'm not perfect," Kuwata said. "Even Greg Maddux gives up hits, but my feeling is that my location can be better."

Tracy was not buying that.

"You know those five balls he threw? I'll bet they were on purpose."

The Pirates have lost two of the first three on this 6,387-mile journey, with the most challenging stop next: The Los Angeles Angels are 46-27, second-best record in Major League Baseball.