J. Pat Carter, Associated Press photos Starter Paul Maholm gave up two runs and three hits in 7 2/3 innings last night against the Marlins in Miami.

By Dejan Kovacevic
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette MIAMI -- Paul Maholm and the rest of the Pirates have this much in common: If they project their respective numbers over the full season, they could drive themselves into despair.

Take Maholm's 4-10 record as the All-Star break approaches.

Looks like 20 losses.

	Jack Wilson celebrates his fourth-inning home run against the Marlins last night in Miami. Click photo for larger image. More Coverage: Pirates Notebook: Snell says he is no 'hero' for remarks Bob Smizik: Major changes needed to rid Pirates of losing ways Pirates Q&A with Dejan Kovacevic Today: Game: Pirates (RHP John Van Benschoten 0-2, 4.22) vs. Florida Marlins (RHP Sergio Mitre 2-3, 2.34), 7:05 p.m., Dolphin Stadium. TV, radio: FSN Pittsburgh, WPGB-FM (104.7). Key matchup: Pirates vs. Mitre's sinker. He got 19 groundouts in holding them to two earned runs over 7 2/3 innings May 15 at PNC Park, a 9-3 Florida rout. Of note: In the 10 2/3 innings Van Benschoten has pitched since his promotion from Class AAA Indianapolis, the Pirates have scored one run.

Take the Pirates' 32-44 record.

Looks like a 15th consecutive losing season, and a lousy one at that.

But set those ominous outlooks off to the side, even for a little while, and the result can be as thoroughly encouraging as Maholm's 7 2/3 exemplary innings in his team's 3-2 edging of Florida last night at Dolphin Stadium: He limited the Marlins to two runs and three hits, retired 15 in a row at one point and had five 1-2-3 innings.

"Believe me, that record does bother me," Maholm said afterward. "But, the way I see it, every player in here just needs to worry about winning each game and not trying to do too much."

That is something several players said happened far too often in the season-high five-game losing streak that preceded this.

"When we were in Seattle and Anaheim, you could see two teams that did every little thing perfectly, and it all came together for them," Maholm continued. "With us, we just need to focus on one batter, one out at a time. That's what I did tonight. I got off to a rough start, made a couple mistakes and just made up my mind that was going to be it."

That was pretty much it, too.

Brett Carroll led off the game with a single, and Dan Uggla drew a rather wild seven-pitch walk right after him. But, remarkably, only one of Maholm's next 24 batters would reach base, that coming on Uggla's home run in the third.

And this against a lineup that included the three players -- Miguel Cabrera, Hanley Ramirez and Miguel Olivo -- with the National League's three highest batting averages against left-handers.

"It was a brilliant pitching performance by Paul Maholm," Pirates manager Jim Tracy said. "With the exception of the second hitter of the game, where his command was off, that's the one hitter where it wavered. From that point on, he threw his sinker, his breaking ball, his fastball, all for strikes. It was brilliant. And it was somewhat reminiscent of the shutout he pitched against the Houston Astros."

That three-hit, complete-game gem came April 24 at PNC Park. But, according to Maholm and catcher Ronny Paulino, this was an upgrade.

"I say it was," Paulino said. "He left one pitch up all night, and that was the home run. He put every pitch where he wanted, and he mixed his pitches a lot early in counts. Hitters never knew what was coming first."

"I would say so," Maholm said. "They're an aggressive team that likes to swing the bats, so I thought it was important to get ahead of them early in counts, and I was able to do that."

The Marlins, who strike out more than any team in Major League Baseball, sent 27 batters to face Maholm, fanned five times and got a first-pitch strike 15 times.

They were impressed, too.

"That guy's pretty good, huh?" Florida pitcher Scott Olsen said. "That 3-10 record was a little deceiving."

In more ways than one.

Maholm was 1-4 in his previous six starts but, by most reasonable measures, had pitched better than that in that span. Although his record remains one of the worst in the league, his ERA has dropped in the past month by a full run from 5.82 to 4.80.

"He's had some tough luck," Tracy said. "He's getting better."

Florida ended up with only Cabrera's sacrifice fly in that first inning, and the Pirates answered with two runs in the second off Dontrelle Willis. Bases were loaded with nobody out, and Wilson dropped a single into shallow center for one. One out later, Rajai Davis hit a sacrifice fly.

Marlins starter Dontrelle Willis pitches in the fourth inning against the Pirates last night in Miami. Willis suffered his fifth straight loss, the longest of his career, as the Pirates won, 3-2. Click photo for larger image.

Uggla's 443-foot home run inside the left foul pole tied the score at 2-2 in the third, but Wilson hit one the next inning over the same fence -- though not nearly as far -- to make what ultimately was the difference.

His fourth home run came off a 1-0 Willis changeup.

"His first pitch was pretty nasty, so I cheated a little and got ahead," Wilson said.

Maholm's streak of retiring 15 batters ended with his last on Jason Wood's two-out single in the eighth. But Chacon put down Alfredo Amezaga to end that inning, and closer Matt Capps had a 1-2-3 ninth for his sixth save.

The latter included a golden 95-mph sinker that froze Ramirez for the second out.

"It was my sinker grip, anyway," Capps said with a smile. "I don't know what happened to it after that."

Smiles were in abundance, and music blared in the Pirates' clubhouse for the first time since opening this nine-game road trip with a victory in Seattle.

"These are the types of games you need," Chacon said. "We knew what Paul was going to give us right from the start, and everybody else just went out and did their jobs, from the pitchers to some big hits to Rajai making a couple of good running catches in the outfield. That's what we need to worry about, just doing our jobs."