Todd Bennett, Associated Press Freddy Sanchez misses the late throw as the Braves' Edgar Renteria steals second in the third inning yesterday in Atlanta.

By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ATLANTA -- This is all anyone needs to absorb about the abysmal state of the Pirates' bats after they were swept by the Atlanta Braves with a 5-1 silencing yesterday at Turner Field ...

There were two outs in the fifth inning, the score tied, when Jose Castillo hit a two-out triple. Up came Jack Wilson, the Pirates' No. 8 hitter, with the pitcher on deck.

Surely, Wilson would be intentionally walked.

At the very least, he would be pitched carefully.

Or, maybe not.

Bobby Cox, one of the game's great managers, went another way: Even though his man on the mound was Buddy Carlyle, a 30-year-old journeyman making his 16th start in Major League Baseball, even though he could have pitched to .156-hitting Paul Maholm, he decided to go right at Wilson.

	Today Game: Pirates (RHP John Van Benschoten 0-3, 5.79) vs. Colorado Rockies (RHP Taylor Buchholz 4-3, 4.65), 7:05 p.m., PNC Park. TV, radio: FSN Pittsburgh, WPGB-FM (104.7). Key matchup: Jason Bay vs. all Colorado pitchers. He has a 14-game hitting streak against the Rockies, a span in which he is batting .500 - 23 for 46 - with three home runs. Of note: The Rockies, who just lost two of three in Milwaukee, are led by Matt Holliday, who ranks first in the National League in hits (124), multiple-hit games (36) and total bases (210). Related articles Pirates Notebook: Bautista's gash lands him on DL Smizik: Pirates are neither buyers nor sellers What does the second half hold for the Pirates? Join a chat with the PG's Dejan Kovacevic

"I was a little surprised," Wilson recalled, "when I saw their catcher go into the crouch."

Soon came three more surprises:

Fastball, called strike.

Fastball, fouled off.

Fastball, swing and a miss.

Carlyle, who has been employed by seven major-league organizations and one in Japan, gave up only Freddy Sanchez's first-inning home run in limiting the Pirates to four hits over eight breezy innings.

He needed just 91 pitches, this despite throwing no more than a handful of breaking pitches for strikes all afternoon.

As Castillo described it while shaking his head, "Fastballs. Nothing but fastballs."

Afterward, Jim Tracy was as visibly displeased as he has been at any point since becoming the Pirates' manager, and all of it was aimed at the offense.

"We did nothing," he said, biting off that last word. "And, when you get right down to it, with the exception of one pinch-hit at-bat, we did very little offensively all weekend."

That reference was to Ryan Doumit's three-run home run Saturday. That marked one of three innings out of the 27 in this three-game series in which the Pirates produced a run. They were outscored, 19-6.

Some way to start the second half.

"When you can't score runs, you don't afford yourself much of a chance to win," Tracy continued. "We got four hits today, and our pitcher got one of them. There's nothing you can do with that."

He was asked if the offensive momentum from that 9-4 run into the All-Star break was lost.

"We were swinging the bats a lot better, no question. Now, we're searching again. It just wasn't there. All weekend. Period."

Well, there was one thing: Sanchez's home run gave the Pirates their only lead of the series, even if it lasted only half an inning. Maholm's two-out wild pitch in the bottom of the first allowed Yunel Escobar to trot home from third.

Some might have scored it a passed ball on Doumit, but the fastball was intended to go inside and went up and away.

"I threw a bad pitch, unfortunately," Maholm said.

Carlyle put down a dozen consecutive Pirates until Castillo's triple in the fifth, and it might have been that streak that convinced Cox to let him pitch to Wilson.

Whatever it was, from the sound of it, it was not disrespect for the Pirates' shortstop, .256 batting average or not.

"I was debating whether to pitch to Wilson, whom I like a lot, or to their pitcher," Cox explained. "It's a big plus if you can get their pitcher to lead off the next inning. I don't always do it. But, with the way Buddy was pitching, why not?"

"Personally, I like to do that," Carlyle said. "Obviously, he's a good hitter, but I like to be aggressive and have the pitcher lead off."

Wilson initially thought Carlyle would try slow stuff.

"You're thinking maybe they're trying to let you get yourself out, go after some offspeed pitches," Wilson said. "But he threw three fastballs. I guess maybe they figured I'm struggling and they'd just go right after me. It maybe played with my head a little."

As if by painful symmetry, it was Atlanta's No. 8 hitter, Chris Woodward, who opened the bottom of that inning with a double off Maholm. Carlyle put down a bunt to try to advance him, but Castillo's errant throw allowed Woodward to score. One out later, Edgar Renteria's shot up the middle put the Braves ahead, 3-1.

That pretty much put it out of reach, given Carlyle's prowess.

This story is getting old, the one where the Pirates are dominated by a starter with a dubious pedigree or outrageous ERA. Carlyle's name can now be added to the list that includes Randy Keisler, Kyle Davies, Kameron Loe, Jeff Weaver, Kyle Lohse, Matt Chico and, yes, Kip Wells.

Still, perhaps because of Carlyle's severely limited repertoire, this one seemed to stand out.

"Obviously, we weren't swinging the bats well all weekend," center fielder Nate McLouth said. "But the guy today ... he threw all fastballs. For whatever reason, we just didn't hit them."

Maholm, who pitched even better than his line of two earned runs and six innings would indicate, dropped to 5-12 to match Wells for most losses in the majors.