Peter Diana, Post-Gazette photos A ball hit by the Rockies' Kazuo Matsui bounces off the glove of Freddy Sanchez last night at PNC Park.

Paul Meyer
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The Pirates last night almost recovered from a terrible performance by starter John Van Benschoten.

Almost.

Colorado scored five runs against Van Benschoten in the first inning and led, 9-1, shortly after he left in the third inning, but had to hold on for a 10-8 win at PNC Park.

	Starter John Van Benschoten sits in the dugout after being pulled by manager Jim Tracy in the third. Click photo for larger image. Today Game: Pirates Rockies (RHP) Josh Fogg, 4-6, 5.36) vs. Pirates (LHP Shane Youman2-0, 3.00), 7:05 p.m., PNC Park. TV, radio: FSN Pittsburgh, WPGB-FM (104.7). Key matchup: Pirates vs. Foo, against whom the opposition is hitting .295. Of note: Fogg, who has yielded 105 hits, including 12 home runs, in 87 1/2 innings, is 3-1 in his past five starts. More coverage: Pirates Notebook: McLouth capitalizes on chances Stats Geek: Clemente, Waner almost an even match Pirates Q&A with Dejan Kovacevic

It was that 10th run that sparked some angry words between Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson and pitching coach Jim Colborn in the dugout after the top of the sixth inning.

"I've got no comment," Wilson said. "Ask him."

"I've got nothing to say about that," Colborn said. "It's not newsworthy."

Well, maybe not. But their exchange was captured by television cameras.

What was newsworthy was this:

Willy Taveras popped a ball into short left-center field against Masumi Kuwata. Wilson almost made an over-the-shoulder catch -- as left fielder Jason Bay and center fielder Nate McLouth each stood about a foot away from him -- but dropped the ball.

That error put Taveras on second base. He went to third on a ground ball and scored on Matt Holliday's sacrifice fly.

Apparently, Colborn didn't approve of Wilson trying to make the catch over his shoulder -- which is the only way he could have made the catch. But where were Bay and McLouth on the play? Why didn't one of them call off Wilson?

Manager Jim Tracy wouldn't discuss the play, either.

"Discussions take place [in the dugout]," Tracy said. "It's that simple."

Another aspect of the game that wasn't difficult to decipher was Van Benschoten's poor start.

He faced 17 batters. Eleven reached base.

"Not one break, not one swing, not one pitch went my way," Van Benschoten said. "That's the game. It happens. I'll wake up [today]."

Van Benschoten in six starts has pitched as many as six innings only once. In three starts, he has pitched four innings or less -- including last night's two-inning-plus cameo.

Van Benschoten pretty much ensured his time on the mound would be short by laboring through a 33-pitch first inning.

He set the tone with his first pitch of what became an extremely short stint for him.

He hit Taveras with that first pitch. Taveras stole second and moved to third on Kazuo Matsui's bouncer to first.

Holliday, who entered the game as the league's leading hitter (.339), lined a hit into left field, giving Colorado a 1-0 lead. He easily made that a double against a weak throw toward second by Bay.

Van Benschoten jumped ahead of Todd Helton 0-2, then walked him.

Garrett Atkins' infield hit to the left of the mound loaded the bases.

Brad Hawpe walked on a 3-2 pitch, forcing in a second run.

Van Benschoten got ahead of Troy Tulowitzki 0-2, then yielded a two-run single to right on the next pitch.

Yorvit Torrealba's slow bouncer to third got the fifth run home.

The Rockies added a run in the second inning when Taveras singled, stole second, moved to third on a ground ball and scored on Holliday's sacrifice fly.

Van Benschoten's pitch count was up to 49 after two innings.

He threw only 13 more pitches.

Hawpe lined one of those to right for a leadoff single in the third inning. Another, a 2-2 pitch, hit Tulowitzki. Torrealba lined Van Benschoten's last pitch into left-center field for a run-scoring double.

It all amounted to a miserable evening for Van Benschoten, who allowed six hits, two walks and nine runs and struck out none.

"He needs to get the ball in the strike zone on a regular basis," Tracy said. "That's the point. The stuff is there, but he's got to get it in the strike zone."

Van Benschoten picked a bad night to have another lousy start because Colorado starter Taylor Buchholz was pretty crummy, too.

He left after the fourth inning, having allowed nine hits and six runs (four earned).

The Pirates scored a run in the first inning on a leadoff double by McLouth and Ryan Doumit's two-out single.

But they really pepped up a dormant offense by scoring a total of seven runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings.

Singles by Freddy Sanchez and Adam LaRoche opened the third inning. Doumit, Bay and Wilson had run-scoring singles thereafter.

McLouth reached on an error in the fourth inning and moved to third on Sanchez's double to left. Sacrifice flies by LaRoche and Xavier Nady got the runners home.

In the fifth, a walk to Bay and Wilson's single placed runners on first and second with one out. Pinch-hitter Matt Kata singled in Bay and sent Wilson to third. Wilson scored on McLouth's sacrifice bunt, bringing the Pirates to within 9-8.

The Pirates had the go-ahead run at the plate in the sixth and seventh innings.

With runners on first and second and one out in the sixth, Bay bounced into a double play. In the seventh, Sanchez looked at a third strike with runners on first and second and two outs.