The Pirates pounded the ball all over PNC Park again, Nate McLouth plunging one of his in the Allegheny River to put down the Milwaukee Brewers, 9-0, last night.

"More quality at-bats," manager Jim Tracy said. "We had a bunch of them, no question."

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Today

• Game: Pirates (RHP Bryan Bullington 0-1, 15.00) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (RHP Yovani Gallardo 7-4, 4.27), 7:05 p.m., PNC Park.
• TV, radio: FSN Pittsburgh, WPGB-FM (104.7).
• Key matchup: Adam LaRoche has lit up Gallardo this season: In five plate appearances, he has a home run, double, single, walk and two RBIs.
• Of note: The Pirates' 421 hits since Aug. 1, including 15 more last night, are most in Major League Baseball.

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It also goes without question that it was beleaguered Tony Armas who gave those bats a chance.

He turned in by far his finest start of 2007 -- six shutout innings, three hits, no walks and an ultra-efficient 65 pitches -- to set the stage for the offense running up nine runs in the fifth through eighth innings. He would have gone longer, too, had Tracy not lifted him for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the sixth.

"Obviously, that's the best game, in my opinion, that Tony's pitched for us," Tracy said. "He looked really confident. He did what he wanted to out there. They didn't get many good swings off him."

That is saying something, considering Milwaukee has Major League Baseball's most powerful offense and was fresh off slamming six home runs Sunday in Cincinnati.

Brewers manager Ned Yost had no trouble explaining it.

"Their pitcher pitched a damned good game," he said.

The key, according to all concerned, was command. Armas pinpointed his 91-mph fastball and dropped his breaking stuff right into Ronny Paulino's mitt.

"Every pitch," Paulino said, shaking his head. "Against a lineup like that, that's what you have to do."

Armas agreed with Paulino, in more ways than one.

"I might have shaken him off three times," Armas said. "He called a great game, had them guessing all night."

He also credited pitching coach Jim Colborn for two mechanical adjustments in recent weeks: One is a leg kick that turns more toward the shortstop and adds lower-body torque to his pitches. The other is a modified arm slot that hides the ball from hitters an extra split-second.

"That one wasn't easy after doing things differently all my life," Armas said of the arm slot. "But it's worth it."

Sure, it would take about 10 more of those to undo Armas' forgettable season. He entered this one 3-5 with a 6.49 ERA, on pace to average $1 million per victory on his $3 million salary.

At the same time ...

"There's nothing I can do about the past," he said. "It's a good feeling to be finishing like this."

Franquelis Osoria and Romulo Sanchez completed the shutout.

Nothing but zeroes were on the board when Nyjer Morgan led off the Pirates' fifth with a ground-rule double off the left-field line. McLouth took one pitch, then sent a flat changeup from Carlos Villanueva high above the Clemente Wall's seating section, off the upper walkway and into the Allegheny.

It was the 21st ball to reach the river on a bounce, the 1,000th home run of any kind in PNC Park's seven-year history.

"First row or in the river, they all count the same," McLouth said.

The Pirates add two cheapies in the sixth off the Milwaukee bullpen.

With bases loaded and one out, Tracy pulled Armas back from the on-deck circle and sent out Josh Phelps. He bounced to third for what should have been an inning-ending double play, but second baseman Rickie Weeks' low relay ricocheted off first baseman Prince Fielder's glove and up into the seats.

Two runners touched home, and it was 4-0.

Tracy acknowledged it was not an easy call removing Armas, who needed one more out to match his longest outing of the year.

"We took a chance to add on there," Tracy said. "And we took advantage of a mistake."

They kept going: Four more scored in the seventh on RBI hits by Adam LaRoche, Steve Pearce and Paulino, and a sacrifice fly by Jack Wilson. Back-to-back doubles by McLouth and LaRoche brought another run in the eighth.

McLouth and LaRoche each wound up 3 for 5 with two RBIs. Paulino reached base safely all four times up.