PITSBURGH - Oliver Perez showed signs of 2004 early in Monday's game.

But this is 2005.

After striking out two of the three batters he faced in a perfect first inning, the 23-year-old Pirates left-hander failed to pitch another scoreless inning Monday afternoon. He was pulled in the sixth inning of the Bucs' season-opening 9-2 loss to Milwaukee.

"He didn't have command of his pitches," Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon said. "This was not the Oliver Perez we're going to see later in the year."

Perez worked five innings, then was lifted after allowing a single and a walk to begin the sixth inning. He already had thrown 98 pitches - only 52 for strikes.

"He just wore himself out," McClendon said.

Of the six runs Perez allowed, three reached base on walks, another on a hit batsman. A fifth run scored on a wild pitch.

All six runs were earned, a surprising statistic considering Perez led all National League pitchers with a 2.21 earned run average in 16 home starts last season.

But the young ace was anything but alarmed after the game.

"Walks are part of the game. They happen sometimes," Perez said. "All I can do is go back out and try to do better next time.

"This is only one game. We have 161 of them left."

Shrugging off his rough start is something new for Perez, who had a reputation for having a fragile psyche when the Pirates acquired him from San Diego.

"I'm encouraged by the way he's handling this," McClendon said. "Oliver is a special talent. He has confidence in his abilities now. He knows what he can do out there.

"His slider wasn't biting against right-handers today. That will come and he knows it."

Perez struck out 239 batters last season - only Bob Veale has struck out more in one season in Pirates history - and his 11 strikeouts per nine innings pitched last year led the major leagues.

But shoulder stiffness early in spring training delayed his first official appearance this year until March 11. He threw just 14 innings in Grapefruit League action and fashioned a 5.14 earned run average.

"Right now, I feel pretty good," Perez said. "When you're trying to do your best and you walk people, you get a little confused. … But when a walk happens, I focus on the next guy and try to get a ground ball.

"A good inning, a bad inning, either way, you forget about it and keep looking forward."

The Pirates had a PNC Park Opening Day record crowd of 38,016 Monday. It marked the ninth largest crowd in the five-year history of the park.

"Opening Day, the fans are happy, everybody's happy," Perez said. "You want to do well for them. It doesn't always go your way. That's baseball."

Notes:

A.T. "Blue" Marucci threw out the ceremonial first pitch. The Brownsville native enlisted in the Army in 1944 and was sent overseas to fight in World War II. …Members of the 1st Battalion, 107th Field Artillery, 28th Infantry Division of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, a unit that recently returned home from Iraq, surrounded the infield during pre-game ceremonies. The three members of that unit who were killed in Iraq - including Carl Curran of East Brady - were recognized. … Pirates outfielder Jason Bay was presented a Players Choice Award for being named the National League's top rookie in 2004 by his peers. On Bay's behalf, the Players Trust contributed $20,000 to the Ronald McDonald House in Pittsburgh.