PITTSBURGH - The result was the same. Only the explanation was different.

Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Ryan Vogelsong. for the ninth consecutive start. failed to record his second win of the season Tuesday night. His two innings marked a season-low and Vogelsong's numbers over his last three starts total 11 innings pitched, 16 hits, 18 earned runs, nine strikeouts and 10 walks.

"I don't have any answers right now," Vogelsong said. "I watched the videotape tonight and I was making good pitches. They had a couple of broken-bat hits. Everything they're hitting is finding a hole."

Manager Lloyd McClendon's assessment was a little different.

"His command was bad," McClendon said. "He hit a guy (Scott Rolen) in the head. He kept leaving the ball up in the zone. It wasn't a good outing at all.

"I'm sure a lot of things are going through the young man's mind right now. From a physical standpoint, he's just not making good pitches. It's that simple. Ryan's not pounding the ball down in the zone. He's falling behind in the count and he's getting hurt because of it."

Vogelsong threw only 33 pitches - 21 strikes and 12 balls - before being removed for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the second inning of the 8-1 loss to St. Louis.

He hit Rolen in the helmet with a pitch in the first inning, loading the bases and setting up a three-run Cardinals first inning. Vogelsong has allowed 20 runs in the first inning this season - opponents are hitting .450 against him in the opening frame - and 24 runs afterward.

"I wasn't rattled after I hit Rolen," Vogelsong insisted. "He knew it wasn't intentional. I talked to him afterward. I was trying to bust a fastball in there to get a double play."

What he got was another early exit.

Vogelsong has lasted past the fifth inning only three times all season. His record fell to 1-5 and his earned run average has ballooned to just nearly 8.00.

But Vogelsong will take the mound for his next scheduled start.

"My job is not to beat the players down," McClendon said. "My job is to encourage them and try to make them better. I'm supporting these guys, I just don't want to hear any excuses."

McClendon wouldn't rule out moving Vogelsong into the bullpen "if that will help him get on track. That's always a possibility, but we haven't talked about that yet. As of right now, he'll be back out there (on the mound) in five days."

"That helps a lot," Vogelsong said of the vote of confidence. "But I still have to go out there and get outs. For some reason, right now, it's not happening."

Vogelsong was the Pirates' best pitcher in spring training. He was among the most productive in all of baseball during Grapefruit League play. He followed that up with a seven-inning, seven-strikeout performance in a 6-2 win over the Phillies to begin the regular season.

Since then, a no-decision in San Francisco - two earned runs in six innings - has been his only quality start.

"It's a puzzling thing," McClendon said. "It really is."