The Pirates finished the first half of the baseball season with a disheartening, 4-3 defeat against the Tampa Bay Rays yesterday, but all was not lost for the home team at PNC Park. The real Tom Gorzelanny showed up and pitched well. A mysterious imposter in his No. 24 uniform the past three months is one of the prime reasons the team is dragging a miserable 38-43 record into the second half.

"That's what he's capable of doing," Pirates manager John Russell said of Gorzelanny's six solid innings.

"He pitched like his old self," shortstop Jack Wilson chimed in.

"It was a good outing," Gorzelanny said, simply.

There have been too few occasions this season when Gorzelanny, his manager or his teammates have felt good about his work. He might not be the biggest disappointment on a team with Ian Snell (3-7, 5.99 earned-run average), Adam LaRoche (.221 average) and Freddy Sanchez (.233), but he's in the conversation. Seldom has so little been delivered by a guy from whom so much was expected. Gorzelanny was 14-10 last season with a 3.88 ERA. His future looked so very bright. But after his no-decision yesterday, he's 6-6 with a 6.18 ERA this season.

At least this latest Gorzelanny start against the team that woke up this morning in first place in the American League East -- yes, ahead of the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees -- gives the Pirates reason for a bit of hope for the second half. This clearly was his best performance of the season. He struck out eight and walked two after coming into the game with a horrendous 41-to-55 strikeouts-to-walks ratio. He gave up two more long home runs to the Rays' Shawn Riggans and Willy Aybar, bringing his total allowed to 14 in 83 innings after he served up 18 all last season in 201 2/3 innings. But at least both were solo home runs, accounting for the only runs off him. He left with the game tied, 2-2.

"I felt like I went after guys and threw some good pitches," Gorzelanny said.

And those season-high strikeouts?

"It doesn't matter how you get the outs," Gorzelanny said, dismissively. "The strikeouts are a bonus, I guess, but it's about getting outs and keeping the ball down. I was pleased with the way I moved the ball around."

Added Russell, "The strikeouts are nice, but the biggest thing is he was down in the zone. He used both sides of the plate. I thought he pitched inside to the right-handed hitters really well."

The Pirates badly needed this start, just as they badly need the real Gorzelanny in the second half. Their starting rotation was the worst in baseball -- its 5.48 ERA going into yesterday was more than a run worse than the major-league average -- even before injuries put Snell and Phil Dumatrait on the disabled list. To say they were fortunate to split the first two games against the surprisingly good Rays with Jimmy Barthmaier and Ty Taubenheim making their big-league debuts is quite the understatement.

"I think [Gorzalanny] knows he has to be the guy to step up for us," Wilson said.

That seems the least Gorzelanny can do after his rotten first half.

The man has proved he has the talent for his start yesterday to be the standard, not some sort of aberration.

He should be the one guy Russell can count on when he comes to the ballpark, not just another lame pitcher who makes him worry that he's going to have to go to his overtaxed bullpen early again.

Of course, the struggles have been toughest on Gorzelanny, a proud athlete by all accounts. You think you've been frustrated watching him walk batter after batter and giving up home runs? Multiply that angst by 10 and you get the idea how he's been feeling. It hasn't been much fun being him.

"It hasn't been easy for him, but I see him fighting through it," Wilson said. "I tip my hat to him because he's continued to work hard. He's one of those guys who's going to get it back on track."

The shame of it is it took until late-June for it to start to happen.

But maybe, just maybe, it means better things are ahead in July, August and September for Gorzelanny and his team.