MIAMI -- This is not, to be quite sure, the Ross Ohlendorf the Pirates acquired last summer, the one who routinely rushed his fastball to home plate at 97 mph, even higher, and came with the promise of becoming the franchise's first power-type starting pitcher in many a moon.

This Ohlendorf?

Time will tell how he develops, but the radar gun did not lie during a painfully flat 5-0 loss to the Florida Marlins yesterday at Land Shark Stadium: 88, 89, no higher than 91 mph.

The line did not lie, either, with Ohlendorf charged with five runs in as many innings, on nine hits and a walk.

Neither did this figure: Of Ohlendorf's 87 pitches, only five drew swings and misses.

What has happened?

"Well, I don't know that version of Ross that was throwing 95 and higher because I've never seen that guy," first-year pitching coach Joe Kerrigan said afterward. "This is the only way I've seen him pitch, and I think he's pitching very well this season."

Few would dispute that, given that Ohlendorf, 26, is in his first full season of Major League Baseball. He is 7-7 with a 4.63 ERA, and 10 of his 18 starts have been quality, including the two that preceded this one.

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Today

• Game: Pirates vs. Houston Astros, 8:05 p.m., Minute Maid Park.

• TV, radio: FSN Pittsburgh, WPGB-FM (104.7).

• Pitching: RHP Virgil Vasquez (1-1, 3.75) vs. LHP Mike Hampton (4-5, 4.44).

• Season series: Astros, 6-3.

• Key matchup: What else? Hampton is 3-0 with a 0.90 ERA against the Pirates, 1-5 against everyone else. Someone needs to find a way to hit his sinkers into the air.

• Of note: The Astros had been enjoying their annual summer surge with a 19-11 roll, but they just lost two of three in San Francisco and were outscored by the Giants, 23-7.

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But few also would dispute that he is far different than the flamethrower who came from the New York Yankees in the Xavier Nady/Damaso Marte trade.

One explanation is simple: The Yankees had him in the bullpen, for the most part, and a reliever invariably throws harder in short bursts than a starter.

The other reason is more complex.

When the Pirates got Ohlendorf, they immediately assigned him to Class AAA Indianapolis, where they stressed throwing more of his sinker because they liked his ability to get groundouts with it.

"I always had a sinker," Ohlendorf said yesterday, "but I never used it as much as when I got to Indianapolis."

Improvement in Ohlendorf's overall repertoire was gradual, but the drop in velocity was not: He went from throwing 95 mph in his first two Indianapolis starts to 90 mph by the time he joined the Pirates as a September callup. At the time, he and the staff attributed that to fatigue from moving into a starting role, but it has yet to return.

General manager Neal Huntington's view is that the sinker -- or two-seam fastball -- sometimes strips the life from the regular -- or four-seam -- fastball, simply because the pitcher loses some edge to get that sink. The arm, essentially, forgets how to throw hard.

"You'd still love to have the pitcher be able to fall back when things are tough and find the upper 90s, and we hope that eventually happens again with Ross, but we understand this does happen," Huntington said. "Overall, we feel we've got a more complete pitcher."

Kerrigan backed that.

"Honestly, I don't pay much attention to radar guns," he said. "The batter's swing tells me all I need to know."

Ohlendorf, too, dismissed any concern.

"I've heard that, about the sinker's effect, but I still feel like I can get my fastball when I need it," he said. "And I do feel like I've become a more complete pitcher."

Consistency, as he acknowledged, is another matter. His previous time out, he pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out eight in beating the Chicago Cubs, 3-0. Yesterday, he was behind, 5-0, after four innings, eight hits, a walk and a hit batsman.

"I just didn't locate my pitches," Ohlendorf said. "There's nothing else really to point to."

He was asked what it will take to find more consistency.

"I wish I knew. I'm still kind of looking for that. But I do think it will come."

At the plate, the Pirates performed abysmally: They struck out 13 times, 12 by Florida starter Ricky Nolasco during his eight scoreless, sweat-free innings. They mustered three singles and three walks, and two of those singles, each by Andrew McCutchen, did not leave the infield.

Nolasco is 6-6 with a 5.42 ERA and had not struck out more than nine all season. He also had been demoted to the minors, recalled in early June.

Best pitch?

"My slider was really sharp, and most of them were swinging over the top of it," Nolasco said.

"He kept it down and had us reaching a lot," Pirates manager John Russell said.

"He did a good job against us, I guess," right fielder Brandon Moss said. "You just tip your cap."

It was the Pirates' second-highest strikeout total of the season. The only figure higher, 14, came in the 15-inning loss June 8 in Atlanta.

It was also the seventh time they were shut out, first since May 23.

The Marlins took two of three, and no one on the visiting side struggled more this weekend than Adam LaRoche: He went 1 for 12 with no RBIs and seven strikeouts.