Too slowly, according to manager John Russell.

quot;His tempo was a little too slow,quot; Russell said. quot;He wasn't getting into any kind of rhythm. He wants to locate (pitches), and ... sometimes, he starts to over-think a little bit.quot;

Ohlendorf eventually picked up his pace and started mowing down the Padres, helping the Pirates cruise to an 8-3 victory.

Adrian Gonzalez took advantage of Ohlendorf's slow-mo tempo in the first inning, slamming a two-run homer to center field. The ball traveled 458 feet ? the deepest shot at Petco Park.

When Ohlendorf returned to the dugout after the inning, pitching coach Joe Kerrigan told Ohlendorf to speed up.

quot;The less I think in between pitches, the better I do,quot; Ohlendorf said.

Perhaps, but why not put that Ivy League education to good use?

quot;Yeah ... I don't know,quot; Ohlendorf said, smiling. quot;It's really pretty simple, choosing pitches. You can never complicate it.quot;

After Gonzalez's homer, Ohlendorf didn't give up another hit until Drew Macias doubled to begin the fifth. Macias stumbled going around second base and was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple.

Gonzalez singled with one out in the sixth, but Chase Headley followed by grounding into a double play. Fifteen of the 21 outs Ohlendorf got came on ground balls.

Ohlendorf (2-2) allowed three runs on five hits, walked three and struck out two. He left the game after serving up Edgar Gonzalez's solo, pinch-hit homer to start the eighth.

The Pirates' starting rotation leads the majors with 12 quality starts. Including the bullpen, the team has a 2.97 ERA.

While Ohlendorf was rolling along, the Pirates' offense also played well.

Robinzon Diaz's two-run, two-out single tied the game, 2-2, in the fourth.

In the fifth, Adam LaRoche broke the tie ? and snapped a personal 0 for 8 skid at the plate ? with a three-run homer.

Nyjer Morgan led off with a single, and Ramon Vazquez walked. Then, with one out, LaRoche ripped the first pitch from Jake Peavy into the right-field seats.

Peavy (2-3) went five innings and allowed five runs on six hits. He struck out six, but he also walked four.

quot;I've never seen Peavy pitch like that,quot; LaRoche said. quot;I've faced him a ton, and I've never seen him pick and nibble at the corners the way he did.

quot;When I've seen him really dominate, he's pitching off the fastball. For some reason today, he went to the slider a lot and fell behind quite a bitquot;

It was LaRoche's second homer in 11 career at-bats against Peavy.

quot;I see him pretty good,quot; LaRoche said. quot;For a guy who can be as dominant as he is, I do OK off him. He's not a comfortable at-bat when he doesn't have his best stuff.quot;

LaRoche also hit a solo shot in the ninth off righty Luis Perdomo. It was LaRoche's 10th double-homer game, and it made him the first visiting player to have a pair of multi-homer games at Petco Park.

The Pirates (11-7) have won five of their past six games. It's the latest in a season that they are four games over .500 since they were 14-10 on April 30, 2002.

How they scored

Padres first inning (Ross Ohlendorf pitching): With two outs, Brian Giles singled to right field. Adrian Gonzalez hit a two-run home run (No. 7) to center on a 2-1 pitch. Padres 2, Pirates 0

Pirates fourth (Jake Peavy pitching): Brandon Moss singled to center. Adam LaRoche walked, Moss to second. Wild pitch, Moss to second, LaRoche to third. With two outs, Robinzon Diaz singled to right, Moss and LaRoche scored. Pirates 2, Padres 2

Pirates fifth: Nyjer Morgan singled to center. Ramon Vazquez walked, Morgan to second. With one out, Adam LaRoche hit a three-run homer (No. 4) to right on the first pitch. Pirates 5, Padres 2

Pirates eighth (Cla Meredith pitching): Eric Hinske singled to second base. Andy LaRoche singled to shallow right-center, Hinske to second. Diaz bunted out to pitcher, sacrifice, Hinske to third, Andy LaRoche to second. Brian Bixler doubled to right, Hinske and Andy LaRoche scored. Pirates 7, Padres 2

Padres eighth: Edgar Gonzalez (pinch-hitting for Meredith) hit a solo homer to left on the first pitch. Pirates 7, Padres 3

Pirates ninth (Luis Perdomo pitching): With one out, Adam LaRoche hit a solo homer (No. 5) to right on a 2-2 pitch. Pirates 8, Padres 3