MILWAUKEE -- When J.J. Hardy made contact in the fifth inning, Tom Gorzelanny never turned his back to see where the ball was headed. It would land just over the left-center-field wall for a two-run homer.

He had turned to watch a two-run homer hit back in the second inning, only to be seen yelling at himself afterward.

Later in the fifth, it was a two-out RBI single that had Gorzelanny hunched over, hands on knees, cap pulled halfway off his head. He had already snapped at himself earlier in the inning after walking the pitcher to lead off the frame.

In a game that the Pirates would eventually drop, 9-1, to the Brewers in front of a sellout crowd at Miller Park on Friday, there was a display of visible frustration from the left-handed starter unlike that shown at any other point in an entirely frustrating season.

For someone like Gorzelanny, who wears his emotions on his sleeve, the aggravation was pouring down in this one.

"I would be wrong to try and guess what's going on in his mind, because nobody can do that," pitching coach Jeff Andrews said. "But just to sit around and watch it, you do have to see that he didn't react well to adversity today."

The results weren't good for Gorzelanny. For the fourth time this season, he wouldn't make it through the fifth -- though only for the first time since May 28.

In fact, Gorzelanny entered the game on as close to a high note as there has been all season. He had averaged six innings per start in June, and his 4.44 ERA during his six June starts was a welcome change from his 8.05 mark in May.

But Friday would be a step back, as he matched his season high in runs allowed with seven earned (eight total) and gave up a season-worst 11 hits.

That step back, Gorzelanny said, was the root of his visible dissatisfaction.

"It would be frustrating for anybody if you're struggling all season and then you begin to make strides," he said. "When you're going in the right direction and you do something like this, it's not something that makes you happy. I can tell you that."

Heading into the fifth, Gorzelanny (6-7) found himself in a battle with Brewers starter Ben Sheets. But Gorzelanny didn't locate a 3-2 fastball to Sheets, and the inning began with a walk.

"It was definitely not what I planned on doing," said Gorzelanny, who entered the fifth inning not having allowed a walk. "I got maybe a little upset and lost focus."

Hardy's home run would soon follow. From there, the inning spiraled out of control.

"You've got to pitch out of it," manager John Russell said. "You're going to have baserunners, but you've got to be able to pitch out of situations. He didn't make the quality pitches that inning."

Three more walks, two base hits, a wild pitch and an errant throw by left fielder Jason Bay plated three more runs and signaled the end of the day for Gorzelanny, with the Pirates trailing, 8-1.

With the loss, Gorzelanny fell to 1-6 with a 9.24 ERA away from PNC Park this year.

"It's about the most frustrated I've seen him," first baseman Adam LaRoche said. "I think everybody noticed it. I'm sure it's one of those things where he's struggling, doesn't know what it is [and] is trying to figure it out. But you've got to somehow find a way to get it done."

The Pirates' road struggles have been just as troublesome, as they are 15-26 outside of Pittsburgh. They had entered the game looking to win three consecutive road games for the first time this season.

The fault can't lie solely on Gorzelanny's shoulders for this one, however. The offense had ample chance to stake Gorzelanny to an early lead, but was unable to take advantage against Sheets (10-2), who came in with the National League's third-lowest ERA.

The positive was that a patient approach at the plate quickly escalated Sheets' pitch count. It stood at 67 through three and ended at 120 when he exited two outs into the sixth. But that would prove of minimal benefit, as the Pirates couldn't capitalize.

In the first six innings alone, the Bucs left a total of 10 runners on base. Eight of those runners were left stranded in scoring position, with four on third and four on second. In the end, Pirates hitters combined to go 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

This inability to find the big hit came as somewhat of an anomaly, considering Pittsburgh entered the day with the Majors' fourth-best mark (.282) when hitting with runners in scoring position.

"We just didn't put the hits together to drive them in," said LaRoche, who ended an inning with runners on second and third twice. "We had some good at-bats. We had some bad at-bats. But [Sheets is] good."

Twice the club was unable to push across a run with a runner on third and one out. Chris Gomez grounded out to third in the fourth, and Xavier Nady popped out to short in the fifth when facing such situations. Nady's two-out RBI double in the third was the team's only hit with a runner in scoring position all afternoon.

"I think offensively, even though we didn't get the big hit there early, we did put [Sheets] in a situation where we could have gotten him out of the game early," Russell said. "We just didn't hold them."