The blistering didn't lead to a turnaround. Hirsh's four laborious innings, during which he chucked 106 pitches and walked six, greased the Rockies' slide into a 9-2 loss to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium in front of 43,001.

The conversation came during the third inning, when Hirsh (2-3) walked Cards pitcher Adam Wainwright to load the bases with two down. Hirsh responded by forcing an Adam Kennedy fly ball, and followed with a perfect fourth inning.

But overall, Hirsh felt he deserved to have his boss in his face.

"At that point in the game, I was to the point, too, where I was telling myself, 'All right, any day now, you can go ahead and make your pitch,'" Hirsh said. "I can understand his frustrations.

"He's not used to seeing me like that and I'm definitely not used to feeling like that. I can understand he's pretty frustrated with me right now. I know when 'Dac' [pitching coach Bob Apodaca] is not coming out, it's Clint, it's probably pretty serious."

Hirsh left after walking Scott Spiezio to open the fifth. Reliever Alberto Arias promptly gave up a Ryan Ludwick RBI double that broke a 2-2 tie and assured Hirsh, who struck out five and gave up five hits, of the loss.

Hirsh's rough outing, during which he somehow managed to be charged with just three runs, was followed by bad work from the bullpen. It meant the Rockies dropped the final two of three to the Cards and finished a three-city road trip 4-5.

The Rockies head to Coors Field for a 10-game homestand, which starts with two series against the National League West (four games with the Giants, three with the Diamondbacks). Whether the manager does it or each player does it in the mirror, the Rockies feel it's time for each of them to hear a get-in-gear message.

The Rockies' 21 road games are tied with the Phillies for most in baseball. They've gone 8-13, but they haven't fallen far off the place. In fact, they're the closest of baseball's last-place clubs.

Asked if the Rockies feel they can make their move now, first baseman Todd Helton said, "We'd better. We ain't got no choice. We've got to go out and play better baseball and start winning games, it doesn't matter who it's against."

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Despite the final score, Wednesday's game against the defending World Series champion Cards was winnable. Wainwright (3-2) lasted six innings, but was almost as touch-and-go as Hirsh.

Helton in the third inning and Brad Hawpe in the fifth delivered RBI doubles, two of the nine hits against Wainwright.

But Wainwright forced Hirsh to foul out and Steve Finley to ground out after facing runners at second and third with one down in the second inning. Wainwright forced an Omar Quintanilla line drove to end the fifth.

Hirsh, who walked Albert Pujols with the bases loaded during the Cards' two-run second inning, didn't have any of his pitches working and displayed frustrated body language throughout.

"We have seen his fastball command, or the sharpness of it, leave it a little bit the last three outings," Hurdle said of Hirsh, who is 0-2 with a 5.63 ERA in his last three starts. "Today, it eluded him."

Hurdle said of his conversation with Hirsh, before which he ordered catcher Yorvit Torrealba not to come to the mound, "I just wanted to make sure there's no interpretation."

The relievers struggled.

Arias was charged with one run and two of the four men he faced reached. Zach McClellan entered with a streak of six scoreless outings, but he gave up four runs and four hits in two-thirds of an inning. Tom Martin experienced having a Quintanilla error changed to a hit, which made the run against him earned and left his ERA at 7.20.

"All those plates we had spinning a little bit, they kind of wobbled and we've got to find a way to get back on track," Hurdle said. "It's a good time to be going home."