After Myers allowed four runs on eight hits, including two home runs, in a 5-1 loss to the Pirates yesterday, the pitcher, the pitching coach and manager Charlie Manuel all expressed concern about Myers' performance through six starts, particularly a puzzling drop in his velocity and his tendency to compensate by throwing more cutters.

Following the loss, Manuel and Myers met behind the manager's closed office door for about 10 minutes. Myers has given up at least two home runs in four of his six starts, and has allowed 10 this season.

Normally, the righthander's fastball tops out in the low-to-mid 90s. For most of the season, including yesterday's loss, it hasn't cracked 89.

"I haven't seen a fastball," Manuel said. "It topped out today at 89. Myers is usually 92-95, somewhere in there. I haven't seen the fastball since the start of the season."

Dubee, in his fourth season as the Phillies' pitching coach, acknowledged the drop in velocity, but said it might be corrected if Myers improved his preparation prior to starts. Dubee said Myers doesn't like participating in long-toss prior to his starts, which the pitching coach said helps build arm strength.

"I think it's as simple as him throwing some more fastballs and him getting out there and playing some more long-toss," Dubee said. "He's not a real big believer in long-toss, and I am. I think that's one way you develop arm strength and keep some elasticity in your arm. I think it's something he's got to buy into a little bit more."

Myers, however, said he has been trying to build strength in the arm.

"I've been working all season to get it back," Myers said. "It doesn't matter how much I run, how much I lift my legs, how many shoulder weights I do, I'm just not getting the zip on the end of it, the explosion. It just kind of comes out of my hand the same speed it gets to the plate. There's no extra life to it."

Take the second home run he gave up to Pirates leadoff hitter Nate McLouth, who finished with just the second multi-home run performance of his 4 years in the big leagues. With the Phillies down 2-1, Myers threw a 2-1 cutter down and in. The lefthander responded by knocking the ball into the rightfield seats for a two-run home run that gave the Pirates a 4-1 lead.

"Normally in that 2-1 situation, if I'm throwing 92, 93, I'm going at him with a heater," Myers said.

But Dubee said Myers needs to throw that heater anyway, regardless of the fact that it has cooled off.

Dubee said he and Myers had a long conversation in the bullpen earlier in the week regarding strategy for yesterday's game. Dubee wanted Myers to rely more on his fastball and curveball, two pitches with markedly different speeds. But after throwing curves to the first couple of hitters, Dubee said Myers "put it in his back pocket."

"We talked about getting away from the cutter, throwing more fastballs, throwing more curveballs, because of the separation between speeds," Dubee said. "But he got away from that game plan for whatever reason."

It's understandable that Myers might be tentative to throw the fastball, since he is used to throwing it four or five miles an hour faster.

"I'm trying to pitch with my offspeed stuff," said Myers, who is 2-2 with a 5.11 ERA. "I never knew how to pitch at 87, 88. It's different for me."

But Dubee said Myers should be able to compensate for the drop-off without having to rely heavily on his cutter.

"Whether it's 88, 90 or whether it's 92, there's a lot of guys pitching in this league at 88, without the other weapons that he has, with the curveball, the split and the slider," Dubee said. "You pitch with whatever you have. You pitch down in the strike zone and locate your fastball."

There was not nearly as much concern about the Phillies' hitters, who managed just two hits off Pirates lefthander Paul Maholm. Maholm pitched a complete game, throwing 99 pitches and allowing his only run on an RBI single by Eric Bruntlett. Maholm held the Phillies hitless through four innings. In the fifth, Pat Burrell doubled, then was driven in by Bruntlett.

"Just one of those days," centerfielder Jayson Werth said.

The Phillies have an off day today before beginning a six-game homestand tomorrow against San Diego and San Francisco that will feature the return of former Phillies Randy Wolf and Aaron Rowand. *

For more Phillies coverage and opinion, read David Murphy's blog, High Cheese, at http://go.philly.com/highcheese.