PITTSBURGH — Jason LaRue can cope with being benched, which manager Bob Boone said Thursday will be his fate for the next couple of games. But LaRue resents any implication that his defense has suffered.

        “There's nothing wrong with me behind the plate at all,” LaRue said. “I'm right where I want to be.”

        This became an issue after Wednesday's game, when LaRue committed a passed ball and was catching while John Riedling tied a franchise record with three wild pitches in one inning. Mark Wohlers also threw a wild pitch.

        Boone, who caught for 19 years in the majors, thought LaRue was at least partly responsible for the rash of wild pitches.

        “When the (stuff) hit the fan, he just lost his mechanics and chased the ball with his glove,” Boone said. “He had anxiety. All of a sudden he had three guys in a row (actually, three of four — Dennys Reyes, Riedling and Wohlers) who were throwing all over the place, and he got caught up in it.”

        Boone didn't want to sound as if he were criticizing LaRue, nor did he want this brief benching to be interpreted as a punishment.

        “He did a great job all spring and all the way through (the early season),” Boone said. “Between him and Kelly (Stinnett), we've probably blocked more balls than all last year. ... But the virus got in him. So the prescription is he's going to sit with me. Let him see how easy it is. I told him not to read anything into it.”

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