The Pittsburgh Pirates chalked up another loss to their great record this season. This time it was at the hands of the Florida Marlins. The game started off on the wrong foot. The Marlins scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning and it was basically over. They added insurance runs in the fifth and eighth innings, but they proved to be not needed. The Pirates never mounted any offensive threat. Four Pirates players decided to get one hit each as a parting gift to fans. It was a lackluster performance.

Ricky Nolasco went 7.1 innings and shut down the pirates. He allowed just 4 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 7 and picked up his 8th win of the season. He is now 8-6. Tankersley and Resop formed a duo for Marlins relief.

Kip Wells had another nasty performance. He gave up 3 runs over 10 hits and 3 walks in just 5.2 innings of work. He has picked up his fifth loss on the year and is still searching for that first illusive win of the season. Of course, it did not matter how he pitched, because the Pirates did not score even a single run.

Hermida was the hot player for the Marlins. He got four plate appearances and made the most of them. He went 3 for 4, including one double. As mentioned, no one on the Pirates side had more than one hit. For the Marlins, the story is not really winning or losing. Their season is over just like the Pirates. The story is really Dontrelle Willis. Will he stay or go? The trade deadline is coming up. Speculation is rampant. Willis wants to stay, but he’s not going to sign for peanuts. The next week is going to be very interesting.