Another Great Game!

And the end of the Marlins streak, which made the game so much better for Pirates fans like me :)
By Jenifer Langosch / MLB.com
PITTSBURGH -- For all the talk there has been about this young, surging Marlins ballclub, the Pirates made their own statement on Monday, picking apart Florida in an 8-0 rout at PNC Park.

Oh, and they did it while recording the team's third shutout in four games.

The Marlins entered the series riding a seven-game winning streak and touting the Major Leagues' best record at 11-1. Their 3.24 ERA coming into Monday's contest was the fourth-best in the big leagues.

But whether it was just the law of averages that said the Marlins couldn't keep their hot streak up or because the Pirates pieced together arguably the best all-around game they've had this season, Pittsburgh looked like the team on the rise from start to finish in this one.

"There were a lot of good things tonight," Pirates manager John Russell said. "Things went really well for us. We knew coming in that to beat these guys we were going to have to play solid baseball and pitch."

The Pirates stole three bases off Marlins pitchers, taking advantage of the openings they were given. Pittsburgh benefited from three wild pitches, one of which directly led to a run scoring, and a balk. And of the six walks the Bucs drew, four eventually scored.

Backed by another strong defensive performance from third baseman Andy LaRoche, starter Ross Ohlendorf led the way. With seven scoreless innings, the right-hander earned his first win with the Pirates and second in the Majors, and he showed a notable rebound from a less-than-impressive previous start.

"Tonight was a very good building block for him," Russell said. "He's still in a little bit of a development stage. He's going to go through a few growing pains here and there. He's going to continue to make progress."

The fastball command he didn't have last Thursday, Ohlendorf established early. And with that, all of his offspeed pitches worked to his benefit. He referred to his slider as the best it's been since the start of Spring Training.

Ohlendorf also benefited from refocusing on his delivery with pitching coach Joe Kerrigan during his between-starts bullpen session. As they did through much of the spring, Ohlendorf worked on maintaining a straighter motion toward home plate, and he carried that successfully into the start.

"I was really happy with how it went, especially considering how well they've been playing," Ohlendorf said. "The big thing was that I was able to throw the ball where I wanted to. The last time I missed my spots too much."

After a single and an error allowed the first two Marlins hitters to reach in the first inning, Ohlendorf limited Florida to just one hit through the rest of his start. He faced the minimum in every inning after the first. The only other two baserunners he allowed were erased on a double play and a caught stealing.

"You have to give a lot of credit to that kid across the way," Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "I thought he was pretty good. We had him right off the get-go, then he got out of it, and I don't think we put a good swing on him the rest of the night."

After his 91-pitch outing, Ohlendorf gave way to Tyler Yates and Jesse Chavez, who preserved the shutout -- already the fourth for Pittsburgh this season. The Pirates had just seven all of last year.

With Ohlendorf dealing, the offense went to work. The Pirates knocked Marlins starter Andrew Miller out before the end of the fifth, taking advantage of his wildness. After the game, Miller was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right oblique strain.

Nyjer Morgan walked, stole second and scored on Nate McLouth's RBI single in the first inning to give Pittsburgh the early lead. Adam LaRoche then doubled and scored on Miller's wild pitch in the fourth before he drove in McLouth and Craig Monroe with a two-out single in the fifth.

The Pirates then broke the game open with a four-run sixth inning that featured a three-run homer by McLouth. The homer, McLouth's fourth of the season, traveled an estimated 433 feet and was the 24th ball to land in the Allegheny River after it bounced off the concourse and into the cold water.

"It all goes back to our pitching and Ohlendorf doing what he did," said Adam LaRoche, who broke a three-game hitless streak with two hits. "He gave us the cushion to relax and get some hits and score some runs. That was a good start, especially against a team as hot as they are."

The Pirates have won the first game in all five series they have played this season. The win also pushed the Pirates' record back above .500 (7-6). The club was 7-6 after 13 games last season, though it fell below the .500 mark the following day and never ascended back above it.

The quiet confidence budding in the Pirates clubhouse right now, however, suggests that a similar occurrence won't be in order this season.

"What I like is that after [Sunday's] game, after that beating we took, you didn't see a bunch of heads hanging in here," LaRoche said, referring to Sunday's 11-1 loss. "We said, 'Let's come back out tomorrow and give someone a beating.' Guys know that we're going to have a shot the next day."

Jenifer Langosch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.