They're Baaaack...

The Pirate one-game winning streak is but a distant memory tonight, as Colorado brought them back to reality with a 8-0 drubbing at Coors Field.

Ubaldo Jimenez won his tenth game, putting more Pirates on base by himself than the Pirates did on their own. He walked four and hit one; the Bucs could only bang three singles off him.

Jimenez touched 99 MPH on his heater, regularly hitting 96-97, and had a nasty split. The Pirates didn't hit a ball squarely all night as he overpowered the young lineup.

They had one shot at making it a game in the fifth, behind 3-0 at that point and loading the bases with two outs. But Andrew McCutchen softly rolled out to short on the first pitch, and that was the game.

Kevin Hart showed a good fastball, and his curve had some bite. But his slider wasn't sharp, and the second batter, Carlos Gonzalez, took one knee high and on the outside part of plate and lined it over the left field fence, giving the Rox a lead they'd never relinquish.

Jeff Karstens had another rough outing, giving up three runs in two innings of work. And Lastings Milledge showed that he still has a way to go before he's a finished product in the outfield.

He played a couple of angles poorly in Coors spacious pasture, turning one-base hits into extra-base knocks, and his slow release in getting a ball back into the infield allowed a Rockie to turn a single into a hustle double.

In that way, he represents the whole team; a work in progress. And it will continue. There's sure to be a couple of changes next year, and surely wholesale movement further down the road.

So settle in. It's gonna be more of the same for another season or two.