Moehler ends skid as Bucs lose again

The Marlins pitcher had not won since July.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Brian Moehler ended a slump that probably seemed without end.
Moehler won for the first time in 23 games since July, taking a shutout into the eighth inning as Florida opened an early eight-run lead in beating the Pirates 8-2 Sunday.
"Thanks for remembering that," Moehler said, smiling, when reminded that he hadn't won since July 20 -- a stretch that included 14 starts and eight relief appearances.
By taking two of three, the Marlins won a series of three or more games for the first time this season. The Marlins (11-24) no longer have the NL's worst record, a distinction that now belongs to the Pirates (11-27).
"Everything was bad all the way around," Pirates starter Ian Snell said.
He was talking about his performance, though he could have been referring to their season.
Snell struggles
Miguel Cabrera, the only proven veteran hitter in a Marlins lineup that features mostly rookies, hit a three-run homer during a five-run second inning against Snell (2-3) that helped make it 8-0. Joe Borchard hit a solo drive in the first. Snell hadn't allowed an earned run in his previous two starts at home, only to give up seven runs and seven hits in 11/3 innings.
Those are numbers more often associated with Moehler (1-4), who came into the game with some of the worst numbers of any starting pitcher in the majors -- an 0-4 record, 9.76 ERA and .368 opponents batting average.
But the right-hander was in control from the start against the Pirates, not giving up a run until Jose Bautista hit his second career homer, and second of the series, leading off the eighth for Pittsburgh's first extra-base hit.
Moehler (1-4) was lifted after giving up eight hits and two runs, striking out one and walking one in 71/3 innings.
"I'm sure it's really important for him," manager Joe Girardi said of Moehler ending his slide.
Bad to worse
For the Pirates, it was a matter of going from bad to worse, as they extended what has become the franchise's second-worst start since the 19th century.
Only the 1952 Pirates had a worse record (7-31) to this point than these Pirates -- and they went on to win only 42 of 154 games. The 1890 Pittsburgh Alleghenies, the forerunners to the Pirates, were 9-28-1 after 38 games.
That the Pirates were dominated by one of the majors' least-effective starting pitchers only illustrates how poorly they have played. Their reward? Of all things, a trip to Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame for Monday's exhibition game against the Reds.
Snell looked to be settling down following a rough start this season, giving up five earned runs over his previous four starts. But he retired only four of 14 batters, allowing Borchard's homer, three singles, walking two, allowing a stolen base and throwing a wild pitch -- and that was only the first inning.
In the second, Hanley Ramirez singled for the second of his three hits and Dan Uggla walked ahead of Cabrera's sixth homer. After Snell was lifted, Miguel Olivo had a two-run double off reliever Ryan Vogelsong.
"I just didn't have it," Snell said. "Everything was flat -- I didn't have any movement, and my slider was flat. They came out swinging, and they came out swinging hot. They hit the ball pretty hard."
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