Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Pirates shortstop Freddy Sanchez winces after being hit by a pitch thrown yesterday by Marlins starter Brian Moehler. Click photo for larger image. Related articles Pirates choose McLouth, send Duffy to minors Pirates Notebook: Side sessions have Perez confident Cook: Hall of shame a tragic story for Pirates Game Statistics Provided by Forecaster Pirates vs. Marlins box score Game play-by-play

For all the statistical evidence that can be compiled to illustrate the epic woes of this edition of the Pirates, here, without a doubt, is the most incredible number of all:

There are 124 games left.

Nearly five months.

Almost three-quarters of a season to endure a season already lost.

And one that seemingly could not possibly sink much lower than the 8-2 smackdown at the hands of the Florida Marlins before 15,921 yesterday at PNC Park.

These were the same Marlins who:

Owned the worst record in the National League until the Pirates undertook them by losing two of three. Florida is 11-24, the Pirates 11-27. The 10-25 Kansas City Royals have a winning percentage .003 lower than the Pirates in the scope of Major League Baseball.

Had not taken a three-game series all season.

Have a $14.9 million payroll that is less than a third of the Pirates' $47 million.

Are younger than the Pirates, their Class AAA affiliate in Indianapolis and their Class AA team in Altoona.

Deployed a pitcher, Brian Moehler, who had not won since July 20, 2005, a span of 14 starts and eight relief appearances, and had been 0-4 with a 9.76 ERA this season. All he would do on this day is limit the Pirates to two runs over 7 1/3 innings.

There is this, too: In their 120-year history, the Pirates have lost 100 games seven times. Of those teams, only two had a worse record through 38 games: The 1890 Pittsburg Alleghenies were 9-28-1, and the 1952 edition was 7-31.

Other than that ...

"I wouldn't say it's the high point, that's for sure," first baseman Craig Wilson said. "I wouldn't say any of us is playing up to what we expected. And it's not just this series. It's the year to date."

Wilson is one of three players who has been with the Pirates five years or longer. The other two offered similar views, although they, like Wilson, would not pinpoint yesterday as a low point.

"There is no low point," shortstop Jack Wilson said. "The moment you admit a low point, that's when your season is pretty much over. You might as well go home. There's a lot of baseball to be played."

He shook his head.

"And we can only go up from here."

"It's tough. It really is," said reliever Ryan Vogelsong, the other in that tenured group. "All we can do is keep playing everyday and hope that, come August, we don't even think about what happened in April and May."

Asked how difficult it was to look ahead to so much of the schedule with the team's hole so deep, he replied, "It's not tough yet. And you know what? Even if it keeps up, it's not going to be tough for me. We're playing a game a lot of people would like to be playing. It can still get a lot worse than this, and I'm still going to enjoy every time I put on a major-league uniform."

Manager Jim Tracy continued to focus on the Pirates' many close outcomes. They are 4-10 in one-run games.

"We just have not consistently put the full game together," Tracy told reporters. "We pitch well, we don't hit. We hit early in the season and get beat, 11-9. We've played 14 one-run games. We've had innumerable opportunities to drive in big runs and change the complexion of games. We haven't gotten those. Somewhere along the line, it's going to happen."

This one was disastrous from the outset.

Starter Ian Snell retired only four of the 14 batters he faced in lasting 1 1/3 innings and giving up seven runs.

There were three in the first, including a solo home run by Joe Borchard, and four more in the second, including a three-run shot to the second level of the left-field bleachers by Miguel Cabrera.

Vogelsong allowed one more that inning, and Florida's lead was 8-0.

For Snell, who was terrific in posting a 1.75 ERA in his previous four starts, it was by far his worst outing.

"I just didn't have it," he said. "Everything was flat. I didn't have any movement. And give those guys credit because they came out swinging. They hit the ball pretty hard."

That was how Tracy saw it.

"They pretty much centered on all the pitches Ian threw, his whole repertoire," Tracy said. "From the third inning on, they did virtually nothing offensively. An explanation for that? I wish I had one. But that's exactly what took place."

Vogelsong, John Grabow, Damaso Marte and Mike Gonzalez blanked the Marlins the rest of the way.

All the Pirates would produce at the plate was two hollow runs in the eighth. Jose Bautista homered into the left-field rotunda off Moehler -- his second in as many days -- and Jeromy Burnitz had an RBI single.

Catcher Humberto Cota left the game in the second inning after a pitch bounced up and caught him on the inside of his right kneecap. The injury is a bruise and considered minor.