Routing the Rockies!

The Pittsburgh Pirates used a pair of four run innings in the second and fifth to cruise to an 8-4 win over the Colorado Rockies and take the series win in Denver.
Charlie Morton moved to 3-1 with the victory.
Pittsburgh starts a three game series in San Diego tonight against the Padres,which I will attempt cover via the Padre radio network bounced off the XM radio satellite....

Pitching Matchup
Pittsburgh: James McDonald (1-2 7.66 ERA) at San Diego: Aaron Harang (4-1 3.90 ERA) 10:05

Pirate Hooks

1) Charlie Morton got the win,but walked five more batters in less than six innings to so.
Morton's publicized changes have been effective for the most part thus far,but I suppose that I am still a non-believer.
Morton just strikes me as someone that will struggle on his second tour through the league.
Hope I am wrong.

2) Xavier Paul started his first game as a Pirate and finished with two hits,two RBI and a steal.
Paul's second inning triple that scored two runs was a bullet off the right field wall that was hit hard enough to be a homer,just a bit too low.

3) Paul still needs to show me that he will be better than John Bowker,but I will say this-I can see Paul being pretty valuable as a late inning pinch runner.
Paul is not as fast as Andrew McCutchen,but looks to be the second fastest Pirate and on a team that does not exactly loaded with speed burners should help in that role.

4) I have never been a fan of Joe Beimel and was decidedly non-plussed on his return to the Pirates after a forgettable previous stint,but he sure was devastating yesterday in Denver.
I watched the Rockies broadcast (They are one of the three former FSN's that are now ROOT Sports and they do not beat you over the head with the change either) and they attributed Beimel's success to knowing how to pitch in Coors Field.
Makes sense to me as most of the crowd wore knit caps and gloves throughout the game,so experience with that weather in that altitude has to be at a premium for a visiting pitcher.

5) I am not sure how accurate the Coors Field radar gun is,but they had Joel Hanrahan clocked at over 100 twice in the ninth inning.
That is called movin' it,my friends.
Hanrahan is about the only major part of the trade with the Nationals in 2009 still on either team.
No,Sean Burnett doesn't quite count.
Ask Washington fans,if they want to make that trade again!

Photo Credit: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images