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PITTSBURGH -- Zach Duke showed Saturday night why he might be the king of the Pittsburgh Pirates' starting rotation for a long, long time.
With his overtaxed bullpen in desperate need of an easy night after]a string of ineffective starts, Duke delivered. The former rookie phenom limited the visiting Chicago Cubs to just one run in seven innings in Pittsburgh's 2-1 win before a crowd of 34,264 at PNC Park.
Duke, whose poor start in the home opener and rough Spring Training led some to criticize the Pittsburgh coaching staff's handling of the young left-hander, threw 27 pitches in the first inning and then breezed through the next five, retiring 13 of 14 Chicago hitters at one point. Before Matt Murton's RBI single with two outs in the seventh inning cut the Pirates' lead to 2-1, no Cubs runner had advanced past second base.
"I went back to my game plan," said Duke, who insisted that it was pitch selection and location rather than pitching mechanics that caused his earlier struggles. "I hadn't been pitching good. I hadn't been myself out there. It was nice to get back to being me on the mound."
Pirates manager Jim Tracy showed faith in Duke by allowing the young left-hander to stay in the game and face pinch-hitter Todd Walker with two runners on and two outs in the seventh inning. Duke got out of the jam and preserved the lead by inducing Walker to hit a grounder to first baseman Craig Wilson.
"That's his game to determine at that point," Tracy said of his decision to leave Duke in the game to face Walker. "You take him out of the game like that there, you bring in the bullpen and a mistake is made, a ball gets hit in the gap, and he's the pitcher of record in the losing decision, and he got to watch it on the other side of the dugout. I don't handle pitching that way."
"I appreciate that Jim Tracy gave me that opportunity," said Duke. "It gives me a lot of confidence."
In all, Duke (1-1) limited Chicago to one run on six hits and a walk to become the first Pirates starter to pitch into the seventh inning this season. Duke also improved his record to 3-0 with a 0.78 ERA in three career starts against the Cubs.
Pirates starting pitchers had gone 1-6 with a 7.65 ERA in the first 12 games of the season, averaging exactly five innings per start.
"Hopefully it's a springboard for us," said Duke. "Hopefully it proves that we can do what we're capable of. Hopefully these hard times are behind us."
After jokingly saying to reporters that he didn't want to hear any questions about Duke's pitching mechanics, Tracy showered his starting pitcher with praise.
"You take him out of the game like that there, you bring in the bullpen and a mistake is made, a ball gets hit in the gap, and he's the pitcher of record in the losing decision, and he got to watch it on the other side of the dugout. I don't handle pitching that way."
-- Jim Tracy, on leaving Zach Duke in the game in the seventh
"He is a 22-year-old kid who is as high a caliber as there would be in baseball at this age," said Tracy. "[Bad starts] happen to the best of them.
"He knows every time he goes out there what he wants to do," Tracy continued. "The poise that he possesses for his age, he's well beyond his years.
"This is a very special guy we have on our hands here. Very special."
Duke was greeted by a warm ovation and a "Duuuke" chant as he walked off the field after the top of the seventh inning. Five days earlier, he had been booed by the home faithful after getting pounded for seven runs in the home opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
"They were deserved boos [Monday]," said Duke. "It was nice to be on the other end."
Given a rare opportunity to set up his bullpen, Tracy sent out John Grabow to begin the eighth inning. After Grabow retired the only batter he faced, Roberto Hernandez got out of a two-on, one-out jam later in the inning to preserve Pittsburgh's slim lead.
Closer Mike Gonzalez needed just four pitches in the ninth inning to earn his second save in as many opportunities.
"I'm just trying to attack the strike zone and not let anyone get on, especially when you have a one-run lead," said Gonzalez. "I'm not trying to get strikeouts. I'm just trying to go right after them and see them hit the ball somewhere with the defense I've got."
Wilson, who will take over as the Pirates' regular first baseman in place of the injured Sean Casey, used his speed rather than his power to score both Pirates runs.
Wilson drew a leadoff walk in the second inning against Cubs starter Jerome Williams, swiped second base and scored after two outs on Chicago shortstop Ronny Cedeno's throwing error. Wilson began the sixth inning with a triple off the top of the 21-foot-high fence in right field and scored a batter later on Joe Randa's sacrifice fly to put the Pirates ahead, 2-0.
"I guess it was the extra Pepsi that I had before the game that gave me the energy," Wilson said, joking. "Once I get going, I guess I have decent speed. But I wouldn't say it's anything great."
Williams (0-1) was the tough-luck loser despite holding a Pirates offense, which came into the game ranked first in the National League in home runs, to just two runs (one earned) on four hits and four walks in six innings.
The win snapped Pittsburgh's streak of eight consecutive losses against the Cubs at PNC Park
PITTSBURGH -- The Pirates are trying to prove that they have more in common with the 1974 Bucs than just a stumbling start out of gates.
One day after falling to a 1-7 record for the first time in 32 seasons, the Pirates put on an offensive display that would have made the Lumber Company bashers of '74 proud, pounding out four home runs to twice overcome three-run deficits in their 7-6 win on Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Dodgers before a crowd of 17,240 at PNC Park.
The Pirates were facing the dubious distinction of posting their first 1-8 start since 1955 after right-hander Ian Snell was touched up for five runs in the first three innings. But the Bucs hitters -- who had previously been unable to dig the team out of the early-inning holes created by their young starting pitchers -- made the most of their opportunities.
Jeromy Burnitz set the tone in the first inning with a two-run homer to right field off Dodgers starter Jae Seo. Solo shots by Ryan Doumit and Jack Wilson in the fifth inning cut Los Angeles' lead to 6-5 and swung the momentum back into Pittsburgh's favor.
"We have the type of lineup that can every now and then put some over the fence," said Wilson. "We needed some big hits, and that's what we got today. We took advantage of some first-pitch fastballs and were able to hit them over the fence."
The slow and steady comeback was completed in the sixth inning.
Craig Wilson, a late replacement in the starting lineup at first base for the injured Sean Casey (bruised left rib), tied the game at 6 with a towering shot off reliever Lance Carter (0-1) that landed in the shrubbery beyond the center-field fence. Then, after bashing their way back into the game, the Bucs used a little small ball to push the winning run across the plate. Joe Randa doubled down the third-base line, advanced to third on a Jose Castillo groundout and scored on Doumit's sacrifice fly to right field.
"We got timely hitting today," said Doumit. "This one feels good. Hopefully, this is the start of a beautiful thing."
"We took great at-bats tonight," said manager Jim Tracy. "We hit four home runs. And the beautiful part of it was the run that we scored to go ahead was something that we worked at very hard in Spring Training."
Given just the second late-inning lead of his tenure with the Pirates, Tracy was finally able to use the talent at the back of his bullpen.
Salomon Torres came on in the sixth inning and retired six of the seven batters he faced to earn the win and improve to 1-1 on the season. Roberto Hernandez kept the Dodgers in check in the eighth, and closer Mike Gonzalez set down Los Angeles in order on six pitches in the ninth to earn his first save.
"I was just going out there being aggressive," said Gonzalez. "It felt good to get that [first] one out of the way. Seeing how these guys came back, these guys showed a lot of heart. I just wanted to go out there and close it out."
Snell, for the second straight start, had difficulty locating his off-speed pitches. He allowed six runs on 10 hits -- including three home runs -- and needed 97 pitches to get through his five innings of work. On more than one occasion, he drew the ire of the home faithful.
"For some reason, the past two games I have been fighting with myself," said Snell. "I just battled through it. I was just trying to keep my team in the game as much as I could. The boos were starting to wear on me.
"I just wanted to show how big my heart is. I just wanted to go out and keep my team in it, no matter what. I wanted to throw five innings, at least. My pitch count was up, and they hit me around a lot. I just showed a lot of heart, from what I saw. I'm never going to stop that."
Snell was able to give the middle relievers a much-needed break by sticking around for five innings. Tracy lauded Snell's ability to gut it out on a night when he obviously didn't have his best stuff.
"It's the difference in the game," said Tracy. "I give him a lot of credit. He battled. This kid, in two starts, has shown me an awful lot of character, and I know he is capable of winning at the Major League level."
After watching his team find a way to finally pull out a close game, Tracy spoke to the resiliency of a club that had already lost five games by two runs or fewer.
"We've got a great group of people in that clubhouse with tremendous character," he said. "I think they showed their mettle again tonight. With some of the things we have been through in previous days, it would have been very easy to put your hands up in the air."
MILWAUKEE -- In the big-picture scope of a 162-game baseball season, the Pittsburgh Pirates had to feel good about the Opening Day performance of their starting pitcher, Oliver Perez, who will undoubtedly be one of the keys to the team's success in 2006.
But in the condensed reality of Opening Day, the Pirates left Miller Park on Monday feeling as though they let one get away after dropping a 5-2 decision to the Milwaukee Brewers before a sellout crowd of 45,023.
Perez, who is coming off a disappointing 2005 season, looked like the staff ace again. Making his second consecutive Opening Day start against Milwaukee, he allowed just one run on three hits and three walks while fanning nine in 5 1/3 innings.
Perez was, in a word, dominant. The only run scored against him came on a first-inning home run by J.J. Hardy.
"I was feeling good," said Perez. "I was trying to use all of my pitches. I missed a ball with Hardy, but that's baseball. I was trying to focus to go five to seven innings. I was feeling good. Everything is getting better."
Perez seemed to get better as the game went on. He struck out seven of the final 10 batters he faced and did not allow a hit after the second inning.
"He was throwing the ball better as he went along," said Jim Tracy, who managed his first game with the Pirates. "He got stronger. His location got better. The ball was down in the strike zone much better.
"He did a terrific job. He threw a great ballgame."
Perez masterfully mixed his slider and splitter in with a fastball that reached 92 mph. But it was a mixup with his catcher, Humberto Cota, that ultimately led to Perez's exit with one out in the sixth inning.
After striking out Hardy to begin the sixth, Perez threw a two-strike fastball past Geoff Jenkins for what should have been the second out of the inning. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, the ball also got past Cota, and Jenkins was able to reach first base safely.
"[Perez] crossed me up," said Cota. "I called a slider and he threw me a fastball.
"I think if I had my face in front of that fastball it would have ripped it off."
With Perez's pitch count at 95 and the dangerous Carlos Lee due up next as the potential go-ahead run, Tracy called in setup man Salomon Torres. Tracy said after the game that he would have allowed Perez to face Lee if Jenkins had not reached base.
"Perez was really tough. He never gave in, he was in and out," said Lee. "Facing a lefty all day, I felt a lot better facing a righty."
Torres ended the threat by inducing Lee to fly out to left field and striking out Prince Fielder. However, he ran into trouble of his own doing in the seventh inning and was not able to get out of it.
Torres (0-1) walked each of the first two Milwaukee batters he faced in the seventh before facing Brewers catcher Damian Miller. Having already anticipated a sacrifice bunt attempt by Miller, Torres charged off the mound and appeared to get the ball in plenty of time to throw out the lead runner at third base. But he slipped at the last moment and had to settle for the out at first base.
Tracy called upon lefty Damaso Marte to put out the fire. But Brewers pinch-hitter Jeff Cirillo came through in the clutch, drilling a two-run single past Pirates third baseman Joe Randa, who was playing in on the grass on the play.
"Cirillo didn't hit the ball well at all," said Tracy. "He just hit it in a wonderful spot."
Lee put the game away with a two-run home run off Pittsburgh rookie Matt Capps in the eighth inning.
With the exception of Perez's RBI single after two outs in the second inning, the Pirates were unable to come through with many timely hits of their own. Pittsburgh batters went 2-for-7 with runners scoring position, but they stranded seven runners on base and hit into four double plays.
"We had our chances," said Randa. "We just didn't come up with the big hit. [Brewers starter Doug Davis] did his job and we didn't do ours."
Davis, in his first career Opening Day start, limited the Pirates to two runs on six hits and four walks but trailed when he left the game after six innings.
Brewers reliever Justin Lehr (1-0) tossed a scoreless seventh inning for the win. Closer Derrick Turnbow blanked the Bucs in the ninth for his first save.
"It's unfortunate that we weren't able to win the game," said Tracy. "But I don't consider it to be a bad beginning."
"It's really a great sign for us that [Perez] is going to anchor this rotation and really show the other four starters that [the team] can jump on his back every once in a while," said Cota. "We just didn't get enough runs for him."
The Pittsburgh Pirates have slated a series of events to celebrate the 2006 regular baseball season home opener on Monday, April 10, against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The game, presented by PNC Bank, is scheduled to start at 1:35 p.m. and will mark the home debut of new manager Jim Tracy, his coaching staff and the newest Pirates players.
Lefthander Zach Duke is scheduled to be the starting pitcher for the Home Opener.
Presented by PNC Bank, the All-Star themed festivities celebrating the Pirates 2006 home opener will include:
Master of ceremonies and "Voice of the Pirates" Lanny Frattare will host the pregame activities and introduce the 2006 Pittsburgh Pirates. The 2006 season marks Frattare's 31st behind the microphone, making him the longest tenured broadcaster in Pirates history.
The Pirates will salute their own "All-Star" when Kevin McClatchy, Pirates CEO and Managing General Partner, presents the annual "Pride of the Pirates" award. The award was created in 1990 to recognize members of the Pirates family who have demonstrated the qualities of sportsmanship, dedication and outstanding character during a lifetime of service. Last year's winner was the team's longtime organist, Vince Lascheid.
In honor of the servicemen and women who are serving our country around the world, the colors will be presented by representatives from all five branches of the military.
God Bless America will be performed by a solo trumpeter and active serviceman from the Washington D.C.-based United States Army Field Band.
Star of the hit television show, "American Idol," and Curb Recording Artist Kimberley Locke will perform the National Anthem. Locke's single, "8th World Wonder" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts at No. 1. Her second album is due out this May.
Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actor, and Pittsburgh native, Michael Keaton will throw out the game's ceremonial first pitch.
In addition, all fans will receive a 2006 Pittsburgh Pirates magnetic schedule, courtesy of PNC Bank, a Pirates eye patch, as well as a commemorative Major League Baseball 2006 Opening Day poster and Opening Day Trading Card packs.
The Home Opener also marks the kick-off to the Pirates new aggressive promotional schedule with everybody wins McDonald's Scratch n' Win Mondays, where everyone in the ballpark receives a scratch card and is guaranteed to win a prize. Nine lucky fans will receive autographed Pirates jerseys. All fans can also enter to win a customized special All-Star edition Pirates Harley Davidson motorcycle.
A limited number of tickets are still available for the Home Opener and can be purchased by calling 1-800-BUY-BUCS, on the Pirates website at www.pirates.com, or at the PNC Park box office. The PNC Park box office is open Monday-Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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